Heightened Focus on Mental Health Care due to Pandemic
Covid-19 has given us a reason to be optimistic about our mental health, despite the overwhelmingly negative effects the pandemic has wrought upon our country and the world. The coronavirus has devastated our financial, physical, and emotional health, but with almost everyone affected in some way it has also weakened the stigma surrounding mental health. People now feel comfortable (and maybe even obligated) openly discussing depression, hopelessness, and anxiety.
In this article, Patrick J. Kennedy, former US Representative and founder of The Kennedy Forum and Norm Gorin, Vice President of MindWise Innovations, a service of Riverside Community Care, call for sweeping changes in Congress to adequately fund access and affordability for mental health and substance use care.