Mental health bill a no brainer

*Appeared in the Laurel Leader Call newspaper in Jones County

It’s finally March, and lawmakers are about halfway through the 2021 legislative session.  From budget to taxes, from teacher pay raises to healthcare, legislators are tasked with figuring out which of these bills to pass, which bills to kill, and which bills need further deliberation.   

But I want to take a few paragraphs to discuss a bill that hasn’t received much attention: Senate Bill 2420, which would allow a temporary license for mental health counselors and other social workers to practice in nonprofit facilities and family counseling centers.  Eliminating bureaucratic red tape is a no-brainer, particularly during COVID-19 – which is exactly what this bill will do.

 

According to a recent report from the World Health Organization (WHO), mental health services have been disrupted by COVID-19 in 93 percent of countries worldwide – despite the demand for these services increasing.  The pandemic has triggered feelings of “bereavement, isolation, loss of income, and fear” while the virus itself can lead to “neurological and mental complications, such as delirium, agitation, and stroke.” 

 

Kaiser Family Foundation data echo WHO data, showing that about four in 10 adults in the U.S. have reported anxiety or depressive disorder symptoms, up from just one in 10 adults who reported such symptoms pre-COVID.  Many adults are reporting difficulty sleeping or eating, increases in alcohol consumption or substance abuse, and worsening chronic conditions due to worry and stress over the coronavirus.  These actions are directly linked to poor mental health outcomes. 

 

Sen. Brice Wiggins, a Republican from Jackson County, authored SB 2420 because he saw a need for Mississippi government to boost access to mental health services and get rid of bureaucratic red tape.  The bill would give mental health counselors from other states a temporary reciprocal license to provide counseling services in our state. 

 

“Bureaucracy is killing our state’s ability to compete nationally, not to mention get the needed services to our citizens.  We lack mental health and social work providers as it is and the pandemic has made it worse,” explained Sen. Wiggins. 

 

According to the Mississippi Department of Mental Health, one in five citizens experience mental illness in any given year.  As such, mental health counselors are in high demand, and getting appointments can be challenging for many people – especially lower income families and other vulnerable populations.  That’s why this bill focuses on issuing reciprocal licenses for providers in nonprofit facilities and family counseling centers, which tend to provide services to these populations. 

 

The legislation makes sense.  Not only does it pave the way for increased access to mental health care services, it also highlights a growing need for lawmakers to review licensing laws and eliminate unnecessary red tape.  

 

“I saw this bill as a way to both continue the march towards ending government inefficiency and get our citizens the services they need, all without raising taxes or spending any extra money,” said Sen. Wiggins. 

 

For anyone suffering from mental health challenges during the pandemic, there are resources available.  Pine Belt residents can check out our local community mental health center and its services at www.pbmhr.org.  

Governor sets “cultivating empathy” as major personal goal

*Appeared in the Laurel Leader-Call newspaper.

I watched Gov. Reeves’s State of the State address this week. He spoke about his goals for Mississippi, including growing the state’s economy, investing in workforce development, and pushing hard on COVID-19 vaccination distributions.  But what I felt was the most ambitious part of the speech had little to do with policy goals; in fact, it centered on something very personal – cultivating empathy. 

 

Specifically, Gov. Reeves said he was aiming daily at cultivating “more empathy.  It’s been in short supply in this world for some time now…and too often that leads us to see one another as enemies. It leads to corrosion in trust.”  

 

He continued: “We all want to be treated with grace.  And we’re all made in the image of a perfect God. So, my goal is to act like it.” 

 

I’m trying to remember when, if ever, I heard a government leader talk about empathy. I’m sure they have, but it seems to be more the exception than the rule. 

 

Research professor Brené Brown has spent two decades studying aspects of psychology including courage, vulnerability, shame, and – you guessed it – empathy. In her 2008 book I Thought It Was Just Me (But It Isn’t), Brown references four attributes of empathy: To be able to see the world as others see it; to be nonjudgmental; to understand another person’s feelings; and to communicate your understanding of that person’s feelings.  

 

Can you imagine how different politics would be if we all – citizens included – practiced a little more empathy? 

 

Likely, it would lead to a decrease in Facebook fightin’ and Twitter tantrums between groups of people who politically disagree and an increase in peaceful holiday gatherings among family members.  I’d also bet it would lead to more substantive policy, instead of disingenuous proposals designed to sow division for the sake of scoring political points. 

 

At least, that’s my guess. 

 

A Washington Post op-ed focused on empathy in politics puts it like this: “Empathy is not a weakness. Listening with genuine curiosity can disarm people and open them to seeing things differently…surviving our divisions might require us all to choose [empathy].” 

 

I agree. We should strive to practice a little more empathy before jumping to political conclusions about why the other side believes what they believe.  

 

That can manifest itself in many ways.  It could mean having a real, honest conversation with someone that you disagree with in order to understand their point of view.  It might mean foregoing a Facebook comment on someone’s post you don’t like.  Small, intentional acts of empathy can help to improve political discourse and cut down on the anger that is plaguing our country.

 

To Gov. Reeves I say, good luck with your personal goal of cultivating more empathy. And thank you for bringing awareness to this psychological necessity of peaceful politics (just in time for the legislative session).  I hope this can be the start of a shift back to a more civil political landscape.

 

After all, like the Governor said, we “cannot allow cruelty to win. We must rise above. We must love our neighbors as ourselves.”