Dr Aaron Meyer and Ann Marie Council part 2: Breaking the Cycle: Why Serious Mental Illness Deserves Better Than Jail or the Streets
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What if everything you thought you knew about autism and mental health wasn't the full story? Today's conversation might change the way you see it. This is Why Not Me, embracing autism and mental health worldwide. Real conversations about autism, mental health, and the stories that shape our lives. I'm Tony Mantor. This is where understanding begins. If this kind of conversation matters to you, follow the show so you don't miss what comes next. Joining us today for part two of our two-part series are Dr. Erin Meyer and Anne-Marie Council. Last week's conversation was so insightful and meaningful, we decided it needed more time. Today, we continue that discussion. It has been said that the LA County Jail is the largest psychological hospital in the country.
How do we correct that?
Preaching to the choir. I completely agree. Could you imagine? I've actually heard someone say, what if we could take the men's prison in LA and convert it into actually holistic, secured placement treatment and not have it be a jail? But it's the same people. Yeah, I think you're onto something.
Well, I haven't been doing this a long time. One story I hear over and over again from those that are in the autistic community and from those that deal with serious mental illness. It is what I call the 10 year loop. It can take nearly a decade from the time someone realized something is wrong to the point where they finally get the right support and feel stable and safe in their lives. Why does that process take so long? And more importantly, what steps do we need to take in order to break that 10-year cycle?
I cannot agree more. I think 10 years is not a conservative estimate. I think that is really, well, it is a conservative estimate because it can take more. It's very true. The one thing I will say is I want to, I'm hoping people can change the whole idea of people getting stabilized. And when I say that, it's kind of like the cycle of grief. I don't know if you've ever lost somebody. You go through all these stages, but then it doesn't mean your emotions aren't going to well up later and you have to relive it. When someone is stable, it doesn't mean they're going to be stable next month. So we need accountability and help for them, outreach. So when they do start to destabilize, we can then give them that intensive treatment to keep them stable.
I think that's necessary. I think that's part of housing that heals. I don't know if you're familiar with that by Teresa Pasquini.
I have heard of it. To be honest, I'm not completely familiar with it.
The idea is that some people do need wraparound services. And that's the only way that they're going to be able to live in this society, be productive and not have crisis after crisis.
I totally agree. Now, this question is for the both of you. If there's one thing you wish the public could understand about serious mental illness, what would that be?
If there's one thing that I think should change and people should be familiar with, I think not all access should have to come through a hospital. I think oftentimes the only way someone can get to a skilled nursing facility is through a hospital, and it's difficult to do community placement. In California, it's difficult when the majority of counties limit access to conservatorship to only a hospital setting. And if the person is chronically unable to live safely in the community and they may end up repeatedly cycling through the emergency department, through the jail, and never make it to an inpatient psychiatric unit. This happens with people who are connected to AOT. It happens to people who are connected to assertive community treatment, wraparound mental health teams, and they're never able to get to the right level of care because access to a higher level of care has been restricted to an inpatient psychiatric unit.
I wish that people would focus on how government can place hospitals as a barrier between the person who needs help the most and the governmental entity that's mandated to provide them that care.
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