By Dr. Beth Rutkowski

Suicide claims the lives of nearly 40,000 people in the United States annually. Therefore, “suicide prevention” might sound like an easy sell ... but I'm not convinced. Focus on “suicide prevention” trivializes the need to address the larger issue - the prevention of the diverse mental health challenges that can lead to suicide. If we were to address physical health care in a similar manner, we'd be supporting “death prevention.” Such a broad and unfocused goal seems ridiculous, even insulting. Why are we preaching the equivalent in mental health?

Conversations need to be started about specific mental health conditions and their prevention. Education should start young. Children must become familiar with mental health disorders- how common they are, the importance of not blaming those afflicted, and the ways of getting help. This assumes, however, that the world is prepared to educate these children. Presently, this isn’t the case.

If a friend is limping through a soccer game, you tell them to stop playing and treat their injury. If a coworker is complaining of chest pain, nobody hesitates to recommend they see a physician. However, If we were to discover someone crying in the office bathroom, we balk at suggesting they see a therapist. When a friend is coping with the end of a relationship, we rarely tell them to take some personal days.

As a psychologist, I often have people call me aside and discreetly request guidance in dealing with emotional or behavioral challenges. Would I be approached in a similar manner if I was a medical doctor being asked about a sprained ankle? As a society, we model that mental health struggles should be concealed. Therefore, it follows that people are reluctant to seek help until times are dire. Our private behaviors indicate that we already know this is a problem, but it needs to be part of everyday discussions for real progress to be made.

Mental Health professionals, patients, and allies have fought long and hard to have their services reimbursed by health care insurances. With the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), all Qualified Health Plans offered through the Health Insurance Marketplaces must include coverage for mental health and substance use disorders. That coverage must comply with the Mental Health Parity & Addiction Equity Act, which requires the same level of benefits for mental health or substance use disorders as for general medical treatment.

However, prevention remains a missing piece. Expectations for health care plans include many services designed to prevent physical illness and injury, including dietary counseling, tobacco screening, and Sexually Transmitted Infection prevention counseling. For mental health, there is a single provision: depression screenings (for adults only). Out of over 300 psychiatric diagnoses, one is addressed- after it has already manifested, and it is not addressed for youth. This is not parity.

This week, May 19 through 24, is National Prevention Week. It is an initiative dedicated to increasing public awareness of, and action around, substance abuse and mental health issues. Personally, I saw more attention for National Chocolate Chip Cookie day (May 15, apparently). Now is the time to get to work. This is our job- you, me, and everyone else out there. Prevention should not begin at the end. Let's move beyond preventing suicide and start preventing suffering.

Dr. Beth Rutkowski is a Fully Licensed Psychologist and a Certified Advanced Alcohol and Drug Counselor. She currently employed as a grant coordinator for the Detroit Wayne County Mental Health Authority's Systems Transformation Project and has a private practice in Farmington Hills, MI.