Nowadays, terrorism can be considered to be one of the most refractory diseases in the contemporary world. It is necessary to organize the regular medical inspections, to provide accessible psychiatric help to all groups of the population, to concentrate on psychotherapeutic sessions rather than drugs, and to remember that it is hardly possible to cure terrorism but only to mitigate its effects.
Firstly, there is a need to put some clarity into the issue of interconnections between terrorism and mental disorders. The overwhelming majority of terrorists indeed have certain mental problems that can be considered to be more dangerous than the ones that the general population has. For instance, such mental disorders as schizophrenia, autism spectrum, or personality disorder are much more prevalent among terrorists than ordinary people. However, it will be wrong to confirm that severe psychiatric problems necessarily play a leading role in the individual’s involvement in terrorist activity (Corner, Gill, & Mason, 2016, p. 565). It is utterly important to understand that terrorism is always a choice, and the measures assumed for terrorists’ psychiatric treatment are to be added but not the major ones in a constant battle with terrorism.
Secondary, it is always easier to avert an illness than to cure it. Regular medical inspections and accessible psychiatric help can do a lot in the prevention of mental disorders’ development. However, only the employees doing particular types of work like the policemen, for example, can count on a regular psychological evaluation. Furthermore, it is also highly important for psychologists to place a greater focus on psychotherapeutic sessions than on drugging – people with mental disorders require communication not less than the medicaments. In 2015, 20.3% of patients with severe mental illnesses received only prescription medication, what, indeed, was not enough for efficient treatment of a serious mental disorder. Moreover, it is necessary to assure people that mental illnesses are to be seen as serious as physical health problems. Often, the population underestimates the importance of mental health until the moment when much more severe problems than depression appear. For example, 26% of patients did not receive any counseling as they were sure that they can handle their problems without treatment (Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality, 2016). At last, even in the USA people still, often feel confused and ashamed when it comes to visiting a psychologist or a psychotherapist. The attitude to the whole system of psychological treatment should change.
Thirdly, the measures to secure the society against the sick that endanger their own and other people’s safety could and should be assumed. In 2004, the so-called Baker Act (1979) – the law in Florida that allows involuntary hospitalization for people with serious mental problems – was amended to provide for court-ordered outpatient treatment. However, nowadays, this law is too rarely used because there is an acute need for financing for its implementation (Santich, 2015). More than that, this law caused a lot of disputes and disapproval in society.
Indeed, nowadays, there is the inefficiency of the formed system of psychological help in the USA. However, it would have been wrong to consider it as the main reason for the mass shooting happening over the last years. I strongly believe that to prevent acts of terrorism it is necessary, first of all, to limit or cut at all the arms sale but not to invest more money in the psychological treatment of mass murderers. Terrorism cannot be considered to be a disease that is possible to cure – on the contrary, as I mentioned above, it is always a choice of an individual. That is the reason why most of psychological measures and methods appear to be forceless in this case.
Finally, it might be concluded that it is necessary to provide constant psychiatric help to people with severe mental disorders to prevent them from possible crime.
References
Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality. (2016). 2015 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: Detailed Tables. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Rockville, MD.
Corner, E., Gill, P., & Mason, O. (2016). Mental health disorders and the terrorist: A research note probing selection effects and disorder prevalence. Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, 39, 560-568.
Santich, K. (2015). Mental illness law allowing court-ordered outpatient treatment rarely used. Orlando Sentinel. Web.