미국 정신보건위원회의 활동과 정신보건제도의 개혁 방안에 대한 고찰

The U. S. President"s Commission on Mental Health and Its Recommendations for the Reform of the Mental Health System

  In April, 2002 the President"s New Freedom Commission on Mental Health was established in order to conduct a comprehensive study of the mental health service delivery system in the U. S. and advise the president on methods improving the system. This paper is designed to examine the problems and recommendations proposed by the commission as well as its activities and to provide some implications for Korean society. Literature review was mainly employed to proceed this study along with an interview with one of the members of the commission. The outcome of this research is largely based on the problems and reform proposals from the final report of the commission. The US mental health system need not to be just improved but to be fundamentally transformed, Especially, the system is in disarray and it does not do good for the mentally ill any longer. Many mental patients are underserved and, getting worse, not treated at all. Most of the severely mentally ill are not seeking employment but tend to be long-term dependents, simply receiving disability benefits from the government. Stigma remains the major barrier in the recovery of these populations. Tackling these problems, separate specific reform proposals were spelled out. The efforts of the commission leads us to think about mental health problems in Korea. It is time for us to set mental health a national agenda and to do some conscientious work to address the problems of mental illness including substance abuses and suicides, and to improve mental health of the general population.