Posted by gardenergirl on February 1, 2005, at 23:45:07
In reply to Scary, posted by Dinah on February 1, 2005, at 20:26:28
It's my understanding that this concept came about initially as a recommendation from President Bush's New Freedom Commission on Mental Health. The issue was that mental disorders are being underdiagnosed across all ages, but children and the elderly were particularly overlooked. *One* of the recommendations to address this was to provide for some kind of screening in primary settings, such as schools and family doctor offices.
And then apparently some legislator got ahold of this idea and went a bit wild with it. APA has put out a statement (and I am working from a tired brain here, so I may be remembering it wrong or interpreting it wrong) that it does NOT support wide spread and mandatory screening without proper safeguards and properly trained screeners in place. In addition, they of course advocate for consent, confidentiality, and adequate treatment for those who truly need it.
gg
poster:gardenergirl
thread:451245
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20050128/msgs/451441.html