- Category: Crisis Response, Discharged Without a Safe Plan — Hospital, Family Inclusion (HIPAA), Involuntary Commitment Barriers
- Tag(s): Homelessness
Many should be aware that too often psychiatric drugs cause psychosis instead of treating it.
My son was wronged by the mental healthcare system so many times. I believe that if he received an adequate care at the beginning of, he would not have been where he is now- on probation, living in a group home.
It is criminal that doctors do not call the parents to receive information and a background. That is not a violation of HIPAA! Treatment of a person in mental and spiritual crisis starts with looking at the history and trying to understand the root cause. This system is backwards- they numb our loved ones with heavy meds and release them back from the hospital, without medication titration, or tapering off to the lowest effective dose. The “do not harm” rule is repeatedly broken by the doctors at the hospitals.
Even UCLA hospital made a serious mistake discharging my son, while still manic, to the homeless shelter that was full!! Would that doctor discharge their own ch old to a homeless shelter?!?! And a mother was never notified… then he was missing…
I can go on and on. The system is so broken. The crisis team that was called to help my son in extreme emotional state said “all homeless shelters are full, bring him to a hotel.” He needed TLC, he needed calming medication and caring environment. He needed to be treated by the doctors. They refused to take him to the hospital since he “was not dangerous enough?!” I believe that any person who is in psychosis is potentially dangerous to himself or others.
So many stories of mistreatment, including medication mismanagement … and yet I was so stressed during the episodes that I did not have any energy to file suites, and there should have been many.
*Each story is shared by someone impacted by untreated SMI, lightly edited for clarity, never for meaning.
THE ASK
The author’s message for legislators:
We need alternative mental health care system that is not that violent and cruel; we need respite house where people can safely go through their crisis.
We need to rethink HIPAA and change it.
We need to make it mandatory to inform families about where so its of their loved ones, and make doctors call the families for medical history.
We need to track and put behind bars those doctors who give medical marijuana cards to individuals diagnosed with cannabis addiction. Legalization of marijuana was a huge mistake.
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