(Sept 21, 2016) Over the 36 years he represented New Mexico in the United States Senate, Pete Domenici was the leading voice in Congress for the reform America’s dysfunctional mental health system. In retirement, Sen. Domenici and his wife Nancy have remained passionate advocates for people with severe mental illness and their families. Earlier this year, the Domenicis’ support was crucial to New Mexico’s enactment, at long last, of assisted outpatient treatment (AOT).
So it was no surprise that mental health reform was the dominant theme of the 2016 Domenici Public Policy Conference, held last week in Las Cruces, N.M. The conference, hosted annually by the Domenici Institute at New Mexico State University, brings together prominent leaders and thinkers to address the nation’s most pressing concerns. To address mental health this year, the Institute assembled an all-star lineup: former Congressman and reform agent Patrick Kennedy, Treatment Advocacy Center founder and psychiatrist E. Fuller Torrey, Miami mental-health-court pioneer Judge Steven Leifman, and author and family advocate Liza Long.
Collectively, these speakers painted a vivid picture of the tragedy of our current mental health system and, just as importantly, the encouraging work taking place in both public policy and scientific research that points the way to a better future if we summon the political will. The appreciative attendees included many New Mexico thought leaders, including the public officials now working to establish AOT programs in Las Cruces and Albuquerque.
Sen. Domenici took the stage to give a moving personal introduction of his longtime friend Dr. Torrey, asserting that "[t]here is no doubt, in the annals of the history of mental health reform, the brilliant Fuller Torrey will be there."
(photo credit: The Pete V. Domenici Institute)