Treatment services available from community mental health centers; SALUD!/Medicaid; private providers; Special Education; Children, Youth and Families Department (CYFD); Healthier Kids Fund; Children’s Medical Services.

A statewide awareness campaign on children’s mental health.

Teachers and school health professionals are being trained to recognize substance abuse and mental health problems.

The New Mexico Department of Health (DOH) and CYFD jointly fund school-based behavioral health services.

Behavioral Health Services Division, DOH, promotes policies and partnerships to ensure access.

Effective rehabilitation and recovery services accessible to all who need them.

Train primary care providers to better address rural mental health needs, using expertise of DOH, University of New Mexico, New Mexico State University.

Services for families; e.g., nurse home visiting for infants/toddlers, family learning centers.

Reduce the stigma of mental disorders.

Enhance data systems on quality of services, numbers of clients, and outcomes.

Enhance mental health and substance abuse treatment and prevention, in schools and communities.

Ensure that services are culturally sensitive and of sufficient duration and intensity.

Collaboration among, e.g., Department of Education, CYFD, DOH, Human Services, to improve access to behavioral health services under SALUD! and other programs.

describe the methods in detail.



We will describe only a few of the more common or important disorders.

Schizophrenia is important to mention because of its severity, and because it does cause psychotic symptoms (delusions, hallucinations, and disordered thinking). While it is a serious illness, it is a rare one: only some seven-tenths of one percent of people ever suffer from it. The old theory that bad parenting causes schizophrenia has been discredited. We know now that the illness is largely inherited and involves biological changes in brain function. Some, if not all, patients can recover over time, and treatment methods have greatly improved; it is quite possible for many people with this diagnosis to lead a normal life. Effective treatment, however, requires significant resources; it involves medication as well as a range of other measures.

Major Depression is a serious, often disabling disorder with both mental and physical symptoms. It should be distinguished from the term “depression” that is used for any sad mood. Diagnosis is based on presence of a pervasive sad mood and/or loss of interest and pleasure in nearly all activities, for at least two weeks, combined with at least four other specific symptoms. Some of these symptoms are physical, and the impact of the disorder can be severe. The disorder is more common when there are major life stresses or bereavement, but in many cases there is no identifiable external cause. This is a relatively common illness: in the United States, more than 17% of adults (about one in six) have had major depression at some time in their lives.

• Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder involves involuntary thoughts and impulses of a distressing nature;
  
  
• Panic Disorder involves panic attacks: sudden, overwhelming terror for no apparent reason, with additional symptoms;
  
  
• Agoraphobia starts with panic attacks and causes the victim to fear leaving the house at all;
  
  
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is caused by severe trauma, such as combat or being the victim of violence. The symptoms include re-experiencing the event (flashbacks, etc.), psychic numbing/avoidance, and hyper-arousal. PTSD is relatively common, affecting 5% percent of men and over 10% of women in their lifetimes.(3)
  
  

How many New Mexicans suffer from mental disorders?

Adults: It is estimated that some 79,700 (6.5%) New Mexican adults suffer from Serious Mental Illness (SMI). This does not include everyone who has a disorder, but only those with schizophrenia, manic depressive (bipolar) disorder, major depression, panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder or PTSD; and who also have significant impairment (Footnote ). Children: It is estimated that 44,406 New Mexican children and adolescents (under 18) suffer from Serious Emotional Disturbance (SED), defined as any diagnosable mental disorder that seriously interferes with the child’s role or functioning in family, school or community activities.(4) Again, this only includes those who are seriously impaired.

These numbers may seem surprisingly high; after all, one sees very few cases of obvious mental illness. This is largely because the vast majority of these people do not display psychotic symptoms. In many cases one would have to know them well to realize that they suffer from one of these disorders.

Mental illness impacts New Mexicans in many ways, as it interferes with work performance as well as relationships. In children, the results can include poor school performance, drug abuse and other problem behaviors, leading to lifelong problems. Like any serious illness, it also impacts other family members.

Mental disorders can be treated effectively; but access to services can be problematic. To be effective, services and support systems must be integrated, well-managed, and well-coordinated. In fact, for the most seriously affected people, effective treatment combines medication and psychotherapy with other forms of support such as housing assistance or supported employment. These may keep even a very severe disorder from becoming disabling, and may eliminate symptoms. Whether such a package of services and supports can be obtained is another question. Public resources often are needed to ensure services to people with chronic serious mental disorders.

Persons with serious mental illness are often in economic distress, since these disorders can prevent them from earning an adequate income. In fact, national data(5) have shown that they have more trouble getting or keeping health insurance than other people, and more trouble accessing any medical care even if they have insurance. Nationally, among adults aged 15-54 who had major depression in the past year, less than one-third got help for mental health problems from any healthcare provider (eight and a half percent used only non-medical services). Less than one in three persons with post-traumatic stress disorder got treatment.(6) It seems that most people with depressive disorders or certain anxiety disorders manage to make contact with services; but usually only after a delay of several years. The younger the age at which someone becomes ill, the greater the delay, and the lower the chance of getting treatment. Depression and anxiety disorders are especially likely to be left untreated if they begin in childhood.(7) Among children aged 9-17, only about one-fourth of those with mental disorders and significant impairment used any type of services for mental, behavior or substance use problems in the past year.(8)

We may be able to reduce the burden of mental illness. The causes of mental disorders are only partly understood; they include genetics as well as life events and environment. Mental disorders occur in every social, ethnic and economic group, but are generally more common in people with fewer resources. This seems to be due to at least two mechanisms: serious mental illness limits one’s earning power; and certain kinds of stress, including that of poverty and disadvantage, can increase the risk of becoming ill.(9) Reducing economic stress could prevent some cases of mental illness and lessen the severity of others.

Footnote: One of the criteria for SMI is significant impairment in one or more major life activities. An estimated 6.5% of New Mexico’s population are SMI, according to the federal Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS) of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Similarly, studies on children and adolescents were used to estimate a 9% rate of SED in New Mexico. The methods are discussed in detail in references (4), (10), and (11) in the references section.

Behavioral Health Services Division, New Mexico Department of Health (treatment, prevention):

• (505) 827-2601
  
  

New Mexico Human Services Department:

• General (information and referrals):
  From Santa Fe, (505) 827-9454
  Toll-free, (800) 609-4833
  
  
• Medical Assistance Division (Medicaid)
  From Santa Fe, (505) 827-3100
  Toll-free, (888) 997-2583
  
  

Crisis Response (24 hour per day hotline/referral)
(505) 820-6333
Toll-free (888)-920-6333

Parents for Behaviorally Different Children
(505) 265-0430
1-800-273-7232