A predictable narrative about mental illness begins almost immediately after every mass shooting in this country. Even before a word is said about gun control, the emphasis on the perpetrator’s mental state is already part of the story.
But as Marty Cassell, Clinical Director at Channel Marker, the Mid-Shore’s primary organization for mental health and wellness support, points out in his Spy interview from last month, it’s a false narrative that adds to the unfair stigma for those being successfully treated for their condition.
For over thirty years in the mental health field, Marty has never experienced any form of violence with his clients. He points out that there are many co-factors that lead to acts of violence, including media exposure.
This video is approximately five minutes in length. For more information about Channel Marker and its program please go here.
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William Burton MD says
I don’t get the point of this interview. Admittedly it is a small percentage of the mentally ill that commit violence but it is not as rare as he presents. Possibly this is because his experience is in a community based mental health facility. In my psychiatry rotation in medical school I witnessed at least one violent episode per month in a medium sized inpatient psychiatric facility.
I strongly disagree that mental health issues are only a part of the problem with the epidemic of mass shootings; it is THE issue. To blame multiple factors for this behavior obfuscates the central and is the raison d’etre for the unspeakably horrific epidemic we are witnessing.