Has Medicine Lost Its Mind?: Why Our Mental Health System Is Failing Us and What Should Be Done to Cure It

One in four Americans suffer from mental illness, yet 75% receive no treatment at all - discover why our healthcare system is failing millions and learn how we can fix it.

In this groundbreaking examination of America’s mental health crisis, internationally recognized physician Dr. Robert C. Smith exposes the devastating gap between physical and mental health treatment. Drawing on decades of clinical experience and evidence-based research, he reveals how the historical mind-body split in medicine has created a two-tier system of care with catastrophic consequences.

Key revelations include:

• Why medical schools fail to properly train physicians in mental health care
• How untreated mental illness costs society hundreds of billions in preventable healthcare expenses
• The hidden toll on families and communities when depression, anxiety, and substance abuse go untreated
• A practical roadmap for reform that puts mental health care on equal footing with physical medicine

Written with both scientific rigor and compassionate insight, this urgent call to action provides policymakers, healthcare leaders, and concerned citizens with a clear path forward. Dr. Smith, recipient of the George Engel Award and Career Teaching Achievement Award, brings unparalleled expertise to this critical examination of how we can transform mental healthcare in America.

Nationally and internationally recognized for his evidence-based teaching innovations in mental health care and the doctor-patient relationship, Robert C. Smith, MD has received the prestigious appointment of University Distinguished Professor of Medicine and Psychiatry at Michigan State University. Originally in private medical practice, Dr. Smith undertook additional training in mental health and patient-centered medicine, as well as research in mental health care, and has been in academics since 1978.

Dr. Smith developed the first evidence-based patient-centered method to guide teachers and their medical and nursing students and residents to master a physician’s single most important skill: the ability to communicate and form a strong partnership with the patient.

Among many awards, Dr. Smith has received the Master recognition from the American College of Physicians, the George Engel Award for Outstanding Research from the Academy on Communication in Healthcare, and the Career Teaching Achievement Award from the Society of General Internal Medicine. To date Dr. Smith has about 150 publications and receives from 350 to 400 Google Scholar citations per year to his published works. He has obtained major grant support from, for example, the private Fetzer Institute and federal institutions such as Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) and the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH).