The Mother's Act

I personally am trying to navigate all of the polarized opinions circling through the media right now. It seems like another women's issue is being placed in the light of "All or Nothing" you are either with us or against us, our agenda vs. their agenda. What I keep wondering is: where are client's in all of this? Where are the women, their needs, their desires for treatment? The women that are NOT in support make it seem as though the Mother's Act is horrible and completely financially driven, however, they are seeming to have their own "agenda" and not telling the whole story much like they argue the supporters OF the bill are not telling the whole story. I think it's dangerous for clinicians to join either FOR or AGAINST groups because the healthiest place a clinician can be is with their client. This means there are times when medication is appropriate, times when talk-therapy, increasing supports and crisis resolution is enough. I'm not for offering medication as the FIRST option but I'm not for offering it at the very end either. I'm for it being an option that is to be utilized in the appropriate situations. I think this is where the art of the provider comes in and knowing where your client fits into their environment, their circumstances, their history, their supports, etc. Certainly you are going to have a broad spectrum of providers, some better at what they do and some not so great. I realize we are in a drug driven society, however, their is a time and a place and thankfully we live in a society where there are options for women. I don't think the answer is 100% medication or 100% no medication. I simply think it's high time to get women's issues out of the agenda driven extremes and back to the client as the center of the issue. There are pieces of this bill that I am still uncertain about as I am trying to sift through what is fact and what is media, but it's worth the effort to better educate myself so I can help my community, my clients and myself.