Mental health care equally important in wake of tragedy

December 21, 2012

Dr. Micah T. Hoffman

Following last week's mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., that left nearly 30 people dead, many of them children, an increased focus has been placed on the issue of gun control. With guns at the forefront of national discussion, an equally important issue-- providing adequate help for those with mental health issues-- has been overshadowed.
Dr. Micah T. Hoffman, a licensed psychiatrist who grew up in Kersey and is currently practicing in Los Angeles, attributed this stigma to decades of a lack of understanding of what mental illness actually is.