Locking Up The Mentally Ill – Good or Bad? by Art Smukler, MD, author & psychiatrist

by artsmuklermd, posted in Writing

Back in the early seventies we still had plenty of homeless people bunking out over subway grates and sleeping in doorways. But, not nearly as many as we have today – all over the US.

Thousands and thousands of the homeless are mentally ill or suffering from an addiction.

As a first year psychiatric resident in Philadelphia, at PGH, Philadelphia General Hospital, the mentally ill were brought in for evaluation by the police. To place someone on a psychiatric hold, the law was clearcut, two psychiatrists needed to sign the admission papers. Once that was done, the patient was admitted to the inpatient unit and treated, most commonly for psychotic thinking secondary to schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, paranoid disorder, addiction etc.

Then what happened?

After treatment, they were discharged to return to their families, homes, or given appointments to attend sessions at a community health center. Their psychotic thinking was under control.

Yes. You read that correctly. THEY WERE DISCHARGED.

Then we closed the state hospitals, lost funding for Community Mental Health Centers and ignored the problem.

Well, you see where that got us.

Liberals who think that placing someone who is overtly psychotic in a treatment center is unfair and wrong don’t sufficiently understand the problem. When a psychotic person is adequately treated, they are often no longer psychotic! They can return to being a productive member of our society.

If Prop 1 doesn’t pass, and it’s very, very close to whether it will or not, we’re back to watching our mentally ill sleep under freeways, yell obscenities, and even attack innocent people. Delusional thinking can’t be reasoned with. More about that in another post.

Thanks, Art

#Prop1, #Delusionalthinking, #homelessness, #mentallyill

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Published by artsmuklermd

Art Smukler, MD was born and raised in Philadelphia, went to college and medical school in Pennsylvania, and completed his psychiatric training at UCLA. He is a board-certified psychiatrist, specializing in the treatment of adults with a subspecialty in adolescents. As a member of the UCLA faculty, he ran an award-winning psychotherapy conference for psychiatric residents and received the coveted “Golden Ear” award. He has published in psychiatric journals, and won the award for excellence in creative writing at The Santa Barbara Writers Conference. Now a full-time author, he applies his deep understanding of the human psyche to the motivations of his fictional characters.

2 thoughts on “Locking Up The Mentally Ill – Good or Bad? by Art Smukler, MD, author & psychiatrist”

  1. This post is something that I am, unfortunately, personally aware of. My daughter, who is now 49, had been an intelligent child, teenager, who was a winning competitive dancer. She started working at 18 and at 19 had a seizure while on lunch. She had a head injury as result, and no previous seizures. She was given all the protocols, meds. etc. and didn’t have another seizure, until she was 27 and had a concussion. Again, protocols and meds She continued to work sometimes 2 jobs for several years as she was a bartender as well. But she had an emotional upset, fiancee broke up with her, then a car accident, yes, hit her head, another concussion. Behavioral issues followed, diagnoses of bi=polar, , schizoaffective disorder. She was 32 with hospitalizations, rehavilitation, more medications, homelessness after a fire at her apt. intermitten work. But with my help and medication she pulled herself out of it and worked from 2016 – 2023 at one place. But she had at least 3 more seizures as she refused to take her medication, and the last one left her with a fractured skull and the deficits spiraled down into paranoid babbling. She was picked up by the police she was living in her car, after having been evicted from her apt. and has been hospitalized since 1/23. But they are looking to put her in a homeless shelter. I’m 83 and can no longer assist with her present situation. So lets hope that new bill passes. That bill needs more media attention, as I had not heard of it and believe me I’m always on the lookout. Thank you

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    1. What a tragic situation. It sounds like you did everything humanly possible. I’m so sorry that you both have to suffer so much. I fully agree that passing Prop 1 is essential. Best Wishes, Art

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