A necessary boost to mental health services

The New York State Psychological Association applauds Gov. Kathy Hochul’s commitment to greater access to mental health services for all New Yorkers. The plan, outlined in her State of the State address, includes critical funding for mental health services to address this rising need.

The governor has laid out a long-overdue plan for the creation of a comprehensive array of mental health services along a continuum of care that doesn’t just rely on more hospital inpatient beds but also provides for an array of sorely needed outpatient and wraparound services. Making the necessary investments in the full package of needed services is key to ensuring a more effective mental health delivery system.

While earmarking appropriate funding is an important first step, how we allocate it matters, too. In order to “shore up” our current system, we need to be certain that we provide for all aspects of the continuum of care and ensure that one segment of the system is not neglected in deference to another. Each component plays an integral role in the system’s overall effectiveness.

Recognizing this, the governor’s plan has identified key elements to be targeted, creating the possibility of rapidly transforming and impacting the entire system, in real time, when we need it the most. The New York State Psychological Association remains committed to continuing to work with the state in providing all New Yorkers with access to a higher quality of mental health care. Gayle Berg Old Westbury President-elect, New York State Psychological

Association