This is some seriously important shit. Go read this now. And then come back and we’ll have that discussion we’ve been needing to have in this country for far too long on murder and mental health.
I’m not Adam Lanza’s mother. I don’t think. Overthinker’s rages are never quite that bad, and I’ve never been afraid of him, only pissed off. The woman who tells her story at the link above is not me, but she could be. She could be any one of us, and any of us would be just as helpless as she is.
Why the intersection of mental health and murder is difficult to navigate
I am (or could be), however, Adam Lanza’s therapist. (Just so it is abundantly clear, this is a metaphor only, and does not actually refer to anyone who has ever been a therapy participant with me) And like his mother, I don’t have the tools I need.
I can, based on the laws in my state and on my professional judgment, request that a court order the hospitalization of one of my participants, based on behavior or words that lead me to believe he or she is in imminent danger of harming him or herself or others.
For five days. Five. Days. Which, of course, feels like a lifetime if you are having an acute mental health episode and have a life to get back to… and is not nearly enough to stabilize someone in serious danger of harm.
Theoretically, it is possible, while in inpatient, that a court will order a longer stay, up to thirty days. It’s very rare.
I can, thanks to the Tarasoff decision, warn an individual who has been specifically threatened with bodily harm by my therapy participant — if I know the person’s name, and how to reach him or her, both very big ifs, and both under only very restrictive terms. I can call the police if I, any of my co-workers, or any of the other participants at my place of work are (again, in my opinion) at risk.
That’s it. The entire toolbox. Even in inpatient, the doctors and therapists who receive the person who is at risk of harm to himself or other have limited options available to them.
What we can do at the intersection of mental health and murder
What we have is our ability to reason with people, to empathize with them, and to sway them with words away from a path of destruction. And it doesn’t always work.
And then we really have to ask — what tools do we really want in that toolbox? Do we really want easier commitments for more extended periods of time? Do we really want to be able to force (more) people to take medications and participate in therapies they don’t want to be in?
Would your answer be the same if it were you that were being forced?
The balance between rights and responsibilities in the mental health system is a delicate one, constantly shifting. Every move needs to be weighed and measured carefully, and taken carefully. We have to navigate the crossroads of mental health and murder with caution.
Here are some improvements to the system that would be more immediately helpful:
- More humane shelters for the homeless and hard to house
- Better customer service training (including mandatory Mental Health First Aid training) for all people who work in educational and mental health and medical facilities, including the front desk and janitorial staffs among others.
- Better funding for community mental health so that there are enough therapists and psychiatrists and other providers to avoid burnout and effectively serve everyone who needs the help.
- Increased usage of trauma informed therapies, DBT therapy, EMDR therapy, and other evidence based practices that are both intensive and (therefore) expensive.
- A cultural shift away from the notion that mental illness is shameful and toward the reality that mental illness is a brain disease with behavioral effects, that can be effectively treated if taken seriously.
- A better partnership between providers and participants, so that participants feel respected and are more likely to engage in services and stay engaged.
I could go on, but there’s a kitten on my lap, which makes it hard to type. Here’s the bottom line, which you won’t like at all. It is unlikely that any of these measures would have stopped Adam Lanza.
From the early evidence coming out now, he was on no one’s radar as a dangerous person. He had (reportedly) Asperger’s disorder, which is not a disorder that is generally associated with violence in adulthood. His mother taught him to shoot and took him to the firing range, apparently, regularly, which does not suggest she was afraid of him.
I am still reeling from the heinous act he committed, and I have no personal connection to any of the people involved. Instead, what I, and you, and everyone else who is struggling today with the events of December 14, 2012 at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut is feeling is empathy.
We imagine what it would be to be the parent, or sibling, or friend, or coworker, or child of one of the people murdered. Thanks to the author of the piece that C&L linked to, we also have empathy for Adam Lanza’s mother. And now, I hope, you have a little for the professionals who have worked with him, probably all his life, to help him thrive and be happy.
Holding all those affected in the light, and fighting the good fight so that events like these become rare, or even better, ‘unheard of’.
~Maureen~
Related articles
- “I Am Adam Lanza’s Mother” (outsidethebeltway.com)
- Kids, mental illness and violence (feministe.us)
- How Lax Gun Laws Arm the Mentally Ill (policyshop.net)
- Shootings raise healthcare questions (newsnet5.com)
Am I the Only One Dancing relies on you to spread the word. Please like and share and comment and let others join in the dance with us!
Like Maureen O'Danu on Facebook, Add Am I the Only One Dancing? to your RSS feed or subscribe by email to have it automagically delivered to your inbox.
(I recommend Feedly as a replacement for Google Reader)
