Rep. Tim Murphy Challenges SAMHSA
Rep. Tim Murphy (R. Pa.) came out swinging hard Wednesday at SAMHSA, during a House Oversight and Investigations subcommittee of the Energy and Commerce Committee. It was the third session Rep. Murphy’s subcommittee has held about mental illnesses and it was a good one. (You can watch it here.)
SAMHSA has long been criticized by Dr. Fuller E. Torrey for wasting money on “feel good” programs that are not evidence based, for not paying adequate attention to severe mental illnesses, and for funding organizations that advocate anti-psychiatry and anti-medical model views.
Chairman Murphy relied heavily on Dr. Torrey’s past and current criticisms in his opening statement. Among his — Rep. Murphy’s — specific criticisms were that SAMHSA doesn’t focus enough of its funding and programs on helping persons diagnosed with bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and other severe illnesses, as evidence by the fact that it has only one psychiatrist on its staff and his expertise is substance abuse, not mental illness. SAMHSA was created to be the federal government’s main mental health agency.
How can the government’s number one mental health agency only have one psychiatrist on its staff of 574 employees? Murphy asked.
Murphy also chastised SAMHSA for its funding priorities. He specifically attacked a yearly “alternatives conference” that SAMHSA funds, which included a workshop called “Unleash the Beast” that promised to help attendees learn about mental illness by studying animal movements.
Rep. Murphy’s co-chair, Rep. Diana DeGette, quickly circled the wagons around SAMHSA, arguing that Congress was responsible for setting SAMHSA’s priorities and that many of its programs are worthwhile.
When it came to actually refuting Murphy’s (aka Dr. Torrey’s) specific criticisms, DeGette and her Democratic colleagues seemed to struggle, even when throwing softball questions to SAMHSA Administrator Pamela Hyde. She didn’t hit a single one into the outfield.
During her testimony, Hyde frequently demurred, answering that she didn’t have specific figures — such as how much SAMHSA spent funding its alternative’s conference. She refused to get specific, explaining that SAMHSA simply doles out block grants and really isn’t responsible for how states use federal dollars.
That’s nonsense.
