[okareaman]

> Like, fathers were getting their daughters committed for being "too promiscuous"?

That's a really old-fashioned concern. It used to happen in the 50's and 60's, but patient rights have come a long way since then. The most anyone can do in CA is 5150 a relative, which is a 72 hour hold. That's not done more often because in 3 days and they're out on the street again, refusing to take meds. Mental health pros need to be able to hold someone longer and force a 30 day injection of psych meds. Paranoid schizophrenics usually won't take their meds because they don't trust the system naturally. They are unable to make a rational choice (obviously) So we just abandon them and ignore them.

> extremely hard for people without a yuppie income to get mental health treatment in the United States

Not in California. Impoverished people have access to basic free health care with Covered California. The mental health people I talked to at the local hospital were very well qualified. Too bad I was too screwed up to listen to them.

[gautamcgoel]

My gf has Covered California insurance and it is terrible. In particular, 1) very few doctors are in network, so she can't see the specialist she needs and 2) the customer service is a joke; when she calls she spends an hour on hold, and the reps never have any idea what's going on. Would not recommend (she is self-employed, so her options are limited).