Adolescent Mental Health Facilities

Adolescent Mental Health Facilities

An adolescent is defined to be someone who has undergone puberty but has not yet reached full adulthood. This time usually begins at the start of middle school. It is a very stressful time for most adolescents because of all the changes going on around them. Not only are they dealing with social stresses, but things at home might not be all right. They may be starting to use drugs, or even worse they could be addicted already. Sexual pressure also starts to become a more frequent stressor. These problems may not seem to be the end of the world for adults, but it can cause severe damage physically and mentally, to an adolescent. More and more teenagers are encountering tough situations that drive them to have mental disorders. In extreme cases going to a mental health facility or psychiatric ward of a hospital is the best thing one could do to help these adolescents. The problem is that there are not enough facilities like that for teenage sufferers. More adolescent psychiatric wards or mental health facilities need to be built solely for the overwhelming number of teenagers with mental disorders.

The first mental health facility in the United States opened in 1773 in Williamsburg, Virginia. By 1832 there were 32 facilities, and those that were mentally ill in jail and almshouses were being moved into these places. In 1930 the US finally established a division called the Narcotics Division to bring together research on drug addiction and metal disease and how to prevent and treat both of these problems. In the 40’s during World War II there was a shortage of mental health personnel. It got so bad that federal action had to be taken. There was a proposal for a mental health program and from that came the National Mental Health Act of 1946. After President Truman signed this act a significant amount of money was put towards the research and education of mental illnesses. All the money and research lead to the founding of the National Institute of Mental Health in 1949. Also in 1949 lithium was discovered to reduce the symptoms of bipolar disease, but the FDA did not approve the drug until 1970. Congress authorized the Mental Health Study Act of 1955. Then in 1956 they also appropriated $12 million to the research of psychopharmacology. In 1965 there was a major improvement in mental health care. The improvements included, “Construction