Hearing on Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders

C-SPAN: Mental health professionals testified on the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental well-being and substance use disorders before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. One witness said that the crisis began well before the pandemic, calling it “An accumulation of decades of neglect, stigma, and unequal treatment of mental health compared to physical health.” Much of the questioning focused on the increase in mental disorders in children and young adults. The witnesses spoke about ways to improve the mental health care system and substance use treatment, including increasing access to services in schools and providing more training for care providers.