Published January 08, 2013
Most people with mental illness do not commit violent crimes. But acts of mass violence by apparently deranged young men have focused public attention in the United States on how hard it can be to identify and diagnose people with serious mental illnesses, and to get them effective treatment before they do harm to themselves or others. Carol Pearson spoke with a mental health expert and with a family that has sought psychiatric help, about some of the challenges people face in securing good mental health services in the United States.