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Abilify (aripiprazole) A Fairy Tale of Relationships
and Symptoms Coming Back: Don't Let Your Diagnosis Block Your Vision By MEERA POPKIN "I was on Broadway-"Cats"; I was on London's West End-"Miss Saigon" as Miss Saigon; I was in Andrew Lloyd Webbers' "Starlight Express." Then in 1997, I was diagnosed with a mild case of schizophrenia. What me? I couldn't believe it. " Fighting Depression By MALCOLM J. NEELLEY "Depression is a vicious enemy, and you have to fight back. You may feel like you're not strong enough to fight, but you really do have that strength. You really are stronger than you think." Psychiatric Survivors Plan Hunger Strike against Psychiatric Abuses By CARL BLUMENTHAL "SCI holds psychiatrists and drug companies responsible for what it claims are the following human rights violations and crimes: Defaming and humiliating people by labeling them with a mental illness, incarcerating the innocent, forcing people to take damaging drugs, destroying brain cells with ECT, and restraining/confining people without cause." Our Group Has Begun to Fight Stigma in the Media By BARB LURIE "By serving as a bridge between Hollywood's creative community and mental health experts from across the United States, we hope to promote reliable and accurate depictions of mental health issues." Seaport Manor: A Post-Mortem By JEANETTE ZELHOF and JANET RAY KALSON "Located in Canarsie, Brooklyn, Seaport Manor was one of the largest adult homes in the New York City area, with 346 beds. For more than a decade its operators subjected residents to a life of squalor." The Right Combination is the Ultimate Trick By MILLIE NISS "As consumers, we have met plenty of people who seem to have the same illness and are doing equally well on different meds. More problematically, we have seen people who don't get well despite the "correct" treatment for their illness. I was one of these. " It Takes Work to Be Married By RODNEY "I have been married for over two years and I have a hurdle in my life called schizophrenia. It is great being married, sharing your life with somebody you love and will be with for the rest of your life. I do definitely recommend marriage to anyone who wants to do it, but it does take work." My Story Has a Silver Lining By ALICE TSAI "I graduated at the top of my high school class of 350 students. I also graduated with honors from the University of Illinois at Urbana, Champaign, with a degree in English Literature...When I failed to achieve sufficient scores on the MCAT, a test for medical school, I was primed for a breakdown." Quincy Boykin: Consumer Advocate for Life A New York City Voices interview By CARL BLUMENTHAL "When I was in the hospital, a nurse told me I would never get better, I would never amount to anything. I got very depressed. Years later she was looking for a job and gave me her resume. There's a saying in the black community, "What goes around comes around." I helped her because God blessed me." |
Analysis:
How Good or Bad is the Mental Health System? Tell Us Your Opinion! By CARL BLUMENTHAL "No doubt biopsychiatry is the dominant system of mental health care in the U.S., if not in the world. But it is a testament to the consumer movement that many more treatment alternatives are available today than in the past." Consumers and Office of Mental Health Join to Promote Evidence-Based Practices By CARL BLUMENTHAL "Any list is going to leave questions about the services left off. Why not housing, especially for the homeless mentally ill. Why not psychotherapy? There's been a lot of research reported lately showing cognitive behavioral therapy is as effective as medication. " Helping Consumers Form Relationships By FRANKLYN ROBB "If you would like to have a loving relationship, there are organizations that can aid you to develop friendship, which could lead to you fulfilling your desire. For instance, Friendship Network can help mental health consumers advance from loneliness to having a friend who cares." "Open the Doors" and Your Heart By RACHEL LINN "It was a cold, dark and snowy night when I met with members of "Open the Doors" in Krakow, the southern cultural capital of Poland in the former Eastern bloc, to discuss the possibility of having them featured in New York City Voices." Psychiatric Medications and Intimacy By HILLERY BOSWORTH, M.D. "A problem I don't hear enough about is the impact of psychiatric medications on peoples' sex life. I'd like to hear more because I think discomfort around the subject keeps people from voicing their real concerns. Let's admit it: sex is an important part of life." The Hierarchy of Mental Illness By VANESSA FERNEY "The truth is that you cannot judge a person by his or her diagnosis, and we mental health consumers should know better than that. If we judge each other, then you cannot blame the public for judging us as a group." A Loving Relationship Helped in My Recovery By MARTY COHEN "My wife must have realized how isolated I felt being on the ward. She made sure all my friends and relatives called me every day. I received an average of 20 calls a day." Consumers' Rights When Applying to Licensed Mental Health Housing By DANIEL STERN and VUKA STRICEVIC "If a resident is hospitalized, providers should contact the hospital inpatient staff, the resident, and other collateral contacts to plan for the return of the resident upon discharge. The provider must hold the resident's bed for at least 45 days of such hospitalization..." Meds and Sex By STEVE KAUFMAN "In this month's article, I will discuss every man's favorite medication, Viagra. I will also answer the question, 'Does psychiatric medication cause impotence (inability to achieve erection).?'" Police Response to Mental Health Emergencies By JEFFREY PERRY "Sensitivity training for police officers dealing with mental health emergencies is imperative. But, special recognition of groups, whether by race, gender, religion, etc., is of the utmost importance." The Baltic Street Band By ERIC JACKSON "The purpose of music therapy is to improve self-esteem, expressive and communications skills, and improve social skills through using music as a means of communication and expression." What the Consumer Speakers' Bureau Has to Offer By MARVIN SPIELER "The peer advocacy and peer specialist programs are probably the most uplifting aspects of the consumer empowerment movement for me. Peers helping peers is a tremendous step forward. The empowerment movement helps by adding newer modalities." |
Ward
Stories: Poetry "I am feeling a bit nostalgic as I present the poetry of Samuel Pirro again. Sam has reminded me that the first time his work was featured in this column, it was 1997- when things were very different in this world. Brooklyn Writer Catches a Thief of Happiness on Therapist's Couch By CARL BLUMENTHAL "Bonnie told me that "when I felt broken, my therapist gave me hope. She allowed me to make sense intuitively. Even my mistakes made sense to her. She gave me a feeling of wholeness and well-being. It's unusual to meet someone who understands you immediately."" Drugs in Development for Mental Disorders By WILLIAM JIANG, MLS "In other words, I looked for drugs in all stages of development that will treat schizophrenia and related disorders and depression and related disorders. These drugs in the pipeline ranged from very early in the development process to drugs that are almost potentially approved." Finding My Voice By BERTRAM MILLER "Having a voice means being able to express one's feelings, needs, experiences, and one's soul to others. The abuse I suffered denied me a voice for much of my life. As an only child in a loveless marriage, I became my mother's surrogate 'husband.'" Love Among the Ruins By DEBORAH HUDSPETH "When we are ill, we need more care, attention, and support, than when we are well. It is harder for those who are ill to have loving relationships in their lives. Consumers are more vulnerable than those with other maladies, because they suffer not only physically, but also emotionally." Recovery Through Love By JOHN CARDINALE "Dr. Beeferman must have called my parents earlier in the week after my visit when it became clear to him that I was in the middle of a psychotic episode. "If life hands you a lemon, make lemonade," said my mom in her reassuring tone." Stigma Alive & Well in NYC By FRANKLYN ROBB "However, despite NAMI, NMHA, and other organizations' effort to address stigma issues pertaining to the mentally challenged, Jim Reiser, the leader of NAMI's New York City affiliate's Media and Advocacy Group said, 'I would say that things haven't changed. Abusive language is still out there…on the whole, we have got a long way to go.' " A Cross-Disability Call to Conscience By VANESSA CARROLL "On January 7th, NYAPRS helped organize a cross-disability "Call to Conscience" event in Albany to remind the Governor and state legislators of their legal and moral obligations to New Yorkers with disabilities, even in one of the worst budget seasons in history." Finding the Best Job Possible By CHRISTINA BRUNI "Working is a major stepping stone in the process of recovery. It is the prime reason why I was able to recover successfully. Here are specific techniques you can use when taking the first steps on The Road to Work." Marie Osmond's "Heartless Invader" By ERIC JACKSON "'Heartless invader' is how entertainer Marie Osmond describes postpartum depression (PPD) in her candid autobiography, Behind The Smile: My Journey Out of Postpartum Depression." New Year/New Diagnosis By ROSEMARY THOMAS "So now it's 2003, the New Year with new challenges, new goals, new perspectives on life. Unfortunately, I went through a very horrible experience. I went through a manic episode for the first time in my life." Teamwork By ROBERT CAPSHAW "My Name is Robert Capshaw, I am a trainee at the Ocean View Lodge of South Beach Psychiatric Center. The program at the Ocean View Lodge teaches me teamwork."
Copyright © 2003 City Voices |
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