Author: Celina M (Page 1 of 4)

Kuntz, Leah; “Psychiatric Care in the US: Are We Facing a Crisis?” Psychiatric Times, MJH Life Sciences, 1 Apr. 2022, https://www.psychiatrictimes.com/view/psychiatric-care-in-the-us-are-we-facing-a-crisis.

In the article “Psychiatric Care in the US: Are We Facing a Crisis?” written by Leah Kuntz, the author highlights the major areas of concern in regards to America and the lack of access to mental healthcare that most citizens face. Kuntz writes that “approximately 26% of US adults older than 65 years who were surveyed said they did not access needed mental health care because of costly patient financial responsibility. … An individual with major depression can spend an average of $10,836 a year on health costs versus an individual without major depression who has an average annual health care cost of $4584.” When comparing out-of-pocket costs to that of one’s average income, the prices for taking care of one’s psychiatric state prove to be unfeasible and mean that many people forego getting the help they need, thus worsening their symptoms and going undiagnosed. Along with financial reasons, approximately 1 in 6 kids aged 6 to 17 pre-pandemic were diagnosed with a treatable mental health condition, yet mental health services amongst minors declined. It is believed that disparities of the racial and economic kind are to blame. being that youth within minority groups are the most impacted. Lastly, the amount of psychiatrists able to provide quality care reflects a mass shortage throughout the entire nation. Approximately 55% of continental US counties have no psychiatrists and 77% report a severe shortage. This is due to the fact that most practicing psychiatrists are 50 years or older and approaching retirement. With a growing influx of psychiatry students entering the field, these statistics will better themselves; however, it is thought that the US will continue to experience this shortage for at least another three years. All of these points are seen to be major areas of concern when it comes to the state of mental health care in America and the lack thereof.

Leah Kuntz is the assistant editor for the Psychiatric Times. They are very well-educated with mental health issues, having published numerous articles on various topics. The audience is those curious about mental health topics, along with professionals in the field. Written on April 1st of this year, it is a post-pandemic article highlighting how COVID affected the mental healthcare system and how things look now. The purpose of the piece is to inform readers of current statistics and persuade them to agree that the US is currently undergoing a mental health crisis. It is a non-fiction article. It includes plenty of statistics and quotes so as to be credible and present clear facts that support the overall claim that the US system is in a state of crisis. The tone of the article is informative, yet concerned. The language being used by the author, such as the repetition of the word “crisis”, reflects the grim undertones of the topic. It is heavily relevant to my current research question and there are multiple hyperlinks to other studies and quotes, as well as multiple cited statistics.

Key Quotes:

• “For example, an individual with major depression can spend an average of $10,836 a year on health costs versus an individual without major depression who has an average annual health care cost of $4584. Paying more than $10,000 out of pocket annually when the median household income in 2020 was $67,521 simply is not feasible for some families.”
• ““The state of child and adolescent mental health in America reflects 2 overlapping pandemics, a mental health pandemic existing before and worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic. It is an acute and chronic situation, where we already had a silent pandemic of children not being able to receive the mental health care that they need and deserve. The pandemic has only worsened that,” Warren Y.K. Ng, MD, MPH, president of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, told Psychiatric Times™. “It has really exposed many of the inequities and disparities that existed beforehand, exacerbating the experiences particularly of the racial and ethnic minoritized youth who are disproportionately impacted from all social determinants of care.””

For my paper, I should add more clarification in certain places, such as the portion where I talked about having dropped out. It is muddled and hard to clearly follow. For Unit 2, I will use this advice to better stick to presenting the details and facts that are necessary and refrain from using too much descriptive or vivid language.

Who’s the author? Yuki Noguchi is a science correspondent for NPR. She covers consumer health, reporting on racial inequities in access to mental health.

Who’s their audience?  The audience would be those who find commonalities with the issues/topics being discussed in the article, along with parents who have to juggle financial costs as it relates to mental health. I say this because of the nature of the stories being told. They’re retellings of personal anecdotes that appeal to the common parent who struggles with the same issues.

What’s the occasion? The paper was published for NPR in a partnership between KHN (Kaiser Health News) and KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation) to explore the impacts of medical debt in America.

What’s the purpose? To inform readers of just how difficult it can be to seek out mental health care in today’s economy

What’s the genre? The article is written in the form of an essay, providing anecdotes of different individuals and their experience with maintaining their livelihoods while also caring for those around them who suffer from severe mental illnesses. This allows for an emotional connection with the reader and allows for a better understanding of how severe the issue is.

What is the tone? The tone is that of concern yet strictly informative. She is informing the reader of the situation at hand while also highlighting its severity with professional language and structure.

Relevance: It does help to answer my question from a financial standpoint.

Accuracy: Noguchi uses plenty of anecdotes and quotes from high-standing people to form this piece. There is no way to confirm these anecdotes; however, there are links to different sources throughout the article.

In the article “Psychiatric Care in the US: Are We Facing a Crisis?” written by Leah Kuntz, the author highlights the major areas of concern in regards to America and the lack of access to mental healthcare that most citizens face. Kuntz writes that “approximately 26% of US adults older than 65 years who were surveyed said they did not access needed mental health care because of costly patient financial responsibility. … An individual with major depression can spend an average of $10,836 a year on health costs versus an individual without major depression who has an average annual health care cost of $4584.” When comparing out-of-pocket costs to that of one’s average income, the prices for taking care of one’s psychiatric state prove to be unfeasible and mean that many people forego getting the help they need, thus worsening their symptoms and going undiagnosed. Along with financial reasons, approximately 1 in 6 kids aged 6 to 17 pre-pandemic were diagnosed with a treatable mental health condition, yet mental health services amongst minors declined. It is believed that disparities of the racial and economic kind are to blame. being that youth within minority groups are the most impacted. Lastly, the amount of psychiatrists able to provide quality care reflects a mass shortage throughout the entire nation. Approximately 55% of continental US counties have no psychiatrists and 77% report a severe shortage. This is due to the fact that most practicing psychiatrists are 50 years or older and approaching retirement. With a growing influx of psychiatry students entering the field, these statistics will better themselves; however, it is thought that the US will continue to experience this shortage for at least another three years. All of these points are seen to be major areas of concern when it comes to the state of mental health care in America and the lack thereof.

Who is the author? Leah Kuntz is the assistant editor for the Psychiatric Times. They are very well-educated with mental health issues, having published numerous articles on various topics.

Who is their audience? The audience is those curious about mental health topics, along with professionals in the field.

What’s the occasion? Written on April 1st of this year, it is a post-pandemic article highlighting how COVID affected the mental healthcare system and how things look now.

What’s the purpose? To inform readers of current statistics and persuade them to agree that the US is currently undergoing a mental health crisis

What’s the genre? It is a non-fiction article. It includes plenty of statistics and quotes so as to be credible and present clear facts that support the overall claim that the US system is in a state of crisis.

What is the tone? It is informative, yet concerned. The language being used by the author, such as the repetition of the word “crisis”, reflects the grim undertones of the topic.

Relevance: It is heavily relevant to my current research question.

Accuracy: There are multiple hyperlinks to other studies and quotes, as well as multiple cited statistics.