Family, Society, and Rehabilitation

Mental Illness and the Family Play audio - click here
File Type: Real Media. Download player here
File Source: Voices in the Family public radio show
File Date: August 13, 2001

The show focuses on major depression, but many of the issues (treatment, insurance coverage, dealing with psychiatrists, how the illness affects the family and children) are relevant to any family affected by mental illness. A segment about 10 minutes in describes the emergency behavioral health services in Philadelphia; related services may be available in other cities nationwide. Guest is Ron Hamlen, who tried to help his former wife battle severe depression. He describes this painful process in a new book "I Can't Make it Okay." Also speaking on the show is Psychologist Dr. Tom Kneavel, who wrote the foreword for Ron's book.

Schizophrenia, the Family, and Society Play video - click here
File Type: Real Media. Download player here
File Source: ABC news
File Date: Not given

Note: When you click on the video link above, a new window will open up on your web browser. To play the video, click on the button that says "watch video."

Schizophrenia can be a devastating disease that distorts the patient's understanding of the world and his or her place in it. With this distorted understanding come drastic changes in relationships with other people, from close friends to people on the street. For families especially, the pain and confusion of schizophrenia can be exhausting and isolating. Join our panel of experts (Dr. Joseph Battaglia of the Bronx Psychiatric Center in New York, and Dr. Anthony Salerno of the Rockland Psychiatric Center, New York)--along with Nathaniel Lachenmeyer, author of The Outsider: A Journey into My Father's Struggle with Madness, as they discuss the impact of schizophrenia on family, friends, and society.

Mental Illness and the Family Play audio - click here
File Type: Real Media. Download player here
File Source: The Infinite Mind radio show
File Date: May 12, 2004

Anger. Frustration. Resentment. Helplessness. If someone in your family has mental illness, you may be feeling all of these things. What can you do to help yourself, and by doing so your loved one as well? Plus, a special report on parents that have had to give up custody of their ill children to foster care when their mental health insurance runs out.

This program looks at Mental Illness and the Family. Host Dr. Fred Goodwin's guests include: Dr. David Miklowitz, a professor of psychology at The University of Colorado-Boulder and author of The Bipolar Disorder Survival Guide: What You and Your Family Need to Know; Dr. Lisa Dixon, an associate professor of medicine and psychiatry at The University of Maryland, where her research focuses on schizophrenia and family treatment; Dr. William Beardslee, a professor of child psychiatry at Harvard Medical school, Psychiatrist-in-Chief at Boston's Children's Hospital, and author of Out of the Darkened Room: When a Parent is Depressed: Protecting the Children and Strengthening the Family; Julie Totten, founder of Families for Depression Awareness; and Rose Styron, wife of writer William Styron, who suffers from major depression. With commentary by John Hockenberry.

Dr. Xavier Amador Play video - click here
File Type: Real Media. Download player here
File Source: Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center
File Date: Not available

Dr. Amador gives a presentation on his book "I Am Not Sick! I Don't Need Help!" This highly-recommended book (used by many schizophrenia.com members) explains why the mentally ill can't understand that they're sick, and how family members can help them accept treatment.

For more information on ordering the book "I Am Not Sick!" please see our Recommended Books section.

National Schizophrenia Foundation - Important Information for Families and Caregivers Play video - click here
File Type: Real Media. Download player here
File source: National Schizophrenia Foundation
File Date: N/A

Note: When you click on the video link above, a new window will open up on your web browser. To play the video files, click on the question that you would like to hear the answer to.

David Becker (NAMI member, active in patient advocacy and education) discusses the following questions from his own experience: when he noticed a change in his family member (son), how he dealt with unusual behavior, how he reacted to the diagnosis and what dhe wanted to know, how did schizophrenia affected his family and his marriage, what advice he might give to others.

Author Victoria Secunda - author of "When Madness Comes Home"
Play audio - click here
File Type: Real Media. Download player here
File Source: National Public Radio
File Date: August 1998

Note: When you click on the audio link above, a new window will open up on your web browser. To listen to the Audio file, click on the link that says "Morning Edition Radio."

An NPR Interview with Victoria Secunda, Author, When Madness Comes Home: Help and Hope for the Families of the Mentally Ill [Hyperion, 1998] - Victoria's sister has been diagnosed as manic-depressive, paranoid schizophrenic. Families often feel responsible for mentally ill relatives, but feel powerless to help them. Guests include: Eleanor Owen - Founding board member, National Alliance for the Mentally Ill - Founding member and Executive Director, Washington Advocates for the Mentally Ill - Sibling, father, son and niece are mentally ill. The Capitol Hill shootout focused national attention on the illness that Russell Weston was diagnosed with -- paranoid schizophrenia. In the days following the shooting, Weston''s parents apologized for the violent act their son is accused of committing.

For more information on ordering the book "When Madness Comes Home", please see our Recommended Books section.

The Outsider: A Journey Into My Father's Struggle with Madness
Play audio Part One ,   Play audio Part Two
File Type: Real Media. Download player here
File Source: National Public Radio
File Date: March 14, 2000

Note: When you click on the audio link above, a new window will open up on your web browser. To listen to the Audio file, click on the link that says "Morning Edition Radio."

An interview with Nathaniel Lachenmeyer, who has written the book "The Outsider: A Journey Into My Father's Struggle with Madness." His father, Charles, was a professor of sociology who lived a normal suburban life with his family until the onset of schizophrenia. The disease destroyed his life: he lost his job, his family, and ended up homeless. Nathaniel corresponded with his father until it became too difficult to continue. After learning of his father's death in 1995, he decided to find out what happened to him. In Nathaniel's book, "through interviews with family, friends, former colleagues and medical personnel, Lachenmeyer constructs a heartrending portrait of a man whose emotional illness eventually robbed him of everything, counterbalanced in part by the author's gradual understanding of the plight of homeless people, who are often the victims of madness and misfortune." (Pubhlisher's Weekly).

For more information on ordering the book "The Outsider", please see our Recommended Books section.

National Schizophrenia Foundation Video - The Recovery Process Play video - click here
File Type: Real Media. Download player here
File source: National Schizophrenia Foundation
File Date: N/A

Note: When you click on the video link above, a new window will open up on your web browser. To play the video files, click on the question that you would like to hear the answer to.

Eric C. Hufangel (President and CEO of the National Schizophrenia Foundation) addresses the following questions about recovery: what it's like returning home from the hospital, the effect of revealing a schizophrenia diagnosis to friends, family, and spouses, the coping techniques for living with schizophrenia, the impact of discrimination and stigma, and hope for the future.

Bebe Moore Campbell, author of "Sometimes my Mommy Gets Angry."
Play audio - click here
File Type: Real Media. Download player here
File Source: National Public Radio
File Date: Oct 2003

Note: When you click on the audio link above, a new window will open up on your web browser. To listen to the Audio file, click on the link that says "The Tavis Smiley Show audio."

Award-winning author Bebe Moore Campbell talks with NPR's Tavis Smiley about her new book for children, Sometimes My Mommy Gets Angry, which helps children understand bipolar disease [and mental illness]. The author is also a founding member of the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill in Inglewood, Calif.

For more information on ordering "Sometimes my Mommy Gets Angry", please see our Recommended Books section.

Child Carers of Mentally Ill Parents Play audio - click here
File Type: Real Media. Download player here
File Source: BBC radio
File Date: April 27, 2004

Sometimes the caretakers of people with brain diseases are barely out of childhood themselves. Host Lizz Pearson talks to a mother who had a mental illness and a child carer about how they coped. Alan Cooklin, consultant child and adolescent psychiatrist and Jenny Goodall, Director of Social Services for Brent discuss with Jenni the problems faced by children involved in caring for an adult with mental illness, why they have fallen through the social services net and what measures can be brought in to help them.

Psychiatrist Roberto Gil Discusses Schizophrenia and Recovery
Play audio - click here.    Play video - click here.
File Type: Real Media. Download player here
File Source: Columbia News brief
File Date: Jan 23, 2002

Roberto Gil, assistant clinical professor of psychiatry and head of the Schizophrenic Research Unit at the New York State Psychiatric Institute, talks about Mathematician John Nash's unique case, the common symptoms associated with schizophrenia and what family members can do to help. "It's a beautiful outcome but not a typical outcome," says Gil. View this clip in either audio or video format (See above)

Communities and the Mentally Ill Play audio - click here
File Type: Real Media. Download player here
File Source: National Public radio
File Date: Feb 17, 1999

Note: When you click on the link below, a new window will open up on your web browser. To listen to the Audio file, click on the link that says "Morning Edition Radio."

John Hinckley, the would-be assassin of Ronald Reagan, was recently granted supervised day visits outside the psychiatric hospital where he has been confined since his conviction. Many in the community are upset that a mentally ill man with violent behaviour in his past will be allowed even a limited degree of freedom. A number of highly publicized incidents involving violent acts by the mentally ill have also led to a call for greater monitoring of psychiatric patients. But advocates of the mentally ill are concerned that the patients' civil rights are in jeopardy. Join Ray Suarez and guests as they discuss how to balance the rights of the community to be safe with the rights of the mentally ill.

GUESTS: Dr. E. Fuller Torrey *Research psychiatrist *Executive Director of the Stanley Foundation (supports research on schizophrenia and bipolar disorder) *Author, Out of the Shadows: Confronting America's Mental Illness Crisis (John Wiley & Sons, 1996), and many other books on mental illness Ira Burnim *Legal Director of the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law.

NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) and Housing for the Mentally Ill
Play audio - click here
File Type: Real Media. Download player here
File Source: National Public radio
File Date: July 2002

Note: When you click on the audio link above, a new window will open up on your web browser. To start the audio file, click on the link that says "Listen to Joanne Silberner's report."

Mental health advocates are finding that people with disabilities usually have more success in a place of their own, rather than in an institution or even a group home. But they often encounter community resistance. In the third installment of NPR's series on finding homes for people who need support and services, Joanne Silberner visits a Pittsburgh, Pa. neighborhood that feels squeezed between its own needs -- and its duty to others.

Jailing the mentally ill - special report, Parts I and II
Play audio Part I.    Play audio Part II .
File Type: Real Media. Download player here
File Source: American Radioworks
File Date: June 25, 2004

Part I: Last year the U.S. Justice Department said 280,000 people with serious mental illnesses were in jail or prison-more than four times the number in state mental hospitals. Others statistics estimate that 1 in 6 inmates are mentally ill. American RadioWorks Correspondent John Biewen explores why. Link to Program Page - more good info.

Part II: The insanity defense tends to get attention in sensational, high-profile cases: the Unabomber, Lorena Bobbitt, and most notoriously, John Hinckley. Surveys show Americans worry that too many criminals escape punishment by saying they're insane. But, in fact, successful use of the insanity defense is rare-even for defendants with profound mental illness. American RadioWorks Correspondent John Biewen examines one case that illustrates the difficulties of claiming legal insanity: the story of Kyle Zwack. Link to Program Page - more good info.

For a personal account of how the legal system affects the sick and their families, see the book "Northumberland Nightmare - When Justice Ignores Mental Illness."

Families of the Mentally Ill: How Mental Illness Impacts Family Members
Play audio - scroll down in new window to find correct date, and click on "listen to show".
File Type: Windows media audio
File Source: Healthyplace.com radio
File Date: Sept 21, 2002

**NOTE about healthyplace.com - this is a commercial site supported largely by advertisers. While the information in these radio programs seem largely unbiased (mainly consist of callers and answers by a host psychiatrist), they contain significantly more advertisement segments than public radio programs.

Hear suggestions for family members on how to cope with mental illness, as well as callers who share their own personal experiences, coping strategies, and issues on the air.

UK Suicide Prevention Strategy Play audio - click here
File Type: Real Media. Download player here
File Source: BBC Radio (All In the Mind)
File Date: Sept 25, 2002

In order to tackle the problem of suicide, the government has unveiled its new prevention strategy for England, aiming to reduce the suicide rate by at least 20% by the year 2010. Although it stressed there's no single route to achieving this target, All in the Mind takes a look at a suicide prevention centre in Glasgow that believes it has the answer. Guests include Professor Keith Hawton, Director of the Centre for Suicide Research at the University of Oxford, and Simon Armson, Chief Executive of the Samaritans.

Cognitive Determinants of Work Status in Schizophrenia
Play video - click here
File Type: Real Media. Download player here
File Source: UCLA grand rounds
File Date: Nov 6, 2001
Speaker: Susan McGurk, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, Mt. Sinai School of Medicine, New York.

Returning to employed work is a common personal goal for many schizophrenia patients. Potential benefits for such patients include increased self-esteem and de-stigmatization, the rehabilitative effects of holding a job, and decreased overall morbidity costs for a patient population with an extraordinarily high unemployment rate. However, the challenges facing a schizophrenia patient wishing to hold a job can be daunting. Dr. McGurk examines some of these common obstacles, and possible solutions for them.

Improving Cognition and Work Capacity in Schizophrenia
Play video - click here
File Type: Real Media. Download player here
File Source: Yale University grand rounds
File Date: March 29, 2003
Speaker: presented by Dr. Morris Bell at Neuroscience 2003: Towards Recovery From Mental Illness - How The Brain Develops and Adapts.

Substance Abuse and Schizophrenia Play audio - click here
File Type: Real Media. Download player here
File Source: Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center (Mirecc)
File Date: Not available
Speaker: Dr. Melanie Bennett

Note: when you click on the audio link above, a new window will open in your web browser. You must download the sound file to your computer before using a media player to play it. The powerpoint slide presentation is available for viewing on the same page

Audio lecture and slide presentation cover epidemiology of substance abuse and schizophrenia, impact on the patient, diagnostic/assessment issues, and treatments/barriers to affective treatment.

Coping with the Stigma of Mental Illness Play video - click here
File Type: Quicktime video. Download player here.
File Source: University of Chicago grand rounds
File Date: Oct 2001
Speaker: Dr. Patrick Corrigan, coauthor (with Robert Lundin) of "Don't Call Me Nuts! Coping with the Stigma of Mental Illness."

Note: when you click on the video link above, a new browser window will open. Start the video by clicking on the picture of the presenter. If you can't see the picture, you need to download a quicktime video player.

Dr. Corrigan presents the stigma of mental illness: what we seem to know (the advocate's view of stigma in the media and the public mind), what we need to know (the researcher's questions - models of public stigma), and how to change it (education, legislation, and interactions).

Stigma and Mental Illness Play video - click here
File Type: Quicktime video. Download player here.
File Source: Wayne State University grand rounds
File Date: Oct 2003
Speakers: Steve Chin M.D. Resident, Dept. Of Psychiatry, WSU School of Medicine; Mr. Eric Hufnagel President and CEO National Schizophrenia Foundation.

Note: When you click on the video link above, a new window will open up on your web browser. To play the video, click on the link that says "begin."

Slide and video presentation explores the origins of mental illness stigma (in the media, in social attitudes, and in medical settings), the effects on the mentally ill and their families, and how to take steps to reduce the stigma. A panel discussion following the presentation includes guests from the National Schizophrenia Foundation and Schizophrenics Anonymous.