Dr. Fuller Torrey on why SAMHSA should be abolished

Treatment Advocacy Center founder Dr. E. Fuller Torrey explains why he is asking Congress to abolish the $3.6-billion Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Agency (SAMHSA)

• Category

  Nonprofits & Activism

[M1thotyn]

Are you sure that your real problem with them isn't the fact that they've at times listened to the "psychiatric survivor" movement, inviting speakers like Robert Whitaker and Jim Gottstein? Yeah, I think that's your REAL problem. They've allowed some people to have a voice, people who you otherwise would have held down and forcibly injected. Asshole.

[TheSensical]

dannyrox8-Your first statement was a fine example of Cognitive Dissonance, and the shallowness of people who really don't get Schizophrenia and Bipolar I Illness.

[TheSensical]

I believe that it is long overdue that the psychiatric community stop its obsession with self fulfillment and teach that self esteem is earned to halt the narcissism sweeping our country. I have and had family members with Schizophrenia. Our pain was devastating with no where to turn. Bipolar I is just as serious. What about us helping us SAMHSA instead of funding stickers for kids? Perhaps a psychiatric assessment for this organization is needed.

[marygendlebaum]

kbhope is wrong. SAMHSA does have authority to issue regulations to assure compliance with mental health and substance abuse block grants, as well as certain employer drug testing program requirements. SAMHSA assures state compliance with these regulations, and is also responsible for assuring that direct grantees follow the law and Congressional intent related to use of the funds. As for spending 50 mil to abuse a program, to be delicate, that sounds implausible.

[marygendlebaum]

Fuller implies that SAMHSA has $3.5 billion for mental health. It does not. It has more like $600 million for mental health the rest is for substance abuse. He also apparently fails to understand that SAMHSA's responsibilities extend beyond treatment to include prevention. It is always preferable to prevent suffering rather than wait until someone needs treatment, and then trying to fix the problem. In you think prevention cannot work for severe mental illness, catch up on the research.

[kbhope123]

Bravo To Fuller. He speaks the truth. SAMHSA is a non regulatory agency with no purpose other than to be a pass through for federal dollars going to the States. As a victim of their abuse (they have spent in excess of $50,000,000) as they have illegally seized our hotlines and tried to put our nonprofit out of business, grab our programs & duplicate them I can attest to Fullers stance as a voice of reason. SAMHSA crushed a grassroots movement by driving a wedge between crisis centers and us.

[dannyrox88]

....Those are the ones that should be cut. SAMHSA should at the most change it's name but not get cut. If they cut SAMHSA's budget the only ones losing are the people.

[dannyrox88]

Oh yeah? SAMHSA is doing more for my community than most, if not all other non-profit organizations. I agree that it has deviated from it's original purpose but that's not the fault of the people that are doing the work. They're only following the grant requirements. At least SAMHSA gives the money back to the community unlike other organizations who just hold most of it or not even use it......