APA Honors Rep. Matsui of California for Championing MH/SU Care

For her work advancing the treatment of mental and substance use disorders through legislation, APA awarded Rep. Doris Matsui (D-Calif.) with the Jacob K. Javits Award at a dinner last month.

David Hathcox

Named for the former senator of New York, the Javits Award is the highest honor APA confers on a public servant. It is reserved for lawmakers and public servants who demonstrate distinguished leadership in supporting psychiatry and mental health.

Expanding access to mental health care and substance use treatment is a very personal concern for Matsui: her sister Lois was first hospitalized for mental illness some 50 years ago—a time when there were few effective medication and treatment options, and there was little research on mental health, Matsui explained at the awards dinner. Lois now has early Alzheimer’s disease and lives in a care home, with her dreams of getting married and having a family shattered by her illness.

“I think about her every single day,” Matsui said. “I keep thinking she really shouldn’t be in that condition. It breaks my heart every day. And that is why I’m dedicated to ensuring that we can develop early interventions to prevent this from happening and do the research to find what will really work.

“I’m honored to receive the Javits Award from the American Psychiatric Association for my work on mental health and substance use,” Matsui said. “In Congress my top priority is making sure health care is more affordable for everyone, starting with access to mental health services and substance use treatment.”

Among Matsui’s many congressional accomplishments related to mental health and substance use treatment are helping to secure passage of the 21st Century Cures Act, a far-reaching law with multiple provisions to reform the mental health care system (Psychiatric News, December 30, 2016. She also championed the inclusion of Mental Health First Aid in Senate mental health reform efforts and helped pass the Affordable Care Act, which included an expansion of Medicaid, the nation’s largest provider of mental health care services. She also wrote the Excellence in Mental Health Act, which supports access to integrated behavioral and medical health care at Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHCs) in eight states.

The clinics provide for 24/7 crisis services, immediate access for behavioral health treatment, targeted case management, and medication-assisted treatment of substance use disorders. In many communities, the services are available for the first time. Matsui said she is now fiercely advocating to reauthorize the CCBHC demonstration for two more years and in 11 states—because current centers will begin losing their funding this month.

“Rep. Matsui has proven herself to be a devoted mental health advocate through her leadership that has led to the passage of critical mental health policies benefiting patients across the country,” said APA President-Elect Bruce Schwartz, M.D.

APA CEO and Medical Director Saul Levin, M.D., M.P.A., once lived in Matsui’s district during his medical training. “Like her late husband,” he said “Rep. Bob Matsui, Doris Matsui is a true model of fairness and public service. She is a notable advocate of mental health and is well deserving of this award.”

The awards dinner was part of APA’s Federal Advocacy Conference last month. More coverage of the conference will appear in the next issue of Psychiatric News. ■