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The recent tragedy affected not only the Kletsky family, but the alleged murderer’s family as well.
As a volunteer for a fund that benefits sick children, I can attest to the steep rise in requests for financial assistance so that children can receive psychiatric help. I am sure that I am only seeing the tip of the iceberg. Why?
Financial reasons – very few qualified psychiatrists accept medicaid; many doctors don’t even accept traditional insurance. Even if they do, insurance companies’ coverage for mental health is very sparse. Thus families who recognize a need for treatment often don’t have the financial means ($500/week)to obtain services.
Privacy Issues – many families are still unwilling to admit to a problem; or if they recognize the problem, are concerned that no one else should realize there is a problem. There are shidduch issues to come into play.
Many (but certainly not all) of the dysfunctional families we see are the result of mental health issues that were ignored years earlier. Many (but not all) of divorces are the result of
one or both parties whose issues were ignored, or who grew up in a household with untreated mental health issues.
If, as a result of this horrific tragedy,our community is spurred to work on this issue, it would be a great zechus for the neshama of Leiby.
Maybe the movers and shakers out there, the askanim could set up a mental health facility which has salaried, heimishe professionals and which accepts medicaid and other insurances.
I would venture to say that the Oylam would contribute to this cause much as it contributes to Hatzolah, Misaskim, Chai Lifeline, etc. The facility could share premises with other medical personnel. In this way, a patient’s privacy would be protected as no one seeing the person entering the building or waiting room would know who the patient is seeing.
Please forward this message to any influential people you might know. Unfortunately, I am female who doesn’t know many big machers.
hadassa- I wish I could like your entire comment! Very very well written and very thoughtful! If I knew people, I def would forward!!
$500 a week is only in very extreme cases. It’s usually more like $400, every few months
And that’s for a top manhattan doctor
There ARE community mental health clinics. But they are being cut back, and with the federal government about to be cut even more, services will become even more difficult to find.
quark, I pay $300 a week and when I go see my psych which is monthly or bi-monthly it’s 450 and that’s with both my therapist and psych doing me a huge favor and giving me a break in cost. So no, it’s not usually 400 every few months.
Top Manhattan psychiatrists cost $750.00 per 45 minute session. (At least the last I check about 4 years ago.)
The evaluation visit runs around $500.00 and follow up visits run at around $350.00 …Medication is expensive too.. the problem is that there are few Frum psychiatrists that can relate and understand issues that are unique to the Frum community.
There is still a stigma getting involved with mental health – that until it is aired better in public there will not be any progress within the community.
The stigma {alot of time a result of ignorance of the prognosis and options}actually keeps alot of people from getting the help that will result in a better more fulfilling life.
i cannot agree more to the post of Hadassa.
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