Mental Health Matters

I applaud writer Emory Holmes II and clinical psychologist Lewis Martin King for their bold attempt to resurface an ongoing issue in our health community (“A Healthy Dose of Civility,” Metropolis, Oct. 23). Mental health is all too often at the forefront of numerous preventable medical conditions.

As a social worker, I encounter patients who are in dire need of professional counseling or therapeutic placement. They are bombarded with 10 to 20 medications, which they can barely recall how or when to administer. On the other hand, snazzy pharmaceutical sales associates are greatly rewarded when they sell the concept of a new psychotropic drug to a physician.

King’s views are accurate. More of us should be bold enough to speak up and bring civility back into our world of medicine. Then perhaps we won’t be so annoyed when someone truly needs more than a simple pill.

CR Cochrane-McClurkin

Chatsworth