News and Commentary from the

Treatment Advocacy Center

April 2021

Below is a summary of recent developments and compelling news stories from across the country highlighting America's broken mental health treatment system and how to fix it.

Treatment Advocacy Center in the News

Mental Illness is Not a Crime

The Treatment Advocacy Center's research on fatal law enforcement encounters with people with severe mental illness was cited in a Baltimore Sun editorial arguing that having a mental illness is not a crime and should not be treated as such. Baltimore County's police department announced that it will spend $1.6 million in federal funding to create a pilot program to expand its intervention services. Read more here.

Federal Funding for Mental Health Crisis Teams

Treatment Advocacy Center's research on fatal law enforcement encounters with people with severe mental illness was also cited in an article about federal funding for mental health crisis teams. In the latest coronavirus relief bill, there is $1 billion that will be apportioned over ten years for states to set up mobile crisis teams. Read more here.

National Vaccination Effort

Acting Executive Director Lisa Dailey and Mental Health America's President and CEO Paul Gionfriddo penned an op-ed arguing for a national strategy to maximize vaccinations for people with SMI. "COVID-19 and our nation's response to it magnifies a sad truth: We have ignored our fellow citizens with severe mental illness," Dailey and Gionfriddo write. Read more here.

Joint Statement on National Vaccination Strategy

Treatment Advocacy Center partnered with nine other major mental health organizations to call for a nationalized vaccination strategy to reach people with severe mental illnesses.

"People with severe mental illness experienced some of the worst mortality disparities pre-pandemic, and are some of the most vulnerable Americans, with a life expectancy up to 25 years lower than the general population. Disparities based on mental illness are often magnified by disparities related to poverty, race or other factors that create barriers to timely health care. New data suggests that many people with severe mental illness will die from preventable COVID-19 infection unless swift action is taken."

Read more here.

Dr. Torrey Receives Lifetime Achievement Award

We offer our heartiest congratulations to our founder, Dr. E. Fuller Torrey, for having received the 2021 Lifetime Achievement Award from Schizophrenia International Research Society.

"I realized at the time that I should measure the success of my career by my patients and my peers, not by the academic leaders. 50 years later I am grateful to my peers for the recognition," said Dr. Torrey about the award. Read more here.

RESEARCH WEEKLY: April 2021 Recap

Article of the month

The Decline of Clinical Research on Serious Mental Illness at the NIMH

Treatment Advocacy Center founder Dr. E. Fuller Torrey, along with co-authors Wendy Simmons, Elizabeth Sinclair Hancq and John Snook, published an article in Psychiatric Services on the continuing decline of clinical research on serious mental illness at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH).

Utilizing the RCDC database, the authors found that between 2016 and 2019, NIMH decreased research projects related to bipolar disorder by 25% and projects on schizophrenia by 17.5%. Additionally, an analysis of data from ClinicalTrials.gov revealed that between 2003 and 2019, NIMH decreased support for treatment trials on schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and major depressive disorder by 90%. Finally, a careful review of the NIMH Strategic Plan for Research suggests there is little to no plan to shift priorities at the NIMH for the next five years. In total, the assessment reveals a continuing decline of clinical research on serious mental illness at the NIMH and that the shift towards basic research will continue.

Find all of this month's research highlights here.

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