A lot of bipolar persons are taking lithium. I understand that it does help with the symptoms of this disorder. This article tell us possibly why.
New Light On Bipolar Treatment Drugs - Potential Mechanism Identified For Lithium Operation In The Brain
Lithium has been established for more than 50 years as one of the most effective treatments for bipolar mood disorder.
However, scientists have never been entirely sure exactly how it operates in the human brain.
Now, new research from Cardiff University scientists suggests a mechanism for how Lithium works, opening the door for potentially more effective treatments.
Laboratory tests on cells have shown that Lithium affects a molecule called PIP3 that is important in controlling brain cell signalling. Lithium suppresses the production of inositol, a simple sugar from which PIP3 is made.
Lithium inhibits inositol monophosphatase (IMPase) an enzyme required for making inositol. Importantly, this research shows that increasing the amount of IMPase causes higher levels of PIP3. This can then be reduced by lithium treatment.
High levels of IMPA2, a gene for a variant of IMPase, has previously been linked to bipolar mood disorder. This new result suggests that Lithium could counteract the changes in IMPA2.
Professor Adrian Harwood of Cardiff School of Biosciences, who led the research, said: "We still cannot say definitively how Lithium can help stabilise bipolar disorder. However, our research does suggest a possible pathway for its operation. By better understanding Lithium, we can learn about the genetics of bipolar disorder and develop more potent and selective drugs.
"Further, altered PIP3 signalling is linked to other disorders, including epilepsy and autism, so this well established drug could be used to treat other conditions. Research into Lithium could become very important over the next few years."
Lithium is currently under clinical trial for the treatment of neurogenerative disorder amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)
The research, funded by the Wellcome Trust, is published in the journal Disease Models and Mechanisms.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Friday, April 24, 2009
Delay onset?
As the daughter of someone who was severely bipolar, I mean if she did not take her medicine she would be in a permanent manic state with delusions; I see the benefit of trying to delay the onset of this hereditary illness. Fortunately my two brothers and I did not "turn out" bipolar like our mother, even though we were at risk. Believe me, we were watched very closely by our father for any signs that we could be bipolar. But if this study will help identify a child who might be at risk due to a family member who is diagnosed bipolar, then this is a good thing. We need all the help we can get.
Pitt Researchers To Study Effects Of Early Intervention For Children Of Parents With Bipolar Disorder
Mood disorders tend to cluster in families and research shows that bipolar disorder is a particularly inheritable form of mood disorder. Since the strongest risk factor for developing bipolar disorder is having one or more family members with the illness, identifying and treating children of bipolar parents has become an important focus for prevention efforts.
A research team led by Ellen Frank, Ph.D., distinguished university professor of psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, and director of the Depression and Manic Depression Prevention Program at the Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic of UPMC, and Tina Goldstein, Ph.D., assistant professor of psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, is conducting a study to determine whether a specific type of talk therapy called Interpersonal and Social Rhythm Therapy (IPSRT), which was developed by Dr. Frank, will help to delay or even prevent the onset of bipolar disorder in children at risk for developing the illness due to a positive family history.
"We know that the chance that a person with a family history of bipolar disorder will develop the illness themselves increases with the biological closeness of the relationship," noted Dr. Frank. "The children of parents with bipolar disorder are therefore a very high-risk group that requires our attention."
Research has shown that if a child has one parent with bipolar disorder, the likelihood that he or she will develop the illness is between 5 and 10 percent. The risk can increase to about 15 percent if other relatives, such as siblings, aunts or uncles, are also affected. A child whose parents both have bipolar disorder is at a 30 percent higher risk of having the illness.
The IPSRT treatment approach is based on research showing that people with bipolar disorder, and those vulnerable to developing bipolar disorder, have especially sensitive circadian systems - meaning that disruptions in their sleep and social schedules, particularly during periods of stress, are associated with the onset of mood symptoms.
Normal shifts in sleep and social schedules occur during adolescence. Teens tend to want to stay up later at night and sleep in later in the morning. Yet, demanding school and social schedules often do not allow teens to get adequate sleep. The Pitt researchers believe that irregular schedules during adolescence, in combination with other risk factors, may increase the chances that an adolescent with a family history of bipolar disorder could develop mood symptoms. During treatment, a trained IPSRT therapist works together with the youth and family to improve stability in the teen's daily schedules and sleep cycles and to help enhance his or her interpersonal relationships.
"The possibility that we may be able to prevent or delay this serious illness before its full expression is very exciting," said Dr. Goldstein. "By intervening early, we hope to not only prevent the development of illness symptoms, but also decrease risk for other negative outcomes associated with bipolar disorder including academic, social and legal problems."
Individuals with bipolar disorder who are the parents of a child between the ages of 12 and 18 who do not have bipolar disorder, may be eligible to participate in the study. Participation involves an initial assessment interview with parent and child and attendance at 10 to12 free weekly counseling sessions for up to three months. Interviews with parents and children also are conducted to evaluate mood symptoms. Families will be compensated for their participation.
Pitt Researchers To Study Effects Of Early Intervention For Children Of Parents With Bipolar Disorder
Mood disorders tend to cluster in families and research shows that bipolar disorder is a particularly inheritable form of mood disorder. Since the strongest risk factor for developing bipolar disorder is having one or more family members with the illness, identifying and treating children of bipolar parents has become an important focus for prevention efforts.
A research team led by Ellen Frank, Ph.D., distinguished university professor of psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, and director of the Depression and Manic Depression Prevention Program at the Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic of UPMC, and Tina Goldstein, Ph.D., assistant professor of psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, is conducting a study to determine whether a specific type of talk therapy called Interpersonal and Social Rhythm Therapy (IPSRT), which was developed by Dr. Frank, will help to delay or even prevent the onset of bipolar disorder in children at risk for developing the illness due to a positive family history.
"We know that the chance that a person with a family history of bipolar disorder will develop the illness themselves increases with the biological closeness of the relationship," noted Dr. Frank. "The children of parents with bipolar disorder are therefore a very high-risk group that requires our attention."
Research has shown that if a child has one parent with bipolar disorder, the likelihood that he or she will develop the illness is between 5 and 10 percent. The risk can increase to about 15 percent if other relatives, such as siblings, aunts or uncles, are also affected. A child whose parents both have bipolar disorder is at a 30 percent higher risk of having the illness.
The IPSRT treatment approach is based on research showing that people with bipolar disorder, and those vulnerable to developing bipolar disorder, have especially sensitive circadian systems - meaning that disruptions in their sleep and social schedules, particularly during periods of stress, are associated with the onset of mood symptoms.
Normal shifts in sleep and social schedules occur during adolescence. Teens tend to want to stay up later at night and sleep in later in the morning. Yet, demanding school and social schedules often do not allow teens to get adequate sleep. The Pitt researchers believe that irregular schedules during adolescence, in combination with other risk factors, may increase the chances that an adolescent with a family history of bipolar disorder could develop mood symptoms. During treatment, a trained IPSRT therapist works together with the youth and family to improve stability in the teen's daily schedules and sleep cycles and to help enhance his or her interpersonal relationships.
"The possibility that we may be able to prevent or delay this serious illness before its full expression is very exciting," said Dr. Goldstein. "By intervening early, we hope to not only prevent the development of illness symptoms, but also decrease risk for other negative outcomes associated with bipolar disorder including academic, social and legal problems."
Individuals with bipolar disorder who are the parents of a child between the ages of 12 and 18 who do not have bipolar disorder, may be eligible to participate in the study. Participation involves an initial assessment interview with parent and child and attendance at 10 to12 free weekly counseling sessions for up to three months. Interviews with parents and children also are conducted to evaluate mood symptoms. Families will be compensated for their participation.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Where does it begin?
It does help to have early detection and prevention. Prevention is a strange word as most mental illness is not going to be prevented, but it can be maintained and sometimes controlled. I am glad this mother found her son, that he is currently on medicine and being seen by a mental health professional; but you can ask how long will he "agree" to take the medicine and see that professional? That is why I am not sure "early" prevention is the total answer. Continued maintenance for life is what will work. That I think is the hardest part of the mental ill process if you want to call it that. If you could chart one person's life of being bipolar, all the things they say, believe and experience are just like the next one. The bottom line I always say is that you go to bed with bipolar and you wake up in the morning with bipolar every day of your life. You have to "consciously maintain" this disorder, that is the real challenge.
Advocates rally for mental health treatment
AP
Monday, April 20, 2009
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Kim Pointer's 25-year-old son had been missing for about a month when she received a strange e-mail from him that included paranoid ramblings about the government and other organizations conspiring against him.
Pointer's son previously had been diagnosed with anxiety and depression, but now she feared his mental illness had progressed.
“It was a frightening to a degree, especially when I knew he was missing,” Pointer said. “But it was more heartbreaking than anything because ... I realized that my son had something terribly wrong with him.”
Pointer shared her story Monday with dozens of advocates for improving the mental health care delivery system in Oklahoma who gathered for Mental Health Day at the state Capitol.
Pointer said she eventually found her son and got him the treatment he needed, but not before she and her family had to wind their way through a complicated and expensive system of mental health treatment in Oklahoma.
With proper medication and health insurance through a new state program dubbed “Insure Oklahoma,” Pointer said her son is receiving the treatment and medication he needs and is employed as a valet for an Oklahoma City hospital.
But according to Terri White, the new director of the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, only 30 percent of the people in Oklahoma who suffer from mental illness receive the treatment they need. She said many of those people, who could be productive citizens with the help of early intervention and medication, end up instead in prisons and jails.
“If we don't have early intervention, there are serious consequences,” said White, who estimated 26 percent of Oklahomans suffer from some form of mental illness. “We do not put people in prison for having cancer. We should not put people in prison for diseases of the brain.”
Justin Jones, director of the Oklahoma Department of Corrections, confirmed that an estimated 72 percent of the more than 25,000 offenders in prison in Oklahoma have a history of mental illness.
Over the last decade, he said, the use of psychotropic medication by inmates has grown more than 300 percent.
Jones said when the state closed several of its mental health facilities in the 1990s, many of those receiving treatment never were bridged into community-based mental health programs and instead ended up incarcerated.
“I could tell you about anecdotal cases all day,” Jones said.
Jones also urged lawmakers to consider lifting a ban on access to mental health court for offenders convicted of a violent crime. He said mentally ill offenders often have previous convictions for assault or other crimes that make them ineligible for mental health court, which is designed to route mentally ill defendants into treatment instead of prison.
“It really limits a lot of people from getting the services they need through mental health court,” Jones said.
Advocates rally for mental health treatment
AP
Monday, April 20, 2009
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Kim Pointer's 25-year-old son had been missing for about a month when she received a strange e-mail from him that included paranoid ramblings about the government and other organizations conspiring against him.
Pointer's son previously had been diagnosed with anxiety and depression, but now she feared his mental illness had progressed.
“It was a frightening to a degree, especially when I knew he was missing,” Pointer said. “But it was more heartbreaking than anything because ... I realized that my son had something terribly wrong with him.”
Pointer shared her story Monday with dozens of advocates for improving the mental health care delivery system in Oklahoma who gathered for Mental Health Day at the state Capitol.
Pointer said she eventually found her son and got him the treatment he needed, but not before she and her family had to wind their way through a complicated and expensive system of mental health treatment in Oklahoma.
With proper medication and health insurance through a new state program dubbed “Insure Oklahoma,” Pointer said her son is receiving the treatment and medication he needs and is employed as a valet for an Oklahoma City hospital.
But according to Terri White, the new director of the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, only 30 percent of the people in Oklahoma who suffer from mental illness receive the treatment they need. She said many of those people, who could be productive citizens with the help of early intervention and medication, end up instead in prisons and jails.
“If we don't have early intervention, there are serious consequences,” said White, who estimated 26 percent of Oklahomans suffer from some form of mental illness. “We do not put people in prison for having cancer. We should not put people in prison for diseases of the brain.”
Justin Jones, director of the Oklahoma Department of Corrections, confirmed that an estimated 72 percent of the more than 25,000 offenders in prison in Oklahoma have a history of mental illness.
Over the last decade, he said, the use of psychotropic medication by inmates has grown more than 300 percent.
Jones said when the state closed several of its mental health facilities in the 1990s, many of those receiving treatment never were bridged into community-based mental health programs and instead ended up incarcerated.
“I could tell you about anecdotal cases all day,” Jones said.
Jones also urged lawmakers to consider lifting a ban on access to mental health court for offenders convicted of a violent crime. He said mentally ill offenders often have previous convictions for assault or other crimes that make them ineligible for mental health court, which is designed to route mentally ill defendants into treatment instead of prison.
“It really limits a lot of people from getting the services they need through mental health court,” Jones said.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Broadway
I would like to see this one.
Mental illness shatters family in Broadway musical 'Next to Normal'
NEW YORK — There are no easy answers to be found in "Next to Normal," a startling, emotion-drenched musical about one family's attempt to cope with mental illness. The show is an impressive achievement, a heartfelt entertainment that has found its way back to New York after an invaluable out-of-town retooling.
It's startling because the production, which opened Wednesday at Broadway's Booth Theatre, tackles the uncomfortable subject of manic depression with a straightforwardness that is commendable.
And it's emotional, too, in that Brian Yorkey, who wrote the book and lyrics, and Tom Kitt, who composed the music, have crafted an affecting contemporary tale that doesn't shortchange character or plot in their attempt to tell a difficult story.
"Next to Normal" traces the anguished, downward spiral of a bipolar wife and mother, played by Alice Ripley. The actress is giving one of those fearless performances that is astonishing in its theatrical intensity and vocal commitment. Watching her unravel is a harrowing experience, as are the woman's attempts to combat her problems with pills, shrinks and electroshock therapy.
As she flounders, her family suffers, too. There is her husband (superbly played by J. Robert Spencer), a pent-up helpmate who is dutiful in his devotion and devoid of passion as he bottles up his own feelings.
And an overachieving daughter with anxieties of her own, problems that mirror her mother's own troubles. Jennifer Damiano plays her with a sweet insecurity, combative with her parents and resisting the affections of her stoner boyfriend, portrayed with ingratiating loyalty by Adam Chanler-Berat.
Monitoring this family destructiveness is her mysterious brother - a charismatic Aaron Tveit - and an eerily supportive doctor played by Louis Hobson.
What these performers all have in common are powerhouse voices, able to negotiate a pulsating pop-rock score. Actually, pop-rock doesn't do justice to Kitt's often haunting melodies and Yorkey's intelligent lyrics. Both are infused with a theatricality that helps define who these people are.
Under Michael Greif's sharp direction and the kinetic musical staging of Sergio Trujillo, the actors move with ease - and sometimes gymnastically - around designer Mark Wendland's multitiered set. It quickly transforms itself from suburban home to doctor's office and serves as the nesting area for the musical's small band.
The stage has been blindingly lighted by Kevin Adams, whose array of powerful, coloured lights give off an unnerving sense of dislocation that suggests the fragile state of the lead character's mind.
"Next to Normal" was seen early last year at off-Broadway's Second Stage Theatre with much the same cast. An engagement in late 2008 at Washington's Arena Stage allowed the authors to clarify what had been a more diffuse, less focused musical.
That newfound clarity has ratcheted up the show's effectiveness, making "Next to Normal" one of the most adventurous and satisfying musicals of the season.
Mental illness shatters family in Broadway musical 'Next to Normal'
NEW YORK — There are no easy answers to be found in "Next to Normal," a startling, emotion-drenched musical about one family's attempt to cope with mental illness. The show is an impressive achievement, a heartfelt entertainment that has found its way back to New York after an invaluable out-of-town retooling.
It's startling because the production, which opened Wednesday at Broadway's Booth Theatre, tackles the uncomfortable subject of manic depression with a straightforwardness that is commendable.
And it's emotional, too, in that Brian Yorkey, who wrote the book and lyrics, and Tom Kitt, who composed the music, have crafted an affecting contemporary tale that doesn't shortchange character or plot in their attempt to tell a difficult story.
"Next to Normal" traces the anguished, downward spiral of a bipolar wife and mother, played by Alice Ripley. The actress is giving one of those fearless performances that is astonishing in its theatrical intensity and vocal commitment. Watching her unravel is a harrowing experience, as are the woman's attempts to combat her problems with pills, shrinks and electroshock therapy.
As she flounders, her family suffers, too. There is her husband (superbly played by J. Robert Spencer), a pent-up helpmate who is dutiful in his devotion and devoid of passion as he bottles up his own feelings.
And an overachieving daughter with anxieties of her own, problems that mirror her mother's own troubles. Jennifer Damiano plays her with a sweet insecurity, combative with her parents and resisting the affections of her stoner boyfriend, portrayed with ingratiating loyalty by Adam Chanler-Berat.
Monitoring this family destructiveness is her mysterious brother - a charismatic Aaron Tveit - and an eerily supportive doctor played by Louis Hobson.
What these performers all have in common are powerhouse voices, able to negotiate a pulsating pop-rock score. Actually, pop-rock doesn't do justice to Kitt's often haunting melodies and Yorkey's intelligent lyrics. Both are infused with a theatricality that helps define who these people are.
Under Michael Greif's sharp direction and the kinetic musical staging of Sergio Trujillo, the actors move with ease - and sometimes gymnastically - around designer Mark Wendland's multitiered set. It quickly transforms itself from suburban home to doctor's office and serves as the nesting area for the musical's small band.
The stage has been blindingly lighted by Kevin Adams, whose array of powerful, coloured lights give off an unnerving sense of dislocation that suggests the fragile state of the lead character's mind.
"Next to Normal" was seen early last year at off-Broadway's Second Stage Theatre with much the same cast. An engagement in late 2008 at Washington's Arena Stage allowed the authors to clarify what had been a more diffuse, less focused musical.
That newfound clarity has ratcheted up the show's effectiveness, making "Next to Normal" one of the most adventurous and satisfying musicals of the season.
Monday, April 13, 2009
Movie
I saw the previews of this movie and want to see it. I know a lot of homeless are mentally ill.
Capitol Hill Briefing Scheduled for April 15th About Homelessness and Mental Illness
Approximately 123,000 People on Any Given Night Are Chronically Homeless Throughout America
Capitol Hill Briefing Scheduled for April 15th About Homelessness and Mental Illness
WASHINGTON, April 13 /PRNewswire/ -- On April 15th, there will be a Capitol Hill briefing called "Honoring The Soloist - A Congressional Briefing on Homelessness and Mental Illness." Author and award winning journalist Steve Lopez, Participant Media, Corporation for Supportive Housing, HELP USA, Lamp Community, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, the National Alliance to End Homelessness and Project H.O.M.E. have join forces to host this important briefing. The briefing is part of the social action campaign that Participant Media has created on behalf of the upcoming film The Soloist -- a national effort to raise awareness about and to help end chronic homelessness in the United States. The Soloist, a DreamWorks/Universal presentation in association with StudioCanal and Participant Media, will open in theaters April 24th.
The briefing and luncheon will take place Wednesday, April 15th from 12:30 pm - 1:30 pm (ET) at the U.S. Capitol Visitors Center in the South Congressional Meeting Room, Washington, DC.
The program will focus on the issues of mental health and homelessness and the fight to end chronic homelessness. The number of chronically homeless adults dropped by 28 percent between 2005 and 2007 largely due to the increase in permanent supportive housing. This proves that with proper resources we can end chronic homelessness. However, federal programs can and need to do more. It is not acceptable, regardless of a person's mental health, for anyone to experience homelessness and with proper support and treatment, housing stability can be achieved. The Soloist tells the story of Nathaniel Ayers, a gifted musician living with schizophrenia while homeless in Los Angeles, and his friendship with Steve Lopez, a journalist for the Los Angeles Times and author of the book on which the movie is based. Their story illustrates how essential it is for people living with mental illness or who are homeless to have strong personal relations or connections. The person living on the corner is still a person and needs friendship and people who care about them.
Speakers at the April 15th afternoon briefing include:
-- Steve Lopez, LA Times journalist and best-selling author of 'The
Soloist: A Lost Dream, an Unlikely Friendship and the Redemptive Power
of Music'
-- Steve Berg, Vice President of Policy and Programs, National Alliance to
End Homelessness, Washington, DC
-- Tom Hameline, Senior Vice President of Programs, HELP USA, New York, NY
-- Casey Horan, Executive Director, Lamp Community, Los Angeles, CA
-- Hyacinth King, formerly homeless resident and board member, Project
H.O.M.E.
-- Bob Carolla, Director of Media Relations, National Alliance on Mental
Illness, Arlington, VA
-- Deborah DeSantis, President and CEO, Corporation for Supportive
Housing, New York, NY
-- Sister Mary Scullion, Executive Director, Project H.O.M.E.,
Philadelphia, PA
Media Outlets interested in attending the briefing or requiring more information should contact Amanda Krusemark; akrusemark@naeh.org; (202) 942- 8281.
About The Soloist
The Soloist, starring Jamie Foxx and Robert Downey, Jr., directed by Joe Wright, will be released by Paramount Pictures to theaters nationwide on April 24th. A DreamWorks Pictures/Universal Pictures presentation in association with Studio Canal and Participant Media, the film is based on the true story of the relationship between Los Angeles Times columnist Steve Lopez and Nathaniel Anthony Ayers, a gifted Juilliard-trained string player whose mental illness landed him among the homeless on the streets of Los Angeles. Featuring the Los Angeles Philharmonic, The Soloist is a testament to the redemptive power of music and a reminder of our connections to the most vulnerable among us. www.soloistmovie.com, or www.TakePart.com
About Participant Media
Participant Media is a Los Angeles-based entertainment company that focuses on socially relevant, commercially viable feature films, documentaries and television, as well as publishing and digital media. Participant Media is headed by CEO Jim Berk and was founded in 2004 by philanthropist Jeff Skoll, who serves as Chairman. Ricky Strauss is President. Participant exists to tell compelling, entertaining stories that bring to the forefront real issues that shape our lives. For each of its projects, Participant creates extensive social action and advocacy programs that provide ideas and tools to transform the impact of the media experience into individual and community action. Participant's films include The Kite Runner, Charlie Wilson's War, Darfur Now, An Inconvenient Truth, Good Night and Good Luck, Syriana, Standard Operating Procedure and The Visitor. For more information, visit participantmedia.com.
Capitol Hill Briefing Scheduled for April 15th About Homelessness and Mental Illness
Approximately 123,000 People on Any Given Night Are Chronically Homeless Throughout America
Capitol Hill Briefing Scheduled for April 15th About Homelessness and Mental Illness
WASHINGTON, April 13 /PRNewswire/ -- On April 15th, there will be a Capitol Hill briefing called "Honoring The Soloist - A Congressional Briefing on Homelessness and Mental Illness." Author and award winning journalist Steve Lopez, Participant Media, Corporation for Supportive Housing, HELP USA, Lamp Community, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, the National Alliance to End Homelessness and Project H.O.M.E. have join forces to host this important briefing. The briefing is part of the social action campaign that Participant Media has created on behalf of the upcoming film The Soloist -- a national effort to raise awareness about and to help end chronic homelessness in the United States. The Soloist, a DreamWorks/Universal presentation in association with StudioCanal and Participant Media, will open in theaters April 24th.
The briefing and luncheon will take place Wednesday, April 15th from 12:30 pm - 1:30 pm (ET) at the U.S. Capitol Visitors Center in the South Congressional Meeting Room, Washington, DC.
The program will focus on the issues of mental health and homelessness and the fight to end chronic homelessness. The number of chronically homeless adults dropped by 28 percent between 2005 and 2007 largely due to the increase in permanent supportive housing. This proves that with proper resources we can end chronic homelessness. However, federal programs can and need to do more. It is not acceptable, regardless of a person's mental health, for anyone to experience homelessness and with proper support and treatment, housing stability can be achieved. The Soloist tells the story of Nathaniel Ayers, a gifted musician living with schizophrenia while homeless in Los Angeles, and his friendship with Steve Lopez, a journalist for the Los Angeles Times and author of the book on which the movie is based. Their story illustrates how essential it is for people living with mental illness or who are homeless to have strong personal relations or connections. The person living on the corner is still a person and needs friendship and people who care about them.
Speakers at the April 15th afternoon briefing include:
-- Steve Lopez, LA Times journalist and best-selling author of 'The
Soloist: A Lost Dream, an Unlikely Friendship and the Redemptive Power
of Music'
-- Steve Berg, Vice President of Policy and Programs, National Alliance to
End Homelessness, Washington, DC
-- Tom Hameline, Senior Vice President of Programs, HELP USA, New York, NY
-- Casey Horan, Executive Director, Lamp Community, Los Angeles, CA
-- Hyacinth King, formerly homeless resident and board member, Project
H.O.M.E.
-- Bob Carolla, Director of Media Relations, National Alliance on Mental
Illness, Arlington, VA
-- Deborah DeSantis, President and CEO, Corporation for Supportive
Housing, New York, NY
-- Sister Mary Scullion, Executive Director, Project H.O.M.E.,
Philadelphia, PA
Media Outlets interested in attending the briefing or requiring more information should contact Amanda Krusemark; akrusemark@naeh.org; (202) 942- 8281.
About The Soloist
The Soloist, starring Jamie Foxx and Robert Downey, Jr., directed by Joe Wright, will be released by Paramount Pictures to theaters nationwide on April 24th. A DreamWorks Pictures/Universal Pictures presentation in association with Studio Canal and Participant Media, the film is based on the true story of the relationship between Los Angeles Times columnist Steve Lopez and Nathaniel Anthony Ayers, a gifted Juilliard-trained string player whose mental illness landed him among the homeless on the streets of Los Angeles. Featuring the Los Angeles Philharmonic, The Soloist is a testament to the redemptive power of music and a reminder of our connections to the most vulnerable among us. www.soloistmovie.com, or www.TakePart.com
About Participant Media
Participant Media is a Los Angeles-based entertainment company that focuses on socially relevant, commercially viable feature films, documentaries and television, as well as publishing and digital media. Participant Media is headed by CEO Jim Berk and was founded in 2004 by philanthropist Jeff Skoll, who serves as Chairman. Ricky Strauss is President. Participant exists to tell compelling, entertaining stories that bring to the forefront real issues that shape our lives. For each of its projects, Participant creates extensive social action and advocacy programs that provide ideas and tools to transform the impact of the media experience into individual and community action. Participant's films include The Kite Runner, Charlie Wilson's War, Darfur Now, An Inconvenient Truth, Good Night and Good Luck, Syriana, Standard Operating Procedure and The Visitor. For more information, visit participantmedia.com.
Monday, April 6, 2009
Fun details about the brain
The Daily Graphic on Monday, March 23, carried the headline: “Mental Health in crisis”. It gave the impression that we now have a crisis in mental health. As a matter of fact, mental health has always been in crisis in Ghana.
We have refused and even today refuse to accept the fact that mental ill health is as a normal affliction as backache or cancer. We talk freely about prostrate cancer but would not acknowledge mental ill health.
Today, many consult the doctor about mental cases but the majority still consider mental illness an affliction which requires “spiritual” intervention by the native doctor.
We should disabuse our minds of the idea that mental illness is a strange ill health. The Daily Graphic was right to highlight the observation of the Chief Psychiatrist that "at any time between 30 and 40 per cent of the population suffer from one mental health problem or another".
This means that many of our health problems are more of a matter of our mental state than we think. It is this realisation which will lead to adequate mental hospitals and more than four doctors in the public service.
The mental health hospital was known not long ago as the “Lunatic Asylum”. It was outside Accra, between the “native” quarters and the European Ridge. It gave the name to the area known as ‘Asylum Down’ and it was not a place you admitted that your relations and friends were.
We have come a long way from those days.
But the progress made is far from sufficient. We do not readily accept the fact that mental health is a normal affliction and that the mentally ill can be assisted to work just as those with duodenal ulcer can.
Many years ago, I was talking to a friend of mine who had won a difficult case in court. Another friend asked me where the brilliant lawyer had his practice since he would like to consult him. When I said that he lived at the Asylum, he could not believe it.
This brilliant occasionally mentally ill lawyer came from a distinguished family of learning. The family did not feel embarrassed that one of their kind was in the mental hospital. He practised his law as part of the necessary therapy. Today, many of us would not readily admit that we have a relation in the mental hospital.
Many of the mentally ill need not be admitted in mental hospitals. Their treatment requires long hours of interaction with doctors and great understanding and assistance from relations and friends.
The power of the mind over the physical state is enormous. Many illnesses cannot be treated without dealing with the mental state. A gynaecologist friend of mine was telling me the other day how some women who wanted babies badly developed big bellies as if they were pregnant. The mind is more creative than we are prepared to believe.
The public attitude is crucial to the treatment of the mentally ill. “Lack of enough mental healthcare doctors” is not the only impediment to the treatment of patients with mental health problems.
Public understanding is most important. We have more schizophrenics among us than we realise. This should be of public concern. Treatment or management of such people requires public recognition, acceptance of the condition, knowledge and understanding.
We should rid ourselves of prejudices and do something about the crisis in mental health. As economic conditions deteriorate, the mental health of people will come under pressure. Mentally-related illnesses will increase. Doctors and hospital facilities alone cannot deal with the problem. We need public awareness and involvement.
The stresses of life in the modern world are great. Our leaders are often under severe pressure. Are they fit to take the decisions they take? These decisions affect us. We should ensure that our leaders enjoy good mental health.
We should abandon the taboo about mental illness. Public awareness of mental health should be spread. We should understand the problems and issues so that we maintain good mental health in society at large and within the national leadership.
Our present unsatisfactory national mindset may be related to the general mental health of the nation arising from the economic, social and political stresses of life. I welcome a symposium which took place at the Press Centre on April 2, 2009, which dealt with this and other matters.
We have refused and even today refuse to accept the fact that mental ill health is as a normal affliction as backache or cancer. We talk freely about prostrate cancer but would not acknowledge mental ill health.
Today, many consult the doctor about mental cases but the majority still consider mental illness an affliction which requires “spiritual” intervention by the native doctor.
We should disabuse our minds of the idea that mental illness is a strange ill health. The Daily Graphic was right to highlight the observation of the Chief Psychiatrist that "at any time between 30 and 40 per cent of the population suffer from one mental health problem or another".
This means that many of our health problems are more of a matter of our mental state than we think. It is this realisation which will lead to adequate mental hospitals and more than four doctors in the public service.
The mental health hospital was known not long ago as the “Lunatic Asylum”. It was outside Accra, between the “native” quarters and the European Ridge. It gave the name to the area known as ‘Asylum Down’ and it was not a place you admitted that your relations and friends were.
We have come a long way from those days.
But the progress made is far from sufficient. We do not readily accept the fact that mental health is a normal affliction and that the mentally ill can be assisted to work just as those with duodenal ulcer can.
Many years ago, I was talking to a friend of mine who had won a difficult case in court. Another friend asked me where the brilliant lawyer had his practice since he would like to consult him. When I said that he lived at the Asylum, he could not believe it.
This brilliant occasionally mentally ill lawyer came from a distinguished family of learning. The family did not feel embarrassed that one of their kind was in the mental hospital. He practised his law as part of the necessary therapy. Today, many of us would not readily admit that we have a relation in the mental hospital.
Many of the mentally ill need not be admitted in mental hospitals. Their treatment requires long hours of interaction with doctors and great understanding and assistance from relations and friends.
The power of the mind over the physical state is enormous. Many illnesses cannot be treated without dealing with the mental state. A gynaecologist friend of mine was telling me the other day how some women who wanted babies badly developed big bellies as if they were pregnant. The mind is more creative than we are prepared to believe.
The public attitude is crucial to the treatment of the mentally ill. “Lack of enough mental healthcare doctors” is not the only impediment to the treatment of patients with mental health problems.
Public understanding is most important. We have more schizophrenics among us than we realise. This should be of public concern. Treatment or management of such people requires public recognition, acceptance of the condition, knowledge and understanding.
We should rid ourselves of prejudices and do something about the crisis in mental health. As economic conditions deteriorate, the mental health of people will come under pressure. Mentally-related illnesses will increase. Doctors and hospital facilities alone cannot deal with the problem. We need public awareness and involvement.
The stresses of life in the modern world are great. Our leaders are often under severe pressure. Are they fit to take the decisions they take? These decisions affect us. We should ensure that our leaders enjoy good mental health.
We should abandon the taboo about mental illness. Public awareness of mental health should be spread. We should understand the problems and issues so that we maintain good mental health in society at large and within the national leadership.
Our present unsatisfactory national mindset may be related to the general mental health of the nation arising from the economic, social and political stresses of life. I welcome a symposium which took place at the Press Centre on April 2, 2009, which dealt with this and other matters.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Trying to do the Right Things
I remember my mother's psychiatrist, years ago, telling me that the doctors in his profession were leaving the field in droves. This article is one of the reasons why. Most doctors have a conscience and try to do the right thing with their patients, but either families or the laws get in the way of treatment that makes sense. I see that the problem still exists.
IMAGINE YOU live in a small town, and your son is found to have a brain tumor. Faced with such a devastating illness, you would not hesitate to find the means to get to a medical center, even if it were in a city more than an hour from your home. You probably would search for high-quality specialists to provide the best care possible.
But consider that your son has another serious illness affecting his brain, but one you cannot see on a scan. I am referring to serious mental illness. Rather than assuming that this child deserves to have access to the same specialized care, our culture has colluded in the belief that a primary care doctor will be an acceptable provider of care.
As a pediatrician I take care of many children diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. For this problem I consider myself well qualified to provide excellent care. But often, what starts out as a diagnosis of ADHD proves to be much more complex. One child (I have changed details and combined stories in order to protect the privacy of my patients) did well enough for several years, but began to display increasingly angry and aggressive behavior. I made multiple adjustments in her medications, all along expressing concern to her mother. There were many obstacles to getting an appointment with either a therapist or child psychiatrist, so I continued to treat her.
Then one day, she told me she was so angry that she feared she would hurt someone. I notified the local crisis team, making it clear that I knew this family very well, that I was worried about her, and that I wanted to be called after she had been seen. No one called. They simply referred her back to me to adjust the medication.
Now I was both worried and angry. I called the one local psychiatrist who accepts the family's insurance. He told me that until he could be sure that the patient's insurance would go through, "she's your responsibility." I explained to him (not in a nice voice) that I had reached the limits of my expertise, that this girl and I both needed his help. After more days of multiple calls, she had an appointment with both a therapist and a child psychiatrist.
Another patient who had a history of severe abuse as a young child followed a similar course. For several years he did OK on his ADHD medication. But he began to fail in school. He was extremely anxious. After a particularly explosive and frightening scene that included threats of self harm, I told his mother that I was referring him to a child psychiatrist.
After jumping through multiple hoops, I was able to find a psychiatrist who had room in his practice. Yet a month later, I got a message in my office requesting a refill of his medication. I called his mother to clarify my plan to transfer his care to a child psychiatrist. She was upset that the psychiatrist's office was an hour away and wanted to keep things the way they were. When I again explained that her son needed more help than I could offer, she yelled at me, "You're just leaving us out in the cold!"
So how have we gotten to this unfortunate situation where primary care doctors, who are clearly not qualified, are expected and encouraged to treat children with serious mental illness? I believe three main factors are at work. First, the pharmaceutical industry has been successful at promoting the idea that a pill will fix these often complex problems. Second, the insurance industry has made it very difficult for primary care doctors to refer patients for any mental health services. And third, there is a severe shortage of child psychiatrists.
Together these factors have converged to back us into a corner. If primary care doctors do not provide this care, the child will not get care, and we will be in effect abandoning our patients. This is an unacceptable situation. We must address this problem on all three fronts in order to ensure that these seriously troubled children have the same access to care as a child with a brain tumor.
Dr. Claudia Gold, a pediatrician, practices in Great Barrington.
IMAGINE YOU live in a small town, and your son is found to have a brain tumor. Faced with such a devastating illness, you would not hesitate to find the means to get to a medical center, even if it were in a city more than an hour from your home. You probably would search for high-quality specialists to provide the best care possible.
But consider that your son has another serious illness affecting his brain, but one you cannot see on a scan. I am referring to serious mental illness. Rather than assuming that this child deserves to have access to the same specialized care, our culture has colluded in the belief that a primary care doctor will be an acceptable provider of care.
As a pediatrician I take care of many children diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. For this problem I consider myself well qualified to provide excellent care. But often, what starts out as a diagnosis of ADHD proves to be much more complex. One child (I have changed details and combined stories in order to protect the privacy of my patients) did well enough for several years, but began to display increasingly angry and aggressive behavior. I made multiple adjustments in her medications, all along expressing concern to her mother. There were many obstacles to getting an appointment with either a therapist or child psychiatrist, so I continued to treat her.
Then one day, she told me she was so angry that she feared she would hurt someone. I notified the local crisis team, making it clear that I knew this family very well, that I was worried about her, and that I wanted to be called after she had been seen. No one called. They simply referred her back to me to adjust the medication.
Now I was both worried and angry. I called the one local psychiatrist who accepts the family's insurance. He told me that until he could be sure that the patient's insurance would go through, "she's your responsibility." I explained to him (not in a nice voice) that I had reached the limits of my expertise, that this girl and I both needed his help. After more days of multiple calls, she had an appointment with both a therapist and a child psychiatrist.
Another patient who had a history of severe abuse as a young child followed a similar course. For several years he did OK on his ADHD medication. But he began to fail in school. He was extremely anxious. After a particularly explosive and frightening scene that included threats of self harm, I told his mother that I was referring him to a child psychiatrist.
After jumping through multiple hoops, I was able to find a psychiatrist who had room in his practice. Yet a month later, I got a message in my office requesting a refill of his medication. I called his mother to clarify my plan to transfer his care to a child psychiatrist. She was upset that the psychiatrist's office was an hour away and wanted to keep things the way they were. When I again explained that her son needed more help than I could offer, she yelled at me, "You're just leaving us out in the cold!"
So how have we gotten to this unfortunate situation where primary care doctors, who are clearly not qualified, are expected and encouraged to treat children with serious mental illness? I believe three main factors are at work. First, the pharmaceutical industry has been successful at promoting the idea that a pill will fix these often complex problems. Second, the insurance industry has made it very difficult for primary care doctors to refer patients for any mental health services. And third, there is a severe shortage of child psychiatrists.
Together these factors have converged to back us into a corner. If primary care doctors do not provide this care, the child will not get care, and we will be in effect abandoning our patients. This is an unacceptable situation. We must address this problem on all three fronts in order to ensure that these seriously troubled children have the same access to care as a child with a brain tumor.
Dr. Claudia Gold, a pediatrician, practices in Great Barrington.
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