The massacre at Virginia Tech. The shooting at the Seattle Jewish Federation.
When senseless killings occur, it’s all too easy to point out the failures of our nation’s mental health care system, and the seeming inability of elected leaders to tackle the problem.
This past legislative session, however – buried under the splashy headlines of education funding and the Sonics controversy – our state leaders took important steps toward fixing the community mental health care system.
I’ve worked as a child therapist at Compass Health in Everett for the past five years. I see infants to kids entering their teens. Most of the children I see have been kicked out of daycares or schools due to aggressive behavior. Many are in the foster care system. These children have some type of mental health issue, ranging from attention deficit and hyperactivity to trauma to attachment issues.
I have seen a boy who was physically abused as an infant, now a preschooler, able to get to a space where he could talk about the abuse. As he was able to put his feelings into words in a safe space, his aggressive behavior declined sharply. At times it was very challenging for him. But with the proper support he was able to push through and become a successful student.
Yet all too often, clients don’t get the care and services they need. When a child can’t get proper treatment in our community mental health system, it affects their classmates, their friends, and indeed their entire family. They may leave school, get into trouble, and end up in the hospital or juvenile detention.
In behavioral health care, studies show that the most important factor determining whether a client recovers is whether she or he has a stable, trusting relationship with their therapist. Break that bond, and a client is more likely to end up in crisis. At the extreme, they become a risk to themselves or others.
Last year my union, Service Employees International Union District 1199NW, produced a comprehensive study of the state’s community mental health system. It showed that one-third of all frontline community mental health workers left their jobs every year, and that more than half were considering leaving.
Why the unstable workforce?
Consider that a bachelor’s- or master’s-level therapist will make less than $30,000 per year in most entry-level positions in community mental health. The same person can make up to $15,000 more a year at a comparable institutional or state job, and even more in private practice.
Mental health professionals are by nature driven to do good. But when that sentiment runs headlong into the practical challenges of raising a family, buying a house or paying off college debt, too many of us are forced to make practical choices, and leave the community setting for better pay and benefits.
This year, rather than complain about the failures of our system, my co-workers and I decided to do something about it. As part of our union’s Campaign for Quality Mental Health Care, we began talking with our legislators about our crushing caseloads, low pay and benefits. We told them about clients who gave up because they saw the system failing them. And we also told them our stories of success – clients who got back on their feet, got back into the classroom, reunited with families and rejoined communities. We urged our legislators to fund workforce stabilization, in order to improve services to our clients.
As we continued our advocacy through the legislative session, an interesting thing happened: More legislators and staff began telling us about how mental illness had touched their lives – a friend, a neighbor, a loved one, or even themselves.
All told, more than 300 community mental health workers engaged in direct lobbying in Olympia this past winter. We also generated thousands of e-mails, phone calls and personal letters from other mental health workers across the state.
When the Legislature’s final budget was unveiled, we were pleased to see $24.5 million in new funds dedicated toward stabilizing the community mental health workforce. This money will target wage and benefit improvements for frontline workers.
Our experience has given me the hope that ordinary citizens can come together and make a difference in state politics, and get our leaders to fix what’s wrong. And by doing so, we can make a difference in the lives of the people we serve every day.
Elmer Hill is a child therapist at Compass Health in Everett, and is a leader in the SEIU 1199NW Campaign for Quality Mental Health Care.
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