Q: Are people listening to P.S.Y.C.H. ideas?
"Are people listening to P.S.Y.C.H. ideas?"
This is a question from a friend of whom I think the world of and who wants me to continue to "fight the good fight."
I've been super lucky over the last six to nine months to be able to have time to devote to this project. I went from working full time in child psychiatry to working multiple part-time gigs that I can fit into a more flexible schedule. And I try to take every Friday off.
I've been keeping a log of letters that I write (I'm a big fan of mailing letters on my nifty stationery) and emailing authors, politicians, and industry leaders about this idea. I'm not overly worried as my friend is that I won't "get credit" for this idea. After all, I'm doing this because I think it will actually work and will propel mental health to be as important as physical health.
Even the First Lady Michelle Obama is promoting mental health initiatives: www.changedirection.org.
I think all these goals are very noble. But they will ultimately fall short until we put our money where our mouth is. Overhauling the entire medical delivery system is the only way to break the stigma that mental health is secondary and that procedures are more important.
I am keeping a running log of people I reach out to, not in an effort to shame or disparage, but instead to remind me that a) other people have other priorities that may not be mine, and b) these people likely get inundated with all sorts of stuff that they have to weed out.
I know that someday this idea will take off because the alternative – keeping the same broken system we have – is going to fail, and fail miserably. And when the masses have had enough of greed and extortion, they will look for a better answer. P.S.Y.C.H. is a better answer.