Mental Health Article Poor

Especially as a member of the Ventura County Mental Health Advisory Board, I was quite interested, and unsatisfied, by the Oct. 18 article dealing with the 10 teams of mental health department professionals which serve “clients” in our county.

Our mental health department has been widely acclaimed throughout the state as a model of how to operate programs and provide guidance and personal assistance to the mentally ill.

The use of the team concept, an important part, provides self-contained groups of professionals within an area where they, as individuals and as smoothly working teams, become and remain familiar. They get to know the environment, lifestyle, population mix and political and organizational uniqueness of their area. It seems obvious that this pattern increases their efficiency as professionals and as users of time.

Internal priorities should be faced squarely with existing oversight machinery before lopsided criticism is encouraged by the press. The piece publishes nothing not currently on the front burner in-house.

EDWARD SHUCK

Thousand Oaks