Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

A Sociopolitical View Of Mental Health: An Exploration Of The Lived Experiences Of Policymakers Regarding Their Perspectives Surrounding Mental Health Policy Construction, Katie C. Fetzer

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

A substantial gap exists between those who are considered experts on mental health (e.g., academics, mental health professionals) and those in charge of constructing mental health policies (e.g., legislators, Senators). This gap is in areas of both knowledge and professional relations. Mental health professionals are not adequately trained to engage in policy advocacy and reform efforts and have little to no policy advocacy training (Smith, Reynolds, & Rovnak, 2009). Policymakers lack necessary knowledge related to mental health for effective mental health policy construction (Corrigan, Druss, & Perlick, 2014; Lee, Smith, & Henry, 2013). As a result of this gap, mental …