Fred Frese was a young Marine Corps officer and graduate student when he started experiencing the psychotic delusions of paranoid schizophrenia. He was hospitalized, the first of what would be 11 such institutionalizations. But he also managed to complete graduate school and earn a doctorate in psychology from Ohio University. He married and had four children, and 12 years after his first hospitalization, he became a chief psychologist for the Ohio mental health system. That was 30 years ago. Today, Frese is director of the Summit County Recovery Project in Akron, Ohio, and one of the most ... Read More
Mental Illness Champions Found Down Under
November 21, 2008 • By • 1 Comment
Part IV of a four-part series looking at the sorry state of treating the mentally ill — beyond warehousing people in institutions or prisons — and the tentative efforts to improve the situation. Part I looked at the scope of the problem and the downbeat assessments by experts; Part II examined how the severely mentally ill end up in prison instead of receiving help. Part III noted that some locales have good ideas but those are few and far between. In Australia, if a 15-year-old boy starts hearing voices or even starts to skip school or act out in the classroom, a national program ... Read More
Recovery Model Shows Promise in Helping Mentally Ill
November 19, 2008 • By • 4 Comments
Part III of a four-part series looking at the sorry state of treating the mentally ill — beyond warehousing people in institutions or prisons — and the tentative efforts to improve the situation. Part I looked at the scope of the problem and the downbeat assessments by experts; Part II examined how the severely mentally ill end up in prison instead of receiving help. Patrick Kaufmann hit bottom, but it took a long time. Reeling from depression and struggling with schizophrenic delusions, all he wanted to do was take drugs and be left alone. Fortunately, his family and an innovative ... Read More
Is Criminalizing Mental Health Wise Policy?
November 18, 2008 • By • Leave a Comment
Part II of a four-part series looking at the sorry state of treating the mentally ill — beyond warehousing people in institutions or prisons — and the tentative efforts to improve the situation. Part I looked at the scope of the problem and the downbeat assessments by experts. In her worst nightmares, Linda Stewart-Oaten never dreamed her son Chris would murder her cousin Sylvia. Chris, who suffers from schizoaffective disorder, a combination of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, has been in state prison ever since that day he shot his mother's cousin 14 years ago. "Of course, ... Read More
America’s Mental Health (Care) Is Getting Worse
November 14, 2008 • By • Leave a Comment
Part I of a four-part series looking at the sorry state of treating the mentally ill — beyond warehousing people in institutions or prisons — and the tentative efforts to improve the situation. Also see Part II, Part III and Part IV. When David Eldridge was finishing his senior year of high school, one of his teachers said to his mom, Ann: "He is bright, but his mind is disorganized." Looking back, Ann Eldridge wishes she had paid closer attention. She was a psychiatric nurse at the time; still she didn't see the warning signs. Now, 32 years later, she watches her son struggle with ... Read More
