According to the U.S. National Institute of Mental Health, nearly half of the mental issues begin at early ages, which ultimately may or may not lead to violent behavior.
Dr. Howard Liu, medical director of the Behavioral Health Education Center of Nebraska at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, said the United States have a shortage of child psychiatrics, which is utmost important.
The U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), considering the severity of the issue, commissioned a report that was to meet the shortage of all child and adolescent providers, Liu said.
According to the report: "There is a critical shortage of individuals trained to meet the needs of children and youth, and their families. As just one example, the federal government has projected the need for 12,624 child and adolescent psychiatrists by 2020, which far exceeds the projected supply of 8,312. There currently are only 6,300 child and adolescent psychiatrists nationwide, with relatively few located in rural and low-income areas."
Eric Butter, associate director of the Child Development Center at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Westerville, Ohio, another health expert recalls that in many places mental health professional appointments can delay for months and health insurance companies do not cover mental health issues, according to Medical Xpress.
Another difficult task is identifying those mentally ill patients who can pose a threat to the society or themselves, which is rare because not all mentally ill people will act violently.
"There are several forensic tools which are used in threat assessment for violence, but as any individual working in behavioral health knows, these are imperfect tools which can only give the clinician a general idea of risk," Liu said. "They are certainly no crystal ball for any specific individual."
Dr. Sandro Galea, chair of epidemiology at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, told ABC News, it is very important for parents to admit to their child's mental health issue which is often delayed. The early such issues are handled it is better for the treatment.
"I think it's tough to wrap your head around your kids needing treatment for anything, but we may be even more reluctant to accept the notion of mental illness," he said.
