Mass shootingMental-health apps may reduce number of mass shooting events
Between 1982 and 2011, mass shootings occurred every 200 days on average. S since 2011, mass shootings have occurred every sixty-four days on average. Mass shootings have one thing in common: the culprits all suffered from mental illness and the condition was known to at least one person. New mobile app educates the public about mental illness and provides local and national resources for early intervention and treatment.
Mass shootings are occurring more often, according to a new research from the Harvard School of Public Health. Between 1982 and 2011, mass shootings occurred every 200 days on average, but since 2011, mass shootings have occurred every sixty-four days on average. The San Antonio Express-News pointsout that the mass shootings at Virginia Tech, Sandy Hook Elementary School, and the Century movie theater in Aurora, Colorado, all had one thing in common: the culprits all suffered from mental illness and the condition was known to at least one person.
To help manage and treat mental illness before it leads to another mass shooting, San Antonio-based Center for Health Care Services (CHCS) launched MentalHealthU (MHU), a mobile app to educate the public about mental illness and provide local and national resources for early intervention and treatment. “We know that one in four people will be diagnosed with a mental illness in this country, but most go untreated,” said Leon Evans, executive director of CHCS. “We know that people with mental illness are more likely to be victims of violent crime, rather than perpetrators of it.”
The app offers information on symptoms of mental disorders such as anxiety, depression, attention-deficit disorder, substance abuse, and schizophrenia. A section of the app titled “stigma-busters” aims to dispel misinformation about mental illness by highlighting mental illness as seen in popular culture. Abraham Lincoln and actress Catherine Zeta Jones both struggled with mental illness, the app notes.
MHU allows users to hit a “get help now” red button which will connect to a local hotline staffed by CHCS personnel trained to work with mental health patients. If necessary, the hotline staff will dispatch a mobile crisis intervention team to the user’s location. The app also has a button that links directly to 911 services. An increasing number of local police departments are training their staff to deal with emergencies involving mental health patients. “For example, they know not to use their ‘command voice,’” Evans said.
Another mobile app dedicated to treating mental illness is WhatsMyM3. By asking a series of questions, the software determines whether users exhibit symptoms of various mental health disorders. CEO David Shern, says the app “helps give you a normative sense of what’s in bounds and out of bounds” for mental health. “That can be helpful for anybody who’s curious about or worried about how they’re doing.”
