Sorry for not sending summer Mental Illness News. Here are
recent developments in serious mental illness (not mental “health”).
Announcement: VIDEO FOOTAGE WANTED
We would like video of people with serious mental illness who
are off medications and psychotic. If you have, please send. Try to get
permission to use, but if you can't, we can blank out faces if needed. We want
to educate the public about what serious untreated mental illness looks like.
Footage may come from police interrogations, home video, trials, whatever. Most
advocacy groups won’t allow public to see untreated serious mental illness. We
want to change that because we believe a better understanding will lead to
better laws and treatment.
LIBERTARIAN Thomas Szasz, progenitor of the ‘mental illness
is a myth’ myth died.
Szasz’s ideology that mental illness is a myth has permeated parts of
government and prevented millions from receiving treatment. The NY Times obit
revealed his prior connection to Scientology. Relatedly, we prepared a fact sheet comparing and
contrasting Scientology (CCHR) and Mindfreedom. To their credit, the Libertarian Cato
Institute ran our piece on How involuntary commitment & Treatment can
increase civil liberties of mentally ill. Dr. Ronald Pies highlighted the pathology of schizophrenia and Rael Jean Issac, author of the most brilliant book on
subject, Madness in the Streets took on Szasz directly.
CONSUMER NEWS
In light of the above, advocates argue for more police training.
We believe if the mental health system were trained not to abandon people
with serious mental illness and hide behind civil commitment laws the police
would not need to be called.
It is nice to see consumer leaders emerging willing to stand up
to the anti-treatment Szasian wing of the movement:
FAMILY NEWS
Families
are between a rock and a hard place: if they call the mental health system,
they won’t help unless their child is well enough to accept help. When they
deteriorate and the family is forced to call police, police can feel threatened
and shoot. as two cases in CALIFORNIA demonstrated.
- Julian Kurita in NY received the minimum sentence, after his mom pleaded for the court for
leniency when he was convicted of killing her husband, his father due to
his schizophrenia.
- Jeneen Interlandi wrote a moving and highly visible piece in Sunday NY Times Magazine about civil
commitment laws creating an inability to get her father treatment for his
mental illness and the needless pain and suffering that caused. Hundreds
of families commented.
POLITICS OF SERIOUS MENTAL ILLNESS:
“The suspect's parents will be blamed, though our
civil rights laws make it extremely difficult for
family members to force anyone to see a doctor or seek medical treatment if he
or she has a mental disorder and is acting oddly. By law, we protect the right
of an individual to be "crazy." Yet, we become outraged when a Cho or
a Loughner kill and maim.” Huffington Post blogger made a full-throated case for better assisted treatment laws.
CIVIL COMMITMENT NEWS:
BAD STATE NEWS:
MEDICAL BRIEFS:
New fact sheet shows ANOSOGNOSIA (lack of awareness that you are ill) prevents many
seriously mentally ill from getting treatment. There was a tempest in a teapot
when pop-media reporting spanking is associated with mental illness. Not true.
BEST QUOTES
”A mentally ill person in US can get a
gun easier than healthcare for their illness.”
"With respect to severe mental
illness, our county has a “can't do, can’t change, cant fund and can’t help
attitude”
said
Jim Bassler, who’s son Aron killed two and was hunted down by police and
killed after the mental health system used civil commitment laws to deny him
care.
PSYCHIATRISTS:
- Dr. George Dawson (a/k/a “Real
Psychiatry”) and James
Coyne (a/k/a “Skeptical Sleuth”) regularly tackle the internet memes, myths,
pop-psychology and nonsense surrounding serious mental illness. Coyne
wrote how the race towards early identification of ‘at-risk’ individuals
(as opposed to treating those who are already ill) may be leading to
oncologists being bribed by pharma to find 'mental illness' in Psychology Today.
- Dr. Sally Satel, Dr. Steve
Sharfstein, and Dr. E. Fuller Torrey did a brilliant serious mental illness roundtable discussion that focused on Dr. Torrey’s succinct analysis of the failure of federal
mental ‘health’ system.
The roundtable focused on SAMHSA encouraging states to move away from
medical treatment; the failure to use Assisted Outpatient Treatment; the
lack of psychiatric hospital beds and many of the other issues important
to Mental Illness Policy Org but ignored by mental ‘health’ community
(NAMI, MHA, consumertocracy, etc.)
JUDGES, POLICE & CORRECTIONS
- Judge Leifman says, ““We never deinstitutionalized; we just
transferred responsibility from a hospital system to the prison system,”
- GEORGIA prison chief wrote on why we
should “Decriminalize
Mental Illness”
- Michael Biasotti, President of NYS
Association of Chiefs of Police encouraged NY legislators to close the
cracks in Kendra’s Law.
NEW YORK
Mental Illness
Policy Org was very active in NYS this summer and started a NY Specific site. We wrote too many op-eds and
testimonies to present them all here.
NY FAILURE TO CLOSE CRACKS IN KENDRAS LAW:
In spite of our efforts the legislature did not close the cracks in Kendra’s Law as proposed by NYS Senator Catherine Young and Assembly Member Ailleen
Gunther. Mentally ill individuals discharged from prisons, jails, and
involuntary commitment will continue to go to the community without first
determining if they could benefit from enrollment in Kendra’s Law. This was a
victory for NY’s mental ‘health’ community and a defeat for those who care about people with serious
mental illness.
See numerous editorials and op-eds in NY Daily News, and op-eds in NY Post. We thank them for their support
(although don’t agree with periodic use of juvenile and offensive language).
Highlights include our own op-ed blaming NYS OMH Commissioner Michael
Hogan and this by Michael Benjamin. The Daily News blamed NYS Assembly MH Committee Chair Felix Ortiz for acknowledging the dangers and Felix Ortiz for doing nothing, and Felix Ortiz for promising hearings he never even held. Other papers
around the state (that no longer make the articles available online) also
supported reform. Thanks to our efforts the Department of Justice certified Assisted Outpatient
Treatment as an
“effective crime prevention strategy.”
PATIENT’S RIGHTS IN NY
NYS is holding hearings on how to
comply with Olmstead v. L.C. which held
that services for persons with mental illness be provided in the “most
integrated setting ". We testified greater use of Kendra’s Law can prevent people from going to
incarceration. The commission
did not hold any hearings in jails or prisons where those who live in the least
integrated setting are.
NY MENTALLY ORDERED OUT OF GROUP HOMES
NYS OMH Commissioner Michael Hogan also
issued instructions to kick seriously mentally ill people out of adult homes.
REPORT
ON NYS MENTAL HEALTH COURTS issued
LYNN SHUSTER one of the best advocates for improved care for seriously
mentally ill in NYS stepped down as leader of NAMI Buffalo. Her parting words,
“Never trust a bureaucrat. It's THEIR
money (and power and prestige, it's just our loved one's lives. And we know
which comes out on top. "Making nice" makes you feel good, but
doesn't result in success. News reporters are our friends. Tell the truth, the
REAL truth.... Maintain a sense of humor even in dark days--we all need to
laugh. Persevere. Persevere some more.... “
CALIFORNIA
Mental Illness Policy Org was very active in California and
started a site on Laura’s
Law and a site
on Problems with Proposition 63/Mental Health Services
Act. We had
numerous op-eds and letters published including this by Mary Ann Bernard
INSIDER
DEALING IN CALIFORNIA MHSA/PROP 63:
Mental Ilness Policy Org researched and issued a
report finding over $16 million of Prop 63 funds going to oversight
committee commissioners own organizations and a salary of $681,758 for Rusty Selix.
CA MHSA FUNDS NOT REACHING MENTALLY ILL
Due to voters altruistically passing
Prop 63, a 1% tax on millionaires to fund services (Mental Health Services Act)
for people with “serious mental illness”, California is the only state with
plenty of money to provide care for people with serious mental illness. But it
is being diverted elsewhere. Taking off on the work of Carla Jacobs, Rose King, Teresa Pasquini, and many others in CA, Hannah Dreier at
AP reported Calif mental health dollars bypassing mentally ill . This led to editorials, calls for an investigation, the consideration of an investigation, our criticism, and a coverup by those who approved the spending. (They failed to disclose that the
programs do not serve people with mental illness as the legislation requires.)
How can you help in California?
Be a Whistle Blower. The auditor wants
to hear about problems with MHSA. She needs your help. If you know MHSA
Programs that do not serve people with serious mental illness, especially in
Los Angeles, please send them to the auditor. Make them as specific as possible
and include links, details that will allow verification. You know the
California mental illness system better than the auditor, so send Ms. Howle the
tips she needs:
Elaine M. Howle
California State Auditor
555 Capitol Mall
Suite 300
Sacramento, California 95814
Phone Number: (916) 445-0255
General Fax: (916) 327-0019
Executive Office Fax: (916) 323-0913
Email
a copy of your information about programs that do not focus on serious mental
illness to those trying to stop the diversion of MHSA funds.
LAURA’S LAW
CalMHSA gave (and MHSAOC approved) a $2,917,092 grant to Disability
Rights California and $1,539,225 to California Network of Mental Health Clients
which will be used to prevent counties from providing Laura’s Law to patients
who could benefit from it. This supplements SAMHSA money flowing into CA also being used to prevent those who
don’t know they are ill from receiving treatment.
Thank you for your financial support which makes our work
possible. Together we will get more mental ‘health’ money going to people with
‘serious mental illness’.
