National Coalition of Mental Health Professionals and Consumers, Inc.

an educational foundation and advocacy organization serving mental health consumers and professionals

The focus of the National Coalition is mental health and substance abuse services.  We are concerned with questions of access, choice, privacy and quality.  While the Coalition may evaluate health-related laws or corporate services as they relate to our area of concern, we do not endorse any particular approach to health care or to mental health care. The focus of AMHA-USA is on practice support for ethical mental health professionals and the creation of strong local communities of mental health professionals. 

The e-zine is meant to provide easy access to many of the opinions that form the debate about health services.  We post articles that discuss some of the problems and difficulties that must be addressed in crafting any heath-care program, and articles that argue for specific policies related to health care.  We present papers that come from all sides of the political spectrum as well as links to articles concerning mental health practice.  If readers have access to articles that we have missed, please feel free to send a link to amha-info@nwlink.com 

We realize that none of our readers will agree with all of the positions expressed; neither do Coalition or AMHA-USA Board members.  We also know from research that most of us read articles and listen to arguments that are consistent with our particular views.  There are probably many reasons for this including cognitive ease; it is harder to read arguments with which we disagree and which probably encourage emotional responses and internal dialogues with the absent writer.  This human tendency can curtail open discussion and problem solving.  Given the complexities of health care delivery and the costs of care, we can assume that no perfect system exists.  All health care proposals and solutions will include strengths, weaknesses and trade-offs.  Anyone interested in the policy decisions that are and will be developed, will want to read arguments from various perspectives.  The e-zine is an attempt to make this easier.