What It Takes to Treat Serious Mental Illness

For those in the grips of serious mental illness, recovery can feel like an unscalable mountain. There’s the struggle to deal with the symptoms — trying different therapists and medications — and then there are all the challenges around health insurance, maintaining an income, dealing with family and romantic conflicts.

But serious mental illness can be treated. Over time, people can recover, and have good lives — but it takes a lot of care, attention, and dedication. Often, strong relationships are front and center in the healing process. On this episode, we explore what it takes to treat serious mental illness, and the support needed to stay well. We hear stories about how a man’s decades-long relationship with his psychiatrist eventually helped him overcome treatment-resistant depression; what it takes to navigate the Kafkaesque benefits system — all while struggling with mental illness; and how a new crisis response program in Durham, North Carolina balances safety with providing help to those experiencing mental health emergencies.

Also heard on this week’s episode:

• Keith Cunniffe had just started college when he first experienced a deep depression. He ended up in the care of psychiatrist Barry Perlman — and they worked together for 27 years. Their story highlights how hard it can be to treat a serious mental health issue, but also the difference a long-term relationship with a therapist can make. Cunniffe and Perlman reconnected two years ago, after Perlman published a book called “Rearview: A Psychiatrist Reflects on Practice and Advocacy In a Time of Healthcare System Change.”
• Getting disability benefits can feel impossible — and that’s doubly true for those struggling with mental illness. Reporter Nichole Currie meets an applicant who was finally able to access benefits after connecting with an advocate with the Urban Justice Center’s Mental Health Project. The organization helps low-income New Yorkers who have serious mental health concerns and are experiencing homelessness.
• When mental health emergencies happen, police are often the first ones on the scene — but that can escalate the situation — and sometimes prove deadly. Which is why Durham, North Carolina decided to try something new — a program called HEART that deploys unarmed mental health professionals in place of police. We hear an excerpt from the series “The Fifth Branch,” from the podcast Tradeoffs which documented HEART’s efforts. Reporter Ryan Levi embedded with this team to find out how they balance helping people in crisis with safety concerns.
• Patrick Kennedy — the youngest son of former U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy — didn’t set out to become a mental health advocate, but his own struggles put him on this path. We talk with Kennedy, and writer Stephen Fried, about their new book “Profiles in Mental Health Courage,” which features 12 stories of people living with mental illness.