Mental Health, Violence, and Crime

This is a tough one to write. As a trained clinician, I want to be on the side of people who suffer from severe mental illness, especially psychosis. As a civilian, I want to be able to feel safe.

I hear quite a lot of comments from laypeople who don’t understand mental health and mental illness, and it makes me sad. 

It’s one thing using mental illness as a excuse, or being misdiagnosed or over-diagnosed (more like misdiagnosed). But being under-diagnosed is equally problematic. Mental illness does not cause someone to do things out of character. It does contribute to illogical thinking.

Mental illness was a taboo that no one wanted to acknowledge. Now it’s criticized as an excuse. Do we want people to go back to hiding that they need intervention? This is why there will never be parity and insurance companies can get away from paying for mental health treatment. We don’t think mental well-being is important.

It is so hard for me as a mental health professional to read about crimes (and even hate crimes) committed by people who suffer from severe and chronic mental illness and who are being condemned and judged because of their delusions and paranoia.

I am not using those terms lightly. I have worked with so many in my profession (and even felt threatened) and observed them in the community and they truly believe what they believe because of the psychosis.

I feel we must make a distinction between irrational beliefs and simple racism (in light of what is happening around the country). The media likes to play up crimes committed by people who suffer from mental illness, but statistically they’re more likely to be victims of crimes (which we don’t hear much about, because people don’t care about those who live on the fringes).

We have a disconnect between the mental health system and the court system. I’ve worked in both. The approach is very different, and it is also very frustrating, especially with de-institutionalization without mental health services in place. Jails should not be the primary mental health service provider for people with severe and chronic mental illness.

We must also address the issues of homelessness and lack of mental health services. What illogical thinking was going through the perpetrator’s head that he was harassing random strangers before he pushed Go onto the tracks?

I see people suffering from mental illness on the CTA quite often. I also see people who sleep on the trains who are likely homeless. Most of the time, they come to the public’s attention only when they commit crimes. Jails serve as mental health service providers. We are failing them as well.

“Homeless” does not necessarily mean the person has no place to stay. It means they have no home. Homeless shelters require people to leave during the day even though they have a bed at night. Where do you think most of them are? Wandering on subway stations and sleeping on benches and trains are common.

We can’t demand a solution if we fail to see the problem.

You don’t have to agree with me, but if you have a comment, please be civil and do not disparage those who are suffering from a mental illness. That’s all I ask.