There are many parts and players to the mental health system in the United States, but few people feel like it is helping enough people in need.
Dr. Thomas Insel, a psychiatrist and neuroscientist, is among them. And he comes from a place of knowledge; he was Director of the National Institute of Mental Health, and is currently a mental health advisor to California's governor.
He digs deep into what ails the mental health system, and proposes some remedies, in his book Healing: Our Path from Mental Illness to Mental Health. Among other findings, the author shows how focusing on mental illness as purely a medical condition misses the point; there are social factors that contribute.
We hear this and more in a visit with Dr. Insel.