From Politics to Providers: Advocating for System Change in Serious Mental Illness

Aug 28

Show Notes

“Mom, the voices are telling me I need to kill you right now.” -

What can a parent do after hearing that from a child?

How can we educate mental health providers so they really “get” what it’s like to have a serious mental illness, or to be a family member of a loved one who has one?

Ever wonder what you can do to make the mental system better for others, even if you can’t help your own family member as much as you wish you could?

This episode is about those steps, to help make changes and fix what is so broken about the system.

Welcome Leslie Carpenter: Mom. and….

Experienced Serious Brain Disorders Advocate working to fix the broken treatment system locally, in Iowa and nationally. Effective speaker for advocacy. Recently retired early from a rewarding 34 year career in physical therapy and management, to have more time and energy to focus on improving the quality of treatment for 11.9 million people with serious brain disorders in our country.

Keep spreading the word. Also join our facebook page @schizophrenia3moms

Leslie’s family story with schizoaffective disorder
Political Advocacy in Iowa - Meeting with Presidential Candidates and more
NAMI Provider Training - how it works, and expanding it nationally
solutions to fixing the broken, siloed treatment system for people living with serious brain illnesses
anti-stigma campaigns
The dream of creating psychiatric assisted living campuses - long-term housing solutions
“Ripples Of Hope” advocacy talks

LINKS:

Advocacy talk to the City of Iowa City via Zoom this past spring, after she and her husband received an award from the Iowa City Human Rights Commission:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0aO1TbwED0

NAMI Provider Ed:

https://www.nami.org/Support-Education/Mental-Health-Education/NAMI-Provider

Lwentworth@nami.org

NAMI Iowa video on Provider Ed:

https://namiiowa.org/provider/

Pete Earley:

http://www.peteearley.com/

Crazy: A Father's Search Through America's Mental Health Madness

DJ Jaffe obituary:

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/16/nyregion/dj-jaffe-dead.html

His book, Insane Consequences