ABSTRACT
The right to privacy—including the right to reject treatment for illnesses, physical or mental—is a deeply held American tradition. Highly predictable objections to identification and treatment of mental health problems will be raised, namely: violation of privacy, creation of stigma, ineffective treatment, and prohibitive cost. The violation of privacy argument strikes at the first step in intervention: measurement of mental health. People say that they simply don't believe in the identification and treatment of mental illness, often explaining that in their culture or in their community mental health problems are dealt with differently. The cost of treatment for mental health problems is often not paid by health insurance, so people seeking treatment must often pay for it out-of-pocket. Making schools the central location for the treatment of children's mental health problems—school-based mental health services—is an idea that has prominent proponents. The benefits of treatment may well be both a nearly immediate improvement in behavior and emotions and better long-term performance.
