Legislation and Advocacy for the Mentally Ill

Mental Health Insurance Play audio - click here
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File Source: Voices in the Family public radio show
File Date: July 8, 2002

Discussion of the Mental Health Equitable Treatment Act - currently in the House of Congress - that would demand mental illness be covered to the same extent as physical illness by insurance companies. Guests are Mary Hurtig of the Mental Health Association of Southeastern Pennsylvania, and Susan Pisano of the American Association of Health Plans. Listen via Real Audio.

Evolving Minds - A Video Documentary
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File Source: Showcase community media
File Date: Jan 3, 2003

A video documentary examining concepts of 'madness', and looking at the present state of public mental health care in the UK, alongside alternative forms of support. The video lasts for 46 minutes and 18 seconds.

Quality of Mental Health Programs Play audio - click here
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File Source: National Public Radio
File Date: July 2003

Note: When you click on the audio link above, a new window will open up on your web browser. To start the audio file, click on the link that says "Talk of the Nation Audio."

A new report by a presidential commission says many mental health programs around the country are not providing quality care for those with schizophrenia, depression and other mental illnesses. Host Neal Conan and guests discuss the problems mental health agencies face and what's being done to improve their services.

The Mental Illness System: How it Broke and How to Fix it - By Dr. E. Fuller Torrey
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File Source: The Manhattan Institute for Policy Research
File Date: September 2000

Dr. Torrey, respected author and president of the Treatment Advocacy Center, speaks about the state of mental illness care, which he describes as a "disaster." He talks about who the mentally ill are, where they are (largely on the streets or in jails), how they ended up that way, and how we can initiate some damage control of the situation. Much of the information he covers is in his book "Out of the Shadows: Confronting America's Mental Illness Crisis" or on the Treatment Advocacy Center website (http://www.psychlaws.org). See more information on Dr. Torrey

Analyzing Psychiatry Play audio - click here
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File Source: Wisconsin Public Radio (The Connection)
File Date: June 2001

"The Connection" looks into what happens when a [health care] system is in crisis, and what the mentally ill themselves are doing about that crisis.

Concept of Legal Insanity Listen to audio file
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File Source: Voices in the Family public radio show
File Date: March 4, 2002

Current statistics estimate that 1 in 6 inmates are mentally ill. With Congress looking at new legislation to offer treatment and rehab programs, and special mental health justice courts being set up across the United States for the defense of the mentally ill, listen to this Voices in the Family report (released during the trial of Andrea Yates) about using the insanity defense in courts today. The show discusses high profile cases, talks about the definition of insanity today and in the past, and how that definition might break down in certain legal cases. Guests are Temple Law Professor Edward Ohbaum, Psychiatrist Darold Treffert with St. Agnes Hospital in Font Du Lac, Wisconsin, and forensic psychologist Dr. Allan Tepper.

Jailing the mentally ill - special report, Parts I and II
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File Type: Real Media. Download player here
File Source: American Radioworks
File Date: June 25, 2004

Part I: Last year the U.S. Justice Department said 280,000 people with serious mental illnesses were in jail or prison-more than four times the number in state mental hospitals. Others statistics estimate that 1 in 6 inmates are mentally ill. American RadioWorks Correspondent John Biewen explores why. Link to Program Page - more good info.

Part II: The insanity defense tends to get attention in sensational, high-profile cases: the Unabomber, Lorena Bobbitt, and most notoriously, John Hinckley. Surveys show Americans worry that too many criminals escape punishment by saying they're insane. But, in fact, successful use of the insanity defense is rare-even for defendants with profound mental illness. American RadioWorks Correspondent John Biewen examines one case that illustrates the difficulties of claiming legal insanity: the story of Kyle Zwack. Link to Program Page - more good info.

For a personal account of how the legal system affects the sick and their families, see the book "Northumberland Nightmare - When Justice Ignores Mental Illness".

Interview with Cliff Prior of UK Mental Illness Charity "Rethink"
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File Source: National Electronic Library for Mental Health
File Date: Dec 2003

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Cliff Prior is Chief Executive at Rethink (http://www.rethink.org) formerly the National Schizophrenia Fellowship), the severe mental illness charity. In this interview he tells us about the various programmes of work currently underway at Rethink, highlighting the challenges for professionals and the general public in improving the lives of people with severe and enduring mental illness.

Symposium on Mental Health and Public Policy
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File Source: UC Berkeley
File Date: Jan 12, 2002

Some of the streaming video presentations that may be of particular interest to health care consumers are noted below, with the appropriate media file links. Link to the symposium page for more good info.

1. Medical Perspectives: What is mental illness and what lessons are offered by recent developments in detection and diagnosis?. Play video
2. Treatment Perspectives: What treatments are most effective in promoting rehabilitation and recovery? How might policymakers improve the provision of supervised outpatient care and treatment of patients with concurrent substance dependency?. Play video
3. Mental Health Funding and Parity: What can be done to strengthen and enhance coverage and delivery for the mentally ill? What challenges remain in implementing federal and state parity legislation?. Play video
4. Children, Families, and Mental Health: How can our mental health system best serve children with mental illness? What barriers exist in assessing children's mental health needs, facilitating access to treatment and combating stigma? Play video