I, too, have been fortunate to get a good therapist through the "system," but I had to wait 9 weeks to see her the first time. The agency I go through is 30 case managers under-staffed (luckily, I don't need one), with approximately a 6-month wait. They send people in need of case management to a place called NetCare where they can get temporary help on a walk-in basis, but the wait is 4 or 5 hours and you see a different person each time. There are usually no hospital beds for mental illness available at any given time... when I needed to be hospitalized in June, I was sent to an outlying county about 45 minutes from my house (you should see the transport bill!).

The system is under-funded, under-staffed, and a at low priority for fixing. Many people in need of mental health care are shunted through the crimal justice system and end up homeless.