Healing the Broken Mind: Transforming America’s Failed Mental Health System

206 Pages·2009·0.67 MB·English

by  Timothy A. Kelly

Healing the Broken Mind
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Healing the Broken Mind
Transforming America’s Failed Mental Health System
Timothy A. Kelly
a
NEW YORK UNIVERSITY PRESS
New York and London
NEW YORK UNIVERSITY PRESS
New York and London
www.nyupress.org
© 2009 by New York University
All rights reserved
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Kelly, Timothy A.
Healing the broken mind : transforming America’s failed
mental health system / Timothy A. Kelly.
p. ; cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978–0–8147–4812–1 (cl : alk. paper)
ISBN-10: 0–8147–4812–0 (cl : alk. paper)
1. Mental health services—United States. I. Title.
II. Title: Transforming America’s failed mental health system.
[DNLM: 1. Mental Health Services—United States. 2. Delivery of Health
Care—United States. 3. Health Care Reform—United States. 4. Health
Policy—United States. WM 30 K295h 2009]
RA790.6.K448 2009
362.10973—dc22 2009005933
New York University Press books are printed on acid-free paper, and their binding materials
are chosen for strength and durability. We strive to use environmentally responsible suppliers
and materials to the greatest extent possible in publishing our books.
Manufactured in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
To my father, Dr. Thomas A. Kelly,
who taught me how to think critically,
and to my mother, Elizabeth Levine Kelly,
who taught me how to love.

Thank you for believing in me so—
for being my #1 fans.
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Contents
Acknowledgements ix
List of Abbreviations xi
1 Men in Diapers: A System in Shambles 1
2 That Which Is Measured Improves 35
3 Monopolies Don’t Work 65
4 Fair Is Fair: Parity for Mental Health Coverage 91
5 Let the People Speak 115
6 Transforming America’s Mental Health System 139
Postscript—Information on Mental Illness 165
Notes 167
References 173
Index 181
About the Author 193
vii
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Acknowledgments
IT TooK me over ten years to write this book, which started out as
a series of articles after I stepped down as Virginia’s ninth mental health
commissioner. There are many among my friends, family, students, and
colleagues whose support and encouragement kept me going, and I apol-
ogize that I cannot list everyone here. Nonetheless I am deeply grateful
for each one, as without you this book would not have been written.
I must begin by thanking Broderick Leaks, doctoral student and
DePree Fellow, who worked hard to check references, review drafts, and
do anything else that was needed as the manuscript progressed. Likewise,
I am grateful to my editor, Jennifer Hammer, who patiently shepherded
me from first contact to final manuscript, with many great suggestions for
improvements. I also wish to thank Dr. Ron Manderscheid and Charles
Currie for their feedback on an early draft, while noting that they are not
to blame for any questionable opinions that may reside in this book, since
those are mine alone. I could never have completed this book without
a boss who, like Max DePree (leadership and management expert; see
“Leadership Is an Art” at www.depree.org), believes in providing employ-
ees whatever they need to succeed. My heartfelt thanks to Walt Wright
and the Max DePree Center for Leadership.
I have been privileged to work with hundreds of people over the years
who have come to me as a psychologist for help with their mental illness,
and it occurs to me that I received more than I gave. I thank each one of
you and wish you well from the bottom of my heart. Your trust and hon-
esty, tears and challenges, moved me to become more than I was, even as
you grew toward recovery. I hope you will hear the echoes of your voice in
these pages, for it is your voice that drove me to write this book.
Without the love and support of my family, I would still be wondering what
to do with my instincts toward authorship. My wife, Claire Kelly, my daughters,
JoAnn Kelly and Christine Maurer, and my son, Patrick Kelly, all deserve a
great portion of any recognition this book may deserve. You believe in me, and
I in you, and in that context we are all able to flourish. Solo Gloria Deo.
ix