Mental Health Crisis: Why Immediate and Affordable Care Becomes the Normal
The United States is suffering from a mental health crisis. Millions of Americans suffer from diseases such as depression, anxiety, and trauma, but timely and affordable treatment remains frustrating. Long waiting times, high costs and a wrong system are creating a dangerous reality in which the people who need it most cannot get it when they need it.
I learned this first-hand while working in the medical residence period in the emergency room. That was Lauren, a college student I met, who was dealing with an unimaginable tragedy. She lost the overdose of her mother and sister in each other within weeks, and her mental state was out of control. However, because she did not meet the hospital standards, she was sent home with instructions to wait several weeks for mental illness. That visit never happened. Lauren took his life before he could get the treatment so desperately needed.
This is a turning point in my life. It is obvious that our mental health system is not designed to treat people in crisis. It is not immediately managed, but pushes them through the barriers of the maze. This is unacceptable. If we seriously consider saving lives, then we must rethink how to manage mental health care.
Unacceptable gaps in mental health care
Despite growing awareness of mental illness, treatment remains a problem. More than one-third of adults with mental illness are not at all cared for, and for those who do so, waiting is often life-threatening. Weeks of waiting for a mentally ill visit are standard, and there are no other viable options for those in crisis.
Emergency rooms are the last resort for individuals in crisis, but they are not able to provide specialized mental health care. Many patients, such as Lauren, were sent home because they did not meet strict hospital admission guidelines, but were far from safe. They remain in a dangerous dilemma and cannot get the treatment they desperately need.
New Model: Immediate and Affordable Psychiatric Care
Mental illness treatment must never be an afterthought. We need to have a system that prioritizes the speed of intervention based on the severity of treatment provided by the body in emergencies. Just as people with heart attacks don’t wait for weeks to see a cardiologist, people suffering from mental pain should not wait for months to undergo any treatment.
Perhaps the most effective answer to this crisis is emergency psychiatry: access to treatment and psychiatric care on the same day. By reducing the wasted waiting time, it makes them enter as quickly as possible, which reduces the possibility of a crisis bringing such a catastrophic outcome.
Technology can also play a key role in extending access. Telehealth has demonstrated its potential to bridge the gap in mental health care, especially for underserved people. But online care alone won’t. A hybrid model that combines in-person psychiatric assessments with digital tools ensures people have access to comprehensive, flexible and effective care.
Financial barriers: Why cost shouldn't determine who gets help
Even with mental health care, the cost is a barrier. Counseling and psychiatric treatment may be outdated and insurance may be insufficient. This forces many people to delay or give up care, which exacerbates their condition and leads to higher rates of hospitalization, self-care and suicide.
If we really care about ending a mental health emergency, we must make sure that costs don’t become a determinant of treatment. This means expanding insurance, expanding provider networks, and revolutionizing payment structures to provide psychiatric treatment for all people. Mental health should not be a luxury. It has to be basic.
Call for Action: The time of change is now
Every day, people like Lauren slide through cracks in our broken system. They wait, suffer, and often suffer long-term injuries. This is a matter of values, not policies.
Mental health care should be timely, convenient and affordable. The system has failed so many people at the moment, but we can change it. By embracing rapid psychiatric care, expanding access through technology and making economic voices for all, we can create a future where no one is forced to silence.
This argument is no longer what we should change, but whether we have the will to achieve this. Now it's time to take action.
Dr. Tamir Aldad is a scholarship-funded addictive psychiatrist and founder and CEO of Mindfulness Care – the award-winning first ever American psychiatric care chain. Dr. Aldad graduated from an MBA from the University of Chicago Business School and completed his residency and scholarship training at Northwell Health after medical school. He also worked as a physician scientist for several years in behavioral health research at Yale School of Medicine. He is passionate about acute mental health issues, public mental health, and improving access to affordable care.
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