UNH study shows stressed state mental health system

In a time of war and economic depression, when many are emotionally stressed, New Hampshire's community mental health service system is experiencing budget cutbacks and high strain, according to a new research report from the University of New Hampshire's Institute on Disability (IOD).

The report, "2009 NH Public Mental Health Consumer Survey Project, Summary of Findings," provides the second year of data based on consumer ratings of New Hampshire's 10 regional community mental health centers. Its author, IOD researcher Peter Antal, said it presented complex challenges and a continuously strained system.

Antal explained that a dangerous combination of increased demand for mental health services due to such crises as job loss and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and decreased federal funding has stressed the system. And there are even greater challenges to come. For example, the centers' collection of hospital data for mental illness treatment over the past 10 years has showed a dramatic increase in emergency room visits.

Jay Couture, executive director of nearby Seacoast Mental Health Center, has certainly felt the effects of cutback. She cited Medicaid cuts as the biggest challenge to mental health programs. The state allotted for a 1 percent increase in mental health services for its Medicaid dependents in 2009, but in the first three months, it grew by an astonishing 13 percent. No matter how little funding is available, state mental health centers are still legally bound to provide certain services. Even more cuts are due in January 2010.

Resultantly, Couture said much has been cut, including employee benefits. This can lead to rapid turnover rates, inconsistency, and a lack of coordination, which can severely disrupt treatment.