"Most important Mental Illness Policy Book of Year," say many.

JUST RELEASED! HOT OFF THE PRESS

Insane Consequences: How the Mental Health Industry Fails the Mentally Ill is by far the most well-researched and important book written on mental illness out today. With a foreword by Dr. E. Fuller Torrey, it is a must-have for anyone who wants better care for people with serious mental illness, reports on it, develops policy, works in mental health or criminal justice. It provides actionable ideas to lower rates of homelessness, incarceration, suicide, violence and expense.

Available on Amazon (hard cover and Kindle) and Barnes and Noble (hard cover and Nook).

Great reviews below from top advocates and media:

• Dr. E. Fuller Torrey
• Glen Close, Actress
• Sally Satel, MD, Yale University School of Medicine
• Pete Earley, Bestselling Author of CRAZY: A Father’s Search Through America’s Mental Health Madness
• Tom Dart, Cook County (Chicago) Sheriff
• Ron Powers, Pulitzer prizewinner and author of No One Cares about Crazy People: The Chaos and Heartbreak of Mental Health in America
• Susan Adams, senior editor, Forbes
• Norman Ornstein, resident scholar, American Enterprise Institute
• Rich Lowry, editor, National Review
• Allen Frances, former chair of the DSM-IV Task Force, former President, American Psychiatric Association, author of Saving Normal
• Rael Jean Isaac, coauthor, Madness in the Streets: How Psychiatry and the Law Abandoned the Mentally Ill
• Xavier Amador, Author of, I am Not Sick, I Don’t Need Help!, former Director of Psychology and Professor Department of Psychiatry Columbia University; and Board of Directors, NAMI
• Charlie Rangel, former Member, U.S. House of Representatives (D-NY)
• Eleanor Clift, Washington Correspondent, Daily Beast
• John Snook, Executive Director, Treatment Advocacy Center
• Chief (Ret.) Michael Biasotti, Contributor: International Association Chiefs of Police policy on handling of the mentally ill, and Fellow, U.S. Department of Homeland Security
• Dominic A. Sisti, PhD, Director, The Scattergood Program for Applied Ethics of Behavioral Health Care, Assistant Professor, Department of Medical Ethics & Health Policy Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania
• Robert Paul Liberman, M.D., Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry, UCLA School of Medicine, Director of the UCLA Psychiatric Rehabilitation Program
• Liza Long, author of The Price of Silence: A Mom’s Perspective on Mental Illness, a 2015 Books for a Better Life award winner
• Steven B. Seager, MD, producer/director of the award-winning documentary Shattered Families: The Collapse of America’s Mental Health System, and author of Behind the Gates of Gomorrah: A Year with the Criminally Insane
• Mia St. John, mental illness advocate and five-time World Boxing Council champion
• Natasha Tracy, author of Lost Marbles: Insights into My Life with Depression & Bipolar
• Anthony Daniels is the Dietrich Weismann Fellow at the Manhattan Institute and a contributing editor of City Journal.

Book Description: Insane Consequences

This well-researched and highly critical examination of the state of our mental health system by the industry’s most relentless critic presents a new and controversial explanation as to why—in spite of spending $147 billion annually—140,000 seriously mentally ill are homeless, 390,000 are incarcerated, and even educated, tenacious, and caring people can’t get treatment for their mentally ill loved ones. DJ Jaffe blames the mental health industry and the government for shunning the 10 million adults who are the most seriously mentally ill—mainly those who suffer from schizophrenia and severe bipolar disorder—and, instead, working to improve "mental wellness" in 43 million others, many of whom are barely symptomatic. Using industry and government documents, scientific journals, and anecdotes from his thirty years of advocacy, Jaffe documents the insane consequences of these industry-driven policies: psychiatric hospitals for the seriously ill are still being closed; involuntary commitment criteria are being narrowed to the point where laws now require violence rather than prevent it; the public is endangered; and the mentally ill and their families are forced to suffer.

Insane Consequences proposes smart, compassionate, affordable, and sweeping reforms designed to send the most seriously ill to the head of the line for services rather than to jails, shelters, prisons, and morgues. It lays out a road map to spend less on mental "health" and more on mental "illness"––replace mission creep with mission control and return the mental health system to a focus on the most seriously ill. It is not money that is lacking; it’s leadership.

This book is a must-read for anyone who works in the mental health industry or cares about the mentally ill, violence, homelessness, incarceration, or public policy.

Reviews of  Insane Consequences: How the Mental Health Industry Fails the Mentally Ill

"One of the most important books written on how to reform the mental health system."

—Dr. Fuller Torrey, Author, Surviving Schizophrenia

I certainly haven’t been an advocate for the mentally ill for as long as Mr. Jaffe, but even so, I find the arguments put forth in this book undeniable and his blueprint for how to fundamentally change how we must care for the seriously mentally ill just common sense, as difficult as it may be. The truth in this book haunts me with its blazing clarity. Mr. Jaffe’s informed and passionate plea for fundamental change is rooted in a sense of deep humanity. He has paid attention to those who are neglected and suffering right under our noses and challenges us to do something about it.

—Glen Close, Actress

"DJ Jaffe is a tireless champion of people suffering from severe mental illness. Insane Consequences overflows with DJ’s passion, insight, and, of course, his astute policy prescriptions. Essential reading for anyone concerned about America’s most vulnerable."

— Sally Satel, MD, Yale University School of Medicine

"DJ Jaffe spares no one in this scathing examination that asks: why are we turning our backs on the seriously mentally ill dying on our streets while we’re squandering millions? Insane Consequences delivers a searing indictment of our current policies and offers readers Jaffe’s road map for radically transforming how we can help the sickest of the sick. A timely and thoughtful analysis of a broken system that needs replacing."

—Pete Earley. Bestselling Author of CRAZY: A Father’s Search Through America’s Mental Health Madness

"In this book, DJ Jaffe importantly illuminates the countless and unacceptable failures of our mental health system—including the barbaric criminalization of mental illness, which places sick people in jails like my own, instead of treatment facilities. Jaffe also poses many commonsense solutions that should be taken seriously by lawmakers."

—Tom Dart, Cook County Sheriff

"Mental illness is America’s true ‘enemy within.’ Its tentacles devastate victims, families, communities, our court and law enforcement systems, our economy, and our national character—even as we focus our attention outward on endless ‘public’ issues. No one understands this better than DJ Jaffe. An activist hero in the arduous fight for mental healthcare reform, he has poured his vast wisdom and information into A slashing, comprehensive, highly readable call to awareness and action. Every literate American should read Insane Consequences. Every literate American. Period."

—Ron Powers, Pulitzer prizewinner and author of No One Cares about Crazy People: The Chaos and Heartbreak of Mental Health in America

"Insane Consequences exposes in relentless and compelling detail one of the worst public health scandals of our time. Instead of helping and treating people with serious mental illnesses like schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, we relegate them to the streets and homeless shelters, incarcerate and too often kill them. For thirty years, DJ Jaffe has worked as a tireless advocate for sensible government policies and for compassion and understanding of the real issues at stake affecting this vulnerable, abused population. This book will break your heart, make you furious, and ultimately give you hope when you read Jaffe’s smart ideas for reform."

—Susan Adams, senior editor, Forbes

"Life for those with serious mental illness—schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, deep depression—can be and usually is an unremitting hell. The emotional pain of the brain disease is often accompanied by homelessness, imprisonment (often in solitary confinement), and violent encounters with police or others. The emotional pain and dislocation is unremitting as well for families of those who have serious brain diseases, powerless to help their loved ones after they have reached the age of eighteen, especially loved ones with no recognition that they are ill, and family members are unable to get even basic information from health authorities under HIPAA. No one understands these problems more than DJ Jaffe, and no one has worked harder to remove the grip of an insensitive government bureaucracy and a mental health industry that turns resources away from the seriously ill while [We’re] forcing people with no recognition of their illness onto the streets or into the jails in the name of civil liberties. Insane Consequences is a guidebook that details what the problems are, who is responsible, and, most important, [details] what we should do to fix things. If we cannot cure serious mental illness, we can improve the lives of those who suffer from it. That is Jaffe’s life’s work and why this book is so important."

—Norman Ornstein, resident scholar, American Enterprise Institute

"The neglect of the seriously mentally ill is one of the greatest disgraces of our age. DJ Jaffe calls us back to common sense and basic decency in this deeply felt, important book. Read it, weep, and learn about the better path of treatment for the sick and find compassion for their families, topics that Jaffe sets out so compellingly."

—Rich Lowry, editor, National Review

"DJ Jaffe is a world’s expert at exposing the cruel paradox that we carelessly over-treat the worried well, while shamefully neglecting the really sick. A smart and compassionate call to action."

—Allen Frances, former chair of the DSM-IV Task Force, author of Saving Normal

"In this important, thoroughly researched book, DJ Jaffe exposes what is probably the largest, most audacious bait and switch operation in US history: unbeknownst to the public, what Jaffe calls ‘the mental health industry’ siphons off billions of taxpayer dollars each year, designed to serve the seriously mentally ill, to scientifically baseless or irrelevant programs (like prevention, when no one has the faintest idea of how to prevent major mental illness). Worse still, the small proportion of funds that go to the seriously ill are used to prevent treatment (under the false flag of civil rights) rather than to provide it."

—Rael Jean Isaac, coauthor, Madness in the Streets: How Psychiatry and the Law Abandoned the Mentally Ill

"DJ Jaffe gives us vital answers. There is no other book that so completely identifies, specifically, how the United States is condemning tens of millions of seriously mentally ill citizens to tragic lives of extreme isolation, homelessness, incarceration, violence, [and] suicide, and the lost chance of recovery. Much more than a screed against the mental health industry, lawmakers, the justice system, and an apathetic public, this book provides science-based commonsense answers that work. It should be mandatory reading for all involved in mental illness treatment, public safety, healthcare legislation, the justice system, and helping family caregivers."

—Xavier Amador, Author of, I am Not Sick, I Don’t Need Help! former Director of Psychology and Professor Department of Psychiatry Columbia University; and Board of Directors, NAMI

"I am proud that DJ Jaffe, a constituent and member of the Harlem chapter of National Alliance on Mental Illness, has been tirelessly advocating to help the seriously mentally ill. Through increased awareness and improved public policy as outlined in this book, we can combat challenges we face to ameliorate mental health."

—Charlie Rangel, former Member, U.S. House of Representatives (D-NY)

"In the complicated and often crazy world of mental illness, DJ Jaffe provides important guidance to journalists seeking a sound bite while conveying controversial information."

—Eleanor Clift, Washington Correspondent, Daily Beast

"Insane Consequences is a thorough accounting of the innumerable tragedies and lost opportunities brought about by America's broken mental health system. This book is the culmination of DJ's long history  of speaking truth to power and provides a  compelling counter-argument  to those who would attempt to maintain the current status quo."

—John Snook, Executive Director, Treatment Advocacy Center

Insane Consequences does an amazing job explaining the impact of the failed mental health system on the criminal justice system. Every advocate, police chief, sheriff, district attorney, and mayor should read it.

—Chief (Ret.) Michael Biasotti, International Association Chiefs of Police, and Fellow, U.S. Department of Homeland Security

"In Insane Consequences, DJ Jaffe marshals compelling case accounts and empirical data to show how America’s mental health system—such as it is—grossly misallocates resources by focusing on the "worried well" at the expense of those with serious brain disorders. One result is that our nation’s jails have become de facto psychiatric institutions. This is a serious ethical transgression that Jaffe’s hard-hitting account makes impossible to ignore."

—Dominic A. Sisti, PhD, Director, The Scattergood Program for Applied Ethics of Behavioral Health Care, Assistant Professor, Department of Medical Ethics & Health Policy Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania

"DJ Jaffe has written a readily accessible and up-to-date book on serious mental disorders that should be a must-read for laypersons interested in mental disorders, family members of mentally ill persons, and patients themselves. A wide variety of mental disorders are described with clarity and graphic case examples. Moreover, the author points out clearly that lack of treatment facilities for the seriously mentally ill has led to their criminalization with many more of these individuals now in jails than in psychiatric hospitals."

—Robert Paul Liberman, M.D., Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry, UCLA School of Medicine, Director of the UCLA Psychiatric Rehabilitation Program

"Jaffe’s book is to the mental health industry what Al Gore’s Inconvenient Truth was to climate change. We can no longer afford to ignore the most seriously ill. My son and all people living with mental illness have a right to treatment. This book provides real solutions that will save money and lives."

—Liza Long, author of The Price of Silence: A Mom’s Perspective on Mental Illness, a 2015 Books for a Better Life award winner

"Want to know what’s wrong with America’s disastrous mental health system? Look no further than DJ Jaffe’s thoughtful, clear, and insightful presentation on the shortfalls in a system that tolerates abuse, neglect, and suffering as a matter of official policy. Want to fix the system? Jaffe discusses this in the same straightforward, head-on manner. Insane Consequences is a must for any mental health library. It is a ‘how-to’ manual for mental health advocates, and a road map for legislators implementing much-needed changes. Well done, Mr. Jaffe."

—Steven B. Seager, MD, producer/director of the award-winning documentary Shattered Families: The Collapse of America’s Mental Health System, and author of Behind the Gates of Gomorrah: A Year with the Criminally Insane

"Insane Consequences is the first candid book about mental illness that I have read. It really pulls no punches. It speaks the truth about our system, instead of the usual sugar-coated version. You should read this book, even if you are not affected by mental health issues. It’s time to start educating the public about mental illness."

—Mia St. John, mental illness advocate and five-time World Boxing Council champion

"Insane Consequences is a thorough accounting of the innumerable tragedies and lost opportunities brought about by America’s broken mental health system. This book is the culmination of Jaffe’s long history of speaking truth to power and provides a compelling counterargument to those who would attempt to maintain the current status quo."

—Natasha Tracy, author of Lost Marbles: Insights into My Life with Depression & Bipolar

"This book describes graphically and in close detail the elaborate system of neglect of the seriously mentally ill in America, operated mainly for the benefit of those who work in it. In this absurd system, which would be funny if it were not productive of so much tragedy, the mildly distressed are over treated and the raving mad receive no care. Jaffe decries the mental health industry’s waste, incompetence, and willful stupidity, and suggests remedies. A book that is urgently needed."

—Anthony Daniels, Dietrich Weismann Fellow at the Manhattan Institute and a contributing editor of City Journal.[/fusion_text] 

Available on Amazon (hard cover and Kindle) and Barnes and Noble (hard cover and Nook).

Impact of Trump Election on Federal Mental Health Policy

(Full disclosure: I am a left-wing Democrat.) 

Here are two snippets from Trump's policy platform on serious mental illness From Trump Healthcare page: "Finally, we need to reform our mental health programs and institutions in this country. Families, without the ability to get the information needed to help those who are ailing, are too often not given the tools to help their loved ones. There are promising reforms being developed in Congress that should receive bi-partisan support. https://assets.donaldjtrump.com/HCReformPaper.pdf From Trump 2nd Amendment page: "Fix our broken mental health system. All of the tragic mass murders that occurred in the past several years have something in common – there were red flags that were ignored. We can’t allow that to continue. We must expand treatment programs, and reform the laws to make it easier to take preventive action to save innocent lives. Most people with mental health problems are not violent, but just need help, and these reforms will help everyone. https://www.donaldjtrump.com/policies/constitution-and-second-amendment

Democrats

My experience is that Dems are willing to throw money at improving mental health in the 18% of adults who may have some form of illness (anxiety, ADHD, mild depression, etc.) but they won't admit to the unpleasant truths that need to be recognized to help the 4% of adults with serious mental illness. Dems will not admit that not everyone recovers, that when the most seriously ill go untreated they are more violent than others, that some people do need hospitals, that involuntary treatment is better than incarceration, etc. 

If they won't admit the problems, they will not solve them. They are also unduly influenced by the mental health industry, much of which wants to continue to receive mental health funds, free of any obligation to help the seriously ill. As an example, the mental health industry is cheering the new Obama-appointed federal Mental Health Parity Task Force Report, in spite of the fact that it left out the most seriously ill. I have previously written on Hillary Clinton's failure to focus on the seriously mentally ill. And today, election day, the NY Daily News gave big play to my op-ed on the failure of NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio to focus the $850 million NYC mental health plan on the seriously ill. Again: this is from a Dem.

Republicans

On the other hand, Republicans are concerned about the effect of homelessness and untreated serious mental illness on quality of life, the spiraling cost of funding pop-psychology and politically-correct pablum (MHFA, stigma etc.) and disturbed by the growing jail populations. So while they are tight-fisted and may be less willing to fund the worthy, but tangential social services that often are wrapped in a mental health narrative, I have found they are willing to fund evidence based interventions that really do prevent homelessness, arrest and incarceration of the most seriously ill. Even if one argues Republicans have (what to some are) impure motives for supporting mental illness reform (i.e., to stave off calls for gun control), that still gets them focused on improving mental illness treatment. From our perspective, that is a good thing.


Trump
So from a mental illness policy perspective, if Trump sticks to what has become Republican orthodoxy (a big 'if', i.e, focus on the most seriously ill), then perhaps things will get better. For example, he could start by "Draining the Swamp" at SAMHSA/CMHS, which is funding so much anti-psychiatry and anti-science that passes as "recovery" or "trauma" treatment these days.

One idea for Trump would be to appoint this person as SAMHSA Administrator. She was the former Medical Director of SAMHSA, and wrote this devastating critique on SAMHSA/CMHS when she left. Reforming SAMHSA and CMHS is more likely to happen under Republicans, than Dems (assuming again that Trump is a Republican). Of course, he has also promised to dismantle the Affordable Care Act which would hurt persons with mental illness as it hurts all others. And it is hard to pin him down on specifics. 

Effect on Mental Illness Legislation in Senate

The Senate will come back to work for just a few short weeks before the new administration takes over. They do have mental health reform on their calendar, but it is questionable as to whether there is actually enough time in the short session to get around to it, and if they do get around to it, will it be the weak bills they are currently considering or something stronger.  We should try to get the Senate to take up and pass the The Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act (HR2646) during this short lame duck session. It passed House in uniquely bipartisan 422-2 vote. It will start to get the federal mental health agencies to focus more on the seriously ill, help create more hospital beds, fund programs like Kendra's Law and focus on programs that have evidence of efficacy.  Mental Illness legislation should not have to wait until a new administration takes office.

Call your two U.S. Senators at (202) 224-3121 and urge him/her to bring the Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act (HR2646) to a vote in Senate as soon as Senate returns to work.  Mental Health reform should not be put on hold until the new administration takes over. The call takes two minutes



###

Thanks for all you do. Reminder. My book, Insane Consequences: How the Mental Health Industry Fails the Seriously Ill is a valuable advocacy tool that can be pre-ordered on Barnes & Noble and Amazon. Follow Mental Illness Policy Org on Facebook and Twitter.

Impact of Trump Election on Federal Mental Health Policy

(Full disclosure: I am a left-wing Democrat.) 

Here are two snippets from Trump's policy platform on serious mental illness From Trump Healthcare page: "Finally, we need to reform our mental health programs and institutions in this country. Families, without the ability to get the information needed to help those who are ailing, are too often not given the tools to help their loved ones. There are promising reforms being developed in Congress that should receive bi-partisan support. https://assets.donaldjtrump.com/HCReformPaper.pdf From Trump 2nd Amendment page: "Fix our broken mental health system. All of the tragic mass murders that occurred in the past several years have something in common – there were red flags that were ignored. We can’t allow that to continue. We must expand treatment programs, and reform the laws to make it easier to take preventive action to save innocent lives. Most people with mental health problems are not violent, but just need help, and these reforms will help everyone. https://www.donaldjtrump.com/policies/constitution-and-second-amendment

Democrats

My experience is that Dems are willing to throw money at improving mental health in the 18% of adults who may have some form of illness (anxiety, ADHD, mild depression, etc.) but they won't admit to the unpleasant truths that need to be recognized to help the 4% of adults with serious mental illness. Dems will not admit that not everyone recovers, that when the most seriously ill go untreated they are more violent than others, that some people do need hospitals, that involuntary treatment is better than incarceration, etc. 

If they won't admit the problems, they will not solve them. They are also unduly influenced by the mental health industry, much of which wants to continue to receive mental health funds, free of any obligation to help the seriously ill. As an example, the mental health industry is cheering the new Obama-appointed federal Mental Health Parity Task Force Report, in spite of the fact that it left out the most seriously ill. I have previously written on Hillary Clinton's failure to focus on the seriously mentally ill. And today, election day, the NY Daily News gave big play to my op-ed on the failure of NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio to focus the $850 million NYC mental health plan on the seriously ill. Again: this is from a Dem.

Republicans

On the other hand, Republicans are concerned about the effect of homelessness and untreated serious mental illness on quality of life, the spiraling cost of funding pop-psychology and politically-correct pablum (MHFA, stigma etc.) and disturbed by the growing jail populations. So while they are tight-fisted and may be less willing to fund the worthy, but tangential social services that often are wrapped in a mental health narrative, I have found they are willing to fund evidence based interventions that really do prevent homelessness, arrest and incarceration of the most seriously ill. Even if one argues Republicans have (what to some are) impure motives for supporting mental illness reform (i.e., to stave off calls for gun control), that still gets them focused on improving mental illness treatment. From our perspective, that is a good thing.


Trump
So from a mental illness policy perspective, if Trump sticks to what has become Republican orthodoxy (a big 'if', i.e, focus on the most seriously ill), then perhaps things will get better. For example, he could start by "Draining the Swamp" at SAMHSA/CMHS, which is funding so much anti-psychiatry and anti-science that passes as "recovery" or "trauma" treatment these days.

One idea for Trump would be to appoint this person as SAMHSA Administrator. She was the former Medical Director of SAMHSA, and wrote this devastating critique on SAMHSA/CMHS when she left. Reforming SAMHSA and CMHS is more likely to happen under Republicans, than Dems (assuming again that Trump is a Republican). Of course, he has also promised to dismantle the Affordable Care Act which would hurt persons with mental illness as it hurts all others. And it is hard to pin him down on specifics. 

Effect on Mental Illness Legislation in Senate

The Senate will come back to work for just a few short weeks before the new administration takes over. They do have mental health reform on their calendar, but it is questionable as to whether there is actually enough time in the short session to get around to it, and if they do get around to it, will it be the weak bills they are currently considering or something stronger.  We should try to get the Senate to take up and pass the The Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act (HR2646) during this short lame duck session. It passed House in uniquely bipartisan 422-2 vote. It will start to get the federal mental health agencies to focus more on the seriously ill, help create more hospital beds, fund programs like Kendra's Law and focus on programs that have evidence of efficacy.  Mental Illness legislation should not have to wait until a new administration takes office.

Call your two U.S. Senators at (202) 224-3121 and urge him/her to bring the Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act (HR2646) to a vote in Senate as soon as Senate returns to work.  Mental Health reform should not be put on hold until the new administration takes over. The call takes two minutes



###

Thanks for all you do. Reminder. My book, Insane Consequences: How the Mental Health Industry Fails the Seriously Ill is a valuable advocacy tool that can be pre-ordered on Barnes & Noble and Amazon. Follow Mental Illness Policy Org on Facebook and Twitter.

This Book Could Help You Change the Mental Health System Forever: Insane Consequences: How the Mental Health Industry Fails the Mentally Ill

Now available  for pre-order. I am proud to say Insane Consequences: How the Mental Health Industry Fails the Mentally Ill is now available for pre-order on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.   This critically important book gives people who care about the seriously mentally ill the facts they need to be better advocates and provides specific guidance on how to force the mental health system to deliver better treatment. It documents the failure of the mental health system, tells who is to blame, provides you direct links to policy and treatment research, and describes specific actionable ideas to reform the system. The brilliant foreword by Dr. E. Fuller Torrey (Author, Surviving Schizophrenia) puts these proposals in perspective. Please pre-order Insane Consequences on Amazon or Barnes and Noble.  For the record, 100% of my proceeds will go to Mental Illness Policy Org. and other organizations working to improve care for the seriously ill. I am not making a nickel on this, I am simply trying to help. It is 340 pages and we have kept the pre-order price low, considering the size of the book: $25 for hard cover and $11.99 for Nook and Kindle. Both Amazon and Barnes and Noble let you read a detailed description of the book and they include reviews of my past work. (Note: if you buy it via smile.amazon, a portion of the proceeds will go direct from Amazon to the charity of your choice. I would suggest Treatment Advocacy Center or whatever is important to you.) Thank you for considering pre-ordering Insane Consequences. I don't think you will be disappointed and I know you will be helping improve care for others who have serious mental illness. Thanks for all you do. Please share with others who care.

Join Important March 10 Mental Illness Teleconference with Pete Earley

Dial (712) 775-7031 at 7PM EST on Thursday, March 10 and use Access Code 715149. Mental Illness Policy Org invites you to join our popular evening teleconference interview series. DJ's next special guest will be former Washington Post reporter, advocate and author Pete Earley. Pete will tell his personal story trying to get care for a loved one, and use his experience as a former reporter to explain how to get the media to do more and better stories about serious mental illness. He'll answer all your questions. Pete is the author of Crazy: A Father's Search Through America's Mental Health Madness which documents how the failed mental health system leads to incarceration, and the grotesque conditions faced by the incarcerated mentally ill.  Pete was the first, and so far only journalist to highlight how the Supreme Court's Olmstead decision, which is touted by some, could be unleashing a second wave of disastrous deinstitutionalization.  He testified to Congress on multiple occasions, runs a very popular blog, and recently gave one of the best speeches on serious mental illness ever.  He is one of the most important mental illness advocates on the scene today. We hope you'll join us for this important call. Bring all your questions. Share this with your friends and social networks. To join the call, dial (712) 775-7031 at 7PM eastern(!) standard time on Thursday, March 10 and use Access Code 715149. Thank you for all you do to improve care for people with the most serious mental illnesses.

Mark Salzer who gets funds from SAMHSA supports SAMHSA

Mark Salzer, Ph.D., who is Chair of the Department of Rehabilitation Sciences at Temple University wrote a surprising oped for the Philiadelphia Inquirer. It claimed, “SAMHSA has clearly served people with serious mental illnesses” and “The elimination or curtailment of SAMHSA would be a major blow to progressive mental-health policies in the United States.”

There were no real specifics and the massive evidence documenting problems at SAMHSA shows eliminating it and transferring it’s responsibilities elsewhere would likely improve services for the most seriously mentally ill. So Mental Illness Policy Org. decided to look into what might have led Dr. Salzer come to his conclusion.

Dr. Salzer’s CV shows that he and his projects receive over $4 million directly from SAMHSA.

It is not known if this financial support from SAMHSA influenced his high opinion of SAMHSA or he really believes what he wrote. It is not known if he disclosed what most would consider a serious conflict to the editors before submitting his oped. The oped itself made no disclosure.

Almost all the support, the only support, for SAMHSA seems to come from those who receive money from it or benefit from it. It is not surprising they want their sugar daddy to stay in existence. 

Following are the grants Dr. Salzer lists on his CV. Over $4 million are identified by him as coming from SAMHSA.

• Principal Investigator. Evaluation of Friends Connection. SAMHSA CMHS Consumer-Initiated Services Collaborative Agreement (SM52355; $2,267,034; 9/98-9/03).
• Principal Director. DELCO (PA) Self-Directed Care Project. Transformation Technology Transfer Initiative, SAMHSA. ($221,000; 5/1/14 – 6/30/15).
• Principal Director. Enhancing the role of Pennsylvania’s Statewide Network of Certified Peer Specialists. SAMHSA Transformation Transfer Initiative ($107,000; 1/12 – 9/12).
• Evaluation Co-Director. CABHI-States. SAMHSA States CABHI Initiative, subcontract to Mental Health Association of Southeastern PA. (1H79TI025346-01; $1,500,000; $156, 354 subcontract; 10/13 – 9/16).
• Evaluation Co-Director. Philadelphia Homeless Initiative. SAMHSA CABHI Initiative, subcontract to Mental Health Association of Southeastern PA. (TI23520; $1,500,000; $150,000 subcontract; 7/12 –6/15).
• Consultant. Infusing Peer Specialists into Pennsylvania’s Behavioral Health Crisis Services System. Transformation Technology Transfer Initiative, SAMHSA. ($221,000; 1/1/15 – 9/30/15).
• Evaluation Consultant. Certified Peer Support Specialists as Healthcare Navigators and Wellness Coaches Within Federally Qualified Health Centers. SAMHSA Transformation Transfer Initiative to Michigan ($221,000; 1/12 – 8/12).
• Evaluator and proposal consultant. Pennsylvania Statewide Consumer Network Grant. (Mary Kohut, PI). Funded by SAMHSA/CMHS (SM56338-01; $70,000; 10/1/04 – 9/30/06).
• Principal Consultant. National Mental Health Consumers’ Self-Help Clearinghouse. Funded by SAMHSA/CMHS (SM56065-01 - Joseph Rogers, PI). ($495,000; 10/1/03 – 9/30/04).
• Evaluator. Family Ties (Training, Instruction, Empowerment, and Support). Funded by PEW Foundation to Mental Health Association of Southeastern Pennsylvania ($210,000; 4/1/10 – 3/31/13)
• Evaluation Director and consultant. National Mental Health Consumers’ Self-Help Clearinghouse. Funded by SAMHSA/CMHS (Joseph Rogers, PI). ($1,200,000; 10/1/07 – 9/30/10).
• Evaluator. Keystone Pride Recovery Initiative. Funded by SAMHSA Consumer Network grant (5SMO59833-02) to the Pennsylvania Mental Health Consumers Association ($70,000; 10/10 – 9/13).

 He also does work for other entitites that get their own funds from SAMHSA. These are just a few. 

• Consultant. Promoting Olmstead in Pennsylvania. Advocates for Human Potential ($20,000; 1/12 – 9/12).
• Program Director. Philadelphia Disaster Response Network. Contract with Mental Health Association of Southeastern Pennsylvania ($22,751; 9/1/02 – 4/1/03).
• Evaluation Director and consultant. National Mental Health Consumers’ Self-Help Clearinghouse. Funded by SAMHSA/CMHS (Joseph Rogers, PI). ($1,100,000; 10/1/04 – 9/30/07).

Most of the studies which Dr. Salzer is associated with above, seem to focus on peer support. SAMHSA’s own review of the research shows: “The literature [on peer support] that does exist tends to be descriptive and lacks experimental rigor." We don't know if SAMHSA was referring to this research. SAMHSA funds other research.

The well-respected Cochrane Collaborative reviewed all the high- and low-quality data on peer support and concluded: 

Involving consumer-providers in mental health teams results in psychosocial, mental health symptom and service use outcomes for clients that were no better or worse than those achieved by professionals employed in similar roles, particularly for case management.

Another study, also not by Salzer, "adds to the evidence suggesting no short-term incremental benefit (or harm) from peer services beyond usual care.” 

In spite of this research casting doubt on peer support, SAMHSA continues to fund it. Is that why SAMHSA supported researchers and consumer groups want to preserve SAMHSA?