What the Experts Say

Among the advocates for parity of mental health is presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. "Our nation must do whatever it takes not only to remove the stigma from mental illness, but to begin treating mental illness as the illness it is on parity with other illnesses.

Accompanying Clinton on her message to congress is Dr. Steven Hyman, director of the National Institute of Mental Health. He sates that, "More than 19 million Americans suffer from depression alone. More than 2 million Americans have schizophrenia. We have also learned some very important facts about (mental illnesses). Mental illness are real illnesses of a real organ-the brain. Just like coronary artery disease is a disease of a real organ- the heart. We can make diagnoses, and these diseases are treatable.