Mental Instability and Weapon Access | Video

Rene Thibault | 2/12/2013

In light of the recent shooting incidents across the nation, a lot of people are talking about the issue of mental instability and access to firearms. Officials from Trinity Health in Minot say it’s an issue that doesn`t have a clear solution.

One problem is there just aren`t enough mental health professionals to go around. In Minot, it can take two to three months to get an appointment with a psychiatrist. Meantime, gun retailers only have to perform criminal background checks, not mental evaluations.

“I think we need more providers, more access. And I think we need more training for the at large public, of signs of risk, for example if people all of a sudden become isolated to their room, or their behaviors changed, have they dropped all of their friends, have they gone out and gotten a lot of tattoos, have they changed their clothes? There are certain markers, an behavior patterns that people should just know about,” stated Dr. Booker Evans, a Staff Psychiatrist at Trinity Health.

One other challenge is the confidentiality between the mental health provider and the patient, and when or if, the authorities should be alerted.

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