NEW YORK (AP) – One psychiatry professor calls it “the conversation we’re stuck with,” a teachable moment growing out of horror.
Each time mental illness is cited as a possible factor in a high-profile mass killing, there’s a collective sigh among mental health professionals. Even as they see an opportunity for serious discussions of problems and remedies, they also worry about setbacks to their efforts to destigmatize mental illness.
“Most people who suffer from mental illness are not violent, and most violent acts are committed by people who are not mentally ill,” said Dr. Renee Binder, president of the American Psychiatric Association.
If, hypothetically, everyone with mental illness were locked up, “you might think you were safe, but you are not,” Binder said.
According to the National Institute of Mental Health’s latest estimate, from 2012, there were an estimated 9.6 million adults in the U.S. – 4.1 percent of the total adult population – experiencing serious mental illness over the previous year.