It's great that we talk about mental health more openly these days, less great that there is a huge need for people to get services.
Thomas Insel knows a great deal about the U.S. mental health system, having worked in it, running the National Institute of Mental Health, and getting hired by California's current governor as mental health czar.
Insel catalogued the issues with the system in his book Healing: Our Path from Mental Illness to Mental Health. He points out the shortfalls in the system and what it would take to cover them.
The interview is from early 2022, and part of the reason for running it again is to highlight the arrival of the 988 mental health crisis line (think 911 for mental health) on July 16th.