Expert: Treatment Could Prevent Shootings

Rob Gershon, chief clinical officer at Ozark Guidance, left, speaks Thursday alongside Tom Petrizzo, Ozark Guidance CEO, during a public forum sponsored by Ozark Guidance at the Jones Center in Springdale.
Rob Gershon, chief clinical officer at Ozark Guidance, left, speaks Thursday alongside Tom Petrizzo, Ozark Guidance CEO, during a public forum sponsored by Ozark Guidance at the Jones Center in Springdale.

— The shooting deaths of 26 people, including 20 children, in Newtown, Conn., affected people across the United States, according to a mental health professional.

“The shootings have created a sense of vulnerability for all of us,” said Rob Gershon, chief medical offcer for Ozark Guidance. “If something like this can take place in Newtown, it can take place anywhere.”

Gershon spoke at a forum Thursday at the Jones Center where mental health awareness, education and community concerns after the Newtown shootings were discussed.

Adam Lanza, 20, shot students, teachers and administrators Dec. 14 in an elementary school in Newtown before killing himself, according to authorities.

It is still unknown if Lanza had a mental illness,said Tom Petrizzo, Ozark Guidance chief executive officer. Those who committed other shootings have been diagnosed with mental problems, he said.

“The key is seeking early treatment,” Petrizzo said. “In any given year, 26 percent of adults will havea mental health challenge. Only half of them will receive treatment.”

Mental health challenges are as common as a cold, Gershon said. Fifty percent of all people will have some type of mental health challenge during his or her life, he said.

People see danger signals and don’t know what to do, said Jon Comstock, Benton County circuit judge.

“We need to remove the barriers to treatment,” Gershon said. “It’s normal to have some problems.”

Those who receive treatment are no more likely to be violent than the other people in their communities, Petrizzo said. Early treatment is the key to limiting the growth of those problems.

Petrizzo discussed two men involved in mass shootings. Jared Lee Longhner was arrested in January 2011 in connection with shooting19 people in Tucson, Ariz., including Gabrielle Gift ords, a U.S. representative who was holding a community meeting when the shootings occurred. In April 2007, Seung-Hui Cho shot and killed 32 people at Virginia Tech University before committing suicide.

Video of both men shows differences in their mental makeup, Petrizzo said. Longhner has been diagnosed with a mental illness, he said, and probably shot people during an episode. People like Longhner can be successfully treated, he said.

Cho was probably an antisocial psychopath whose dayto-day behavior masked his feelings, Petrizzo said. People like this are very hard to treat when they reach the mental state in which they will shoot people, he said.

Better screening is needed, said Dr. Sara McBee, a family physician from Fayetteville. Signs of potential problems come during the critical development between birth and 5 years of age, she said. Treatment works best at this age, she said.

Teachers and coaches can recognize problems and work to f ind treatment, Petrizzo said. A new program called Mental Health First Aid can help laymen recognize problems and offer assistance, he said.

Too many times, police are used as a safety net, said Frank Johnson, former Fayetteville police chief.People with mental illnesses only get worse in jail, he said.

“We don’t need people behind bars pleading for help,” Johnson said.

Preventing deaths like those that occurred in Newtown depends on what happens at meetings like Thursday’s, Gershon said.

“This is a starting place, not where it ends,” Gershon said. “We need to decide what we have to do and carry it through.”

News, Pages 1 on 12/28/2012

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