The gap between what we know and what we do is unacceptable.
The untreated reality of Behavioral Brain Disorders affects millions worldwide, resulting in unnecessary suffering, economic strain, and loss of human potential. Despite decades of progress in neuroscience, mental health remains underfunded, misunderstood, and stigmatized.
The Scope of the Problem
20% of the U.S. population will be affected by mental illness in their lifetime.
30% of mass violence is perpetrated by persons with behavioral brain disorders.
40% of homeless people are afflicted with behavioral brain disorders.
50% of all incarcerated persons have a behavioral brain disorder.
Between 46% to 90% of all persons who attempt or die from suicide have a behavioral brain disorder.
The estimated annual costs of depression alone in the U.S. totaled $326.5 billion in 2020, including both direct costs and indirect costs such as mortality arising from depression-related suicides and the effects of depression in the workplace (e.g., absenteeism).
Despite these staggering figures, the triplet of stigma/lack of access/misguided policies is keeping millions from receiving the care they desperately need.
Barriers to Progress.
Why is mental health care failing to meet the need?
- Stigma and Lack of Awareness: Historical misconceptions continue to discourage individuals from seeking care
- Lack of Access: Accessibility to providers and adequate care
- Affordability: Due to lack of insurance or costs of mental health services
- Fragmented Mental Health Care Systems: Lack of coordinated centralized care and difficult to navigate the system. There are gaps in services and obstacles to engagement.
- Media Neglect: Mental health receives less attention compared to physical illnesses like cancer or heart disease
- Systemic Underfunding: Policies fail to prioritize mental health, leaving critical needs unmet
Together, these factors perpetuate a 'treatment gap,' where millions suffer needlessly despite the availability of effective solutions. And that is precisely the point: we don’t use what we already know because we lack the social and political will and a winning strategy to effect the necessary changes.
