Poverty and Serious Mental Illness: Toward Action on a Seemingly Intractable Problem

Area of Science:

• Community Psychology
• Mental Health Services Research
• Social Determinants of Health

Background:

• Poverty is a significant challenge for individuals with serious mental illness (SMI).
• Existing community mental health systems often fail to adequately address the socioeconomic factors contributing to poverty in this population.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine poverty among individuals with SMI and its implications for community mental health systems.
• To explore different perspectives on poverty (monetary resources, basic needs, capabilities) and their relevance to SMI.
• To advocate for a shift towards social justice and citizenship within mental health frameworks.

Main Methods:

• Review of three theoretical perspectives on poverty.
• Analysis of the limitations of current community mental health interventions.
• Conceptual argument for integrating social justice and citizenship into mental health practice.

Main Results:

• Community mental health programs are ill-equipped to address poverty due to an overemphasis on individual-level interventions.
• A social justice framework, incorporating the concept of citizenship, is necessary to complement the recovery model.
• Community psychologists possess relevant skills but require interdisciplinary collaboration to tackle poverty effectively.

Conclusions:

• Community mental health systems need to adopt a broader social justice approach to effectively address poverty among individuals with SMI.
• Integrating citizenship concepts alongside recovery principles is crucial for meaningful progress.
• Interdisciplinary collaboration is essential for community psychologists to make a substantial impact on poverty reduction for this population.