The Shooter: how did that happen?

This post is a quick review of a news item I found while surfing the web. The topic concerns crisis workers greatly, not least because of the balance between the rights of people and protection of the community. Mental illness is often viewed with fear, specifically because of events like the one that prompted this article.

Shootings expose cracks in US mental health system

is an Associated Press article I viewed in the Fargo Inforum, an online news source. The article discusses some of the issues involved with persons with mental illness that go on to harm others. The basis for the article is an interview with the parents of a fellow who killed some co-workers and himself a week before.

Point 1: the families of persons with mental illness suffer as much as the person. This is a truism that goes unrecognized by many crisis interventionists. [In fact, that might be a good question for an attitudinal survey of crisis workers: "how important are family services?".] One support mentioned is a "free, 12-week course for loved ones of people with mental illness" in the Minneapolis area. The local NAMI chapter is very involved with the family.

The NAMI Information HelpLine is an information and referral service which can be reached by calling 1 (800) 950-NAMI (6264), Monday through Friday, 10 am- 6 pm, Eastern time.

Point 2: The history of forced treatment is contentious.

"A successful patients’ rights movement in the 1970s made it difficult — and illegal in some states — to force a person into treatment unless he or she was homicidal or suicidal. Dr. Darold Treffert, a Wisconsin psychiatrist, coined the phrase “dying with their rights on” in 1974, after collecting stories of people who didn't qualify for involuntary commitment and later killed themselves

In the years since, 41 states have added “need for treatment” standards to their laws that allow more individuals to be placed into court-ordered treatment programs. Minnesota is not among them."

Point 3: Recovery is possible. The article closes with presentation of two successful professionals that learned to manage their disease and are now living "normally".