The limits of therapy under an extremely brutal and corrupt corporate oligarchy/kleptocracy

https://i.redd.it/n0whcsl6vq2e1.jpeg

by xena_lawless

8 comments

  5. Or widespread mental illness masquerading as “virtue….”

  7. This seems like a chicken and egg thing. If you overall healthy and doing well, you will have access to the things you need. I think the distress is what leads people to not having access.

  8. (I apologize for long read)

    TLDR; therapy/social work for the worse off is effective but underfunded, it could be a major solution instead of a band-aid, but the moneys not there. If you already have a solid base to work from it’s very effective to push people into secure living. Welfare dependency barrier is a major issue, once you make too much it’s harder to live.

    My fiancé is an LMSW, and when working with very mentally ill or disabled, they mostly were able to keep them surviving, sheltered and safe. It was a Personal Recovery Oriented Service (PROS) in a large local healthcare company and the patients were ALL on Medicaid and disability. Maybe 25% were able to get out on their own and get a job, maybe a stable relationship but still on some sort of welfare. Normally they could continue to do quite well once basic needs were met and meaning was instilled. Keeping the very mentally ill at least stable, fed and housed and in some cases making contributing members of society is a big deal.

    More funding would make it much more successful. PROS is very effective. But they get paid NOTHING for their skills and contribution to society, so it’s hard to get good people into it. It’s a hard, emotionally taxing, sometimes traumatic job. You’re not only a fully qualified therapist but have to know how to navigate the welfare system as well.

    This could be a net economic positive in a macro sense in a private/subsidized system like the US, but between low wages not attracting good SWs and lack of funding it makes it difficult.

    The problem is they hit the welfare dependence barrier. There’s people who are mentally ill or disabled that *could* be fully contributing members of society but once they become too successful they lose welfare services, making living unsustainable.

    She now works as the department head for an in house mental health services for a large state agency and does therapy for the employees (first program of its kind in state government). She’s making twice as much when benefits are factored in. Patients are people that are obviously making at least making average-median salary or more with benefits so are comfortable. It’s a very effective program and much easier to get these people really thriving.

    Social work is something that wouldn’t require much money and restructuring to be much more effective in a private system. The payments from Medicaid/medicare per client need to be increased, admin needs to be slashed, and social workers need to be paid more to attract high quality SWs. It’s so simple to make better it’s hard not to believe it’s set up that way.

    Of course a properly funded program in a single payer system would be much better. The government social work programs in a private system are not nearly as good. It’s usually run and funded locally, so there’s less money and more patients. A social worker salary increase and mass federal funding could make these places very effective.

Comments are closed.