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As an advocate for the National Alliance on Mental Illness, Diana Hankins has received phone calls from South Lake Tahoe parents concerned a stigma of violent tendencies will be attached to children with mental illnesses in the wake of the Virginia Tech killings.
The director of the alliance, Dr. Ken Duckworth, said people should do their homework on people with mental illnesses.
"More often, people living with mental illness are the victims of violence," he stated. "Severe mental illnesses are medical illnesses. They are different from episodic conditions. They are different from sociopathic disorders. Acts of violence are exceptional."
El Dorado County Presiding Judge Suzanne Kingsbury oversees a mental health court where offenders with mental illnesses are supervised in the two-pronged approach of punishment and rehabilitation.
"Millions of people in our country suffer from mental illness and very few of them display the kind of violent tendencies that were exhibited by the gentleman who committed the horrendous acts at Virginia Tech," Kingsbury said.
Many people with and without mental illnesses do not go through the court system, Kingsbury said. When tragedies occur, such as the Virginia Tech rampage, fingers point and eyes search for answers on what more could have been done, if it could have been prevented, Kingsbury said.
"We wish we had more money and more resources ... Unfortunately we don't have that capability," Kingsbury said. "We do the best that we can with an eye toward public safety."
-- By William Ferchland, WFerchland@TahoeDailyTribune.com
Depression is one of the world's oldest and most common ailments. It can have both physical and psychological symptoms. Millions of Americans are estimated to suffer from depression, a condition so widespread that it has been dubbed "the common cold of mental illness."
- Center for Disease Control and Prevention
In 2000, 10 percent of college students and 13 percent of college women were diagnoses with depression
- National Mental Health Association
n Depression ranked fourth in top 10 physical and mental problems
n 37 percent of students have felt so depressed it was difficult to function
n 51 percent of students have felt things were hopeless
n About 7 percent of females and 4 percent of males have seriously considered suicide
- National College Health Assessment, 2005
The director of the alliance, Dr. Ken Duckworth, said people should do their homework on people with mental illnesses.
"More often, people living with mental illness are the victims of violence," he stated. "Severe mental illnesses are medical illnesses. They are different from episodic conditions. They are different from sociopathic disorders. Acts of violence are exceptional."
El Dorado County Presiding Judge Suzanne Kingsbury oversees a mental health court where offenders with mental illnesses are supervised in the two-pronged approach of punishment and rehabilitation.
"Millions of people in our country suffer from mental illness and very few of them display the kind of violent tendencies that were exhibited by the gentleman who committed the horrendous acts at Virginia Tech," Kingsbury said.
Many people with and without mental illnesses do not go through the court system, Kingsbury said. When tragedies occur, such as the Virginia Tech rampage, fingers point and eyes search for answers on what more could have been done, if it could have been prevented, Kingsbury said.
"We wish we had more money and more resources ... Unfortunately we don't have that capability," Kingsbury said. "We do the best that we can with an eye toward public safety."
-- By William Ferchland, WFerchland@TahoeDailyTribune.com
Depression is one of the world's oldest and most common ailments. It can have both physical and psychological symptoms. Millions of Americans are estimated to suffer from depression, a condition so widespread that it has been dubbed "the common cold of mental illness."
- Center for Disease Control and Prevention
In 2000, 10 percent of college students and 13 percent of college women were diagnoses with depression
- National Mental Health Association
n Depression ranked fourth in top 10 physical and mental problems
n 37 percent of students have felt so depressed it was difficult to function
n 51 percent of students have felt things were hopeless
n About 7 percent of females and 4 percent of males have seriously considered suicide
- National College Health Assessment, 2005
