Learning objectives:
- Understand how stigma and shame shape the lives of those affected by major mental illness.
- Be able to describe the lived experience of psychosis and how these symptoms affect individuals and their family members.
- Examine the challenges surrounding involuntary commitment in the United States.
- Understand what the treatment course may consist of for someone with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. Also be able to describe differing views about the effectiveness of medications in improving the symptoms and course of illness.
- Identify the ways in which the mental health system and medical practice can negatively impact individuals with major mental illness.
Abstract:
In this podcast, we explore the challenges that individuals with major mental illness and their families face through deeply personal stories. While Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder may be less prevalent than other mental disorders, they demonstrate some of the strongest associations with mortality and disability. Our guests illustrate just some of the many factors that contribute to this. We discuss what life is like when treatment doesn’t work or a family member refuses to voluntarily get help. Our guests share their experiences of stigma and shame, which unfortunately permeate the lives of many individuals affected by mental illness. We highlight what has given these individuals hope and how professionals can approach patients and families affected by bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.
Outline
- [1:45] Professor Elyn Saks on living with schizophrenia.
- [22:50] Therapist Isa Mattei on loving a brother with schizophrenia.
- [29:53] Rosemary Radford Ruether on the challenge of housing for a son with schizophrenia and her book, Many Forms of Madness.
- [35:22] Deb on coping with the stigma of bi-polar disorder at work, and her blog Living With Stigma.
- [42:46] Journalist Jeneen Interlandi on struggling to mandate care for a parent with bi-polar disorder.
Full Interviews Featured in this Episode
Experience of Schizophrenia
Elyn Saks
Loving a Brother with Schizophrenia
Isa Mattei
Parenting a Son with Schizophrenia
Rosemary Radford Ruether
Stigma and Being Bipolar
Deb McCarthy
Commitment to a Mentally Ill Parent
Jeneen Interlandi
Discussion questions:
- Try to imagine what being physically restrained would be like. What do you envision?
- How did you respond to the discussion of involuntary commitment? Do you agree with Jeneen Interlandi’s argument that protecting civil liberties may come at the expense of quality of life?
- Do you think Deb’s first psychiatrist was justified in telling her that she’d never work again? How would you approach the topic of future expectations while remaining both realistic and hopeful?
- What was your response to Rosemary Radford Ruether’s description of psychiatric hospitals as “warehouses”? If you had to design a mental health treatment facility, what would it be like?
- Did the story of Isa Mattei’s brother change how you think about a relationship with someone with schizophrenia?
Links to additional resources:
National Alliance on Mental Illness: Schizophrenia
NAMI resource on schizophrenia
National Alliance on Mental Illness: Clozaril
Information from NAMI about the medication Clozaril
Elyn Saks Ted Talk
2012 Ted Talk by legal scholar Elyn Saks discussing living with mental illness
Saks Institute for Mental Health Law, Policy, and Ethics
The Saks Institute is a think tank founded to foster interdisciplinary research among scholars and policymakers around issues of mental illness and mental health
American Psychiatric Associaton: Bipolar Disorder
APA resource about bipolar disorders
National Resource Center on Psychiatric Advance Directives
National Resource Center on Psychiatric Advance Directives
Articles:
Article for general practitioners that provides a general understanding of the psychiatric and medical issues specific to patients with schizophrenia.
“When My Crazy Father Actually Lost His Mind,” Jeneen Interlandi
Jeneen Interlandi’s New York Times article about her father
