Please address mental health in a whole way: Increase funding to social service agencies and require insurance companies to better compensate therapists.
Why is this important?
The Sandy Hook shooting stirred a discussion about mental health care. I have been a social worker for 13 years. I have worked in agencies over the years with clients facing serious life challenges such as trauma history, intellectual or physical disabilities, poverty, and mental illness. In some settings, the work can be rewarding but high stress, and the funding is low. We need to keep turnover low for people working in social service agencies. This is how we can value the people for whom social workers and social service agencies are providing care.
