The Abysmal State of Mental Health Care in This Country: How and Why We Got Here and What We Can Do
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Mental health care in America has become nothing short of atrocious. Supposed developments in treatment methods and medication remain inaccessible to those who need them most. Countless people seeking treatment are routinely funneled into homelessness and prison while a mental-health epidemic ravages younger generations.
It seems obvious that the system is broken, but critics say the tragic truth is that it is actually functioning exactly as intended, providing reliably enormous profits for the entities who now manage mental health care. By taking a step back and examining how and why we developed our health-care system, with mental health care as the worst-case example of a dysfunctional model that has been abandoned by all other developed countries, we can understand our motives and actions, and chart a way out of our mess.
About the Speaker
Nicholas Rosenlicht, M.D., is clinical professor at the University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. He is founder of the San Francisco VA mood disorders program, has served on the Human Subjects Committee of the UCSF Human Research Protection Program, and is a member of the UCSF Academy of Medical Educators. He has more than 40 years of clinical, research, administrative, and teaching experience, and is the author of more than 30 peer-reviewed publications. Most recently he is the author of My Brother's Keeper: The Untold Stories Behind the Business of Mental Health—and How to Stop the Abandonment of the Mentally Ill.
This program is in-person only.
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A Psychology Member-led Forum program. Forums at the Club are organized and run by volunteer programmers who are members of The Commonwealth Club, and they cover a diverse range of topics. Learn more about our Forums.
Photos courtesy the speakers.
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The Commonwealth Club of California
110 The Embarcadero
Toni Rembe Rock Auditorium
San Francisco, CA 94105
United States
Nicholas Rosenlicht
M.D., Clinical Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine
Patrick O’Reilly
Ph.D., Chair, Psychology Member-led Forum, Commonwealth Club World Affairs—Moderator
5 p.m. doors open & check-in
5:30–6:30 p.m program
6:30 p.m. book signing
(all times Pacific Time)
COST
Members receive 30–50 percent discounts (not a member? Join)
In-person:
$22
$52 with a book
Free for Leadership Circle members and students (without a book)
