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Available Monday Through Friday, 10:00 AM – 10:00 PM ET

You Are Not Alone. We are here to help.

The NAMI Family Caregiver HelpLine is a free, confidential service providing caregiver-led support, tools and strategies, trusted guidance, and connection at every stage of the caregiving journey.

Guest:

 Megan Rochford, an SMI mom, and executive director of the national NAMI HelpLine. 

As a caregiver for a loved one with serious mental illness, Megan believes in the power of lived experience to build a more compassionate, supportive world for families like hers.

Call:

1-800-950-NAMI (6264) 

Text:

Text NAMI to 62640 

Email: [email protected]

LINKS:

www.nami.org/nami-helpline/family-caregiver-helpline/  Link to the NAMI Family Caregiver HelpLine webpage

helplinefaqs.nami.org/category/525-family-members-and-caregivers Link to the NAMI HelpLine Knowledge Center, our digital library of short, lived-experience articles with practical tips and tools for navigating recovery — available in English and Spanish.

https://nami.applicantpro.com/jobs/2561057 Apply to volunteer with the NAMI Family Caregiver HelpLine. For anyone interested in volunteering with NAMI HelpLine. We are always looking for find new volunteers who want to use their lived experience supporting a loved one in navigating mental health challenges to support and empower others reaching out for help.

www.nami.org/nami-helpline/family-caregiver-helpline/family-caregiver-helpline-campaign-toolkit/   Family Caregiver HelpLine social media toolkit. Mental health impacts everyone and being a caregiver for a loved one with mental illness isn’t easy. If you know a caregiver who could use some support, you can help NAMI reach them. Whether you’re a trusted community voice, or simply someone who believes in this work, NAMI has created ready-to-use messaging, graphics, and printable resources to make sharing easy — adjust the language to fit your community and your voice. 

Thanks for liking and sharing the podcast! 

Mindy and her book: https://mindygreiling.com/

Randye and her book: https://randyekaye.com/

Miriam and her book: https://www.miriam-feldman.com/

Support the show

Please share and support the podcast so we can reach more people who need the info and support.

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Our websites:
Randye Kaye
Mindy Greiling
Miriam (Mimi) Feldman

Send a Text to the Moms - please include your contact info if you want a response. thanks!

Technology is changing the way we think about mental health care—but what does that mean for families living with schizophrenia and other serious mental illnesses?

 Can technology actually make life easier for the people in the trenches—and how can families separate the genuinely useful tools from the hype?

Nicole Gillen knows what it means to be a mom navigating the complicated world of serious mental illness. In her new book, Connected Care, she explores how technology—from apps and telehealth to AI and other digital tools—can become part of the care journey. But with so many new tools appearing every day, how do we know what is actually helpful, what is safe, and what might simply add to the overwhelm? Today, Nicole joins us to talk about the possibilities of connected care—and what families need to know before they click, download, or sign up.

Nicole Drapeau Gillen is a mother, advocate, and author who translates the fast-moving landscape of technology in serious mental illness care into guidance families and clinicians can use. When she found herself thrust into caregiving for a loved one with serious mental illness, with no direction on how to help, she turned that into a mission, writing two books and building an ongoing effort to bring families and clinicians into the conversation.

Her first book, Schizophrenia and Related Disorders: A Handbook for Caregivers, is a reference for every stage of caregiving, endorsed by Dr. E. Fuller Torrey as a must-read for SMI caregivers. Her second, Connected Care: A Practical Guide to Technology for Serious Mental Illness, maps apps, AI tools, telepsychiatry, and brain-based treatments for a field moving faster than anyone can track — work Dr. Akira Sawa, Director of the Johns Hopkins Schizophrenia Center, has said "directly addresses" a significant gap.

Links

"Connected Care: A Practical Guide to Technology for Serious Mental Illness"

"Schizophrenia and Other Related Disorders. A Handbook for Caregivers" 

Website

Thanks for liking and sharing the podcast! 

Mindy and her book: https://mindygreiling.com/

Randye and her book: https://randyekaye.com/

Miriam and her book: https://www.miriam-feldman.com/

Support the show

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Our websites:
Randye Kaye
Mindy Greiling
Miriam (Mimi) Feldman

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Guest: Allen Giese, author of When Mental Illness Strikes: Crisis Intervention for the Financial Plan

The episode of "Schizophrenia: Three Moms in the Trenches" features a discussion with financial planner Alan Giese, of Modera Wealth Management,  about ABLE accounts and financial planning for individuals with severe mental illness. 

Randye, Mindy, and Miriam, share personal updates about their sons' current situations, highlighting the challenges and fluctuations in their conditions. 

Giese explains that ABLE accounts allow individuals receiving SSI or Medicaid to save money without jeopardizing their benefits, detailing the account's features, contribution limits, and eligible expenses. 

The conversation also touches on the importance of special needs trusts and the role of financial planners in creating comprehensive plans. 

Giese shares his personal experience with his son's mental illness and advocates for the use of professional services to navigate these complex issues. 

The hosts and Giese emphasize the need for families to have informed plans in place for the future care of their loved ones.

LINKS:

https://moderawealth.com/

Link to player with SZ 3 Moms episodes about “legal and financial help”

https://www.randyekaye.com/schizophrenia-three-moms-in-the-trenches/need-legal-or-financial-help-with-smi-in-the-family-begin-here

Thanks for liking and sharing the podcast! 

Mindy and her book: https://mindygreiling.com/

Randye and her book: https://randyekaye.com/

Miriam and her book: https://www.miriam-feldman.com/

Support the show

Please share and support the podcast so we can reach more people who need the info and support.

Want to know more?
Join our facebook page 
Our websites:
Randye Kaye
Mindy Greiling
Miriam (Mimi) Feldman

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The podcast episode featured a discussion with Dr. Martijn Figee and Dr. Alexander Charney from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai about deep brain stimulation (DBS) as a potential treatment for schizophrenia. 

The doctors explained that DBS is a neurosurgical procedure involving the implantation of electrodes to target specific brain circuits, offering a durable treatment option for severe, treatment-resistant symptoms like hallucinations and delusions. 

They shared that initial results from a small number of patients have been promising, with some experiencing immediate and significant symptom reduction. 

The treatment is currently in the experimental stage, with ongoing clinical trials at Mount Sinai and Johns Hopkins. The ideal patient for DBS would have chronic, medication-resistant symptoms and the ability to provide informed consent and comply with follow-up care. 

The conversation also touched on the challenges of schizophrenia research, the hope for future advancements, and the importance of participation in studies and brain donation for scientific progress.

Link:

https://icahn.mssm.edu/research/blau

Mindy and her book: https://mindygreiling.com/

Randye and her book: https://randyekaye.com/

Miriam and her book: https://www.miriam-feldman.com/

Thanks for liking and sharing the podcast! 

Support the show

Please share and support the podcast so we can reach more people who need the info and support.

Want to know more?
Join our facebook page 
Our websites:
Randye Kaye
Mindy Greiling
Miriam (Mimi) Feldman

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OPLM (Other Parents Like Me) interview the 3 Moms!  - Mimi Feldman, Mindy Greiling, Randye Kaye -
 Together, we'll explore how to hold both grief and hope, care for yourself while supporting your child, navigate overwhelming systems, set healthy boundaries, and support your entire family through the challenges. Most importantly, we want you to know that you are not alone—there is connection, understanding, and a path forward.

Thanks to OPLM for making this members-only content available to all our listeners. You can learn more about them, the free resources, and membership benefits, at  https://oplm.com/

Other Parents Like Me is the nation’s largest, most accessible online community designed exclusively for parents of teens and young adults struggling with mental health challenges.

Support the show

Please share and support the podcast so we can reach more people who need the info and support.

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Our websites:
Randye Kaye
Mindy Greiling
Miriam (Mimi) Feldman

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Guest: , Melissa Dalhoe, Social Worker, Asst Professor, University of Minnesota Dept of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences

For parents of loved ones with serious mental illness, one question often lingers beneath the surface: Will they ever find love? Will they date, build relationships, or have a partner to share life with?

Dating and Mental Illness Discussion

The podcast team welcomed Melissa Dalhoe to discuss dating and serious mental illness. The discussion focused on the concept of "frozen in time," where a person's emotional growth stops at the onset of their mental illness, potentially affecting their ability to form relationships. Melissa was brought in to discuss this topic after a listener requested information about someone with schizophrenia who missed out on dating during their teenage years due to their illness.

Dating Curriculum for Psychosis Patients

Melissa explained how she became interested in developing a dating curriculum for individuals with first-episode psychosis, noting that it was driven by the wants and needs of the people she works with. She described the curriculum development process, which included input from multiple professionals and individuals with lived experience, as well as a survey of program participants. The curriculum, which is set to launch in August, focuses on skills training for dating and relationships, with an emphasis on interprofessional perspectives and lived experience input.

Dating Curriculum for Psychosis Patients

Melissa discussed a new dating skills curriculum being implemented in the University of Minnesota's Navigate program for people with first episode psychosis, aged 18 and over. The curriculum covers topics like values, goals, dating apps, messaging etiquette, emotional intimacy, and social cognition specific to interpreting emotions in relationships. The program will offer both in-person and online classes over the course of a year, with social activities and potential membership opportunities to support skill development outside of formal classes. Melissa emphasized the importance of ensuring dating goals are self-directed rather than imposed by family, and noted that while recruitment is ongoing, there has been strong interest from potential participants.

-Social Skills for Schizophrenia: A Step by Step Guide - https://www.amazon.com/Social-Skills-Training-Schizophrenia-Second/dp/157230846X

Move to Heal in Connecticut:

https://www.movetohealct.org/

-Melissa Dalhoe, DSW, MSW, LICSW, 

[email protected], 

https://med.umn.edu/bio/melissa-dalhoe 

-UMN Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences Affiliated Psychosis Program Information

M Physicians NAVIGATE Program - 

https://mphysicians.org/our-clinics/st-louis-park-clinic-navigate-program

M Health Fairview Adult Strengths Program - 

https://www.mhealthfairview.org/treatment/adult-strengths-program

STRIDE for Bipolar Disorder - 

https://www.mhealthfairview.org/treatment/stride-first-episode-bipolar

M Health Fairview Child & Adolescent Strengths Program -

 https://www.mhealthfairview.org/treatment/university-minnesota-child-and-adolescent-strengths-program-casp

M Health Fairview Early Strengths Program -

 https://www.mhealthfairview.org/treatment/early-strengths-program

Referral Pathways

Call 952-525-4500 (M Physicians St Louis Park psychiatry clinic location) or 612-273-8700 (M Health Fairview Riverside psychiatry clinic location)

https://www.mhealthfairview.org/early-intervention-program-referral-information

Thanks for liking and sharing the podcast! 

Mindy and her book: https://mindygreiling.com/

Randye and her book: https://randyekaye.com/

Miriam and her book: https://www.miriam-feldman.com/

Support the show

Please share and support the podcast so we can reach more people who need the info and support.

Want to know more?
Join our facebook page 
Our websites:
Randye Kaye
Mindy Greiling
Miriam (Mimi) Feldman

Send a Text to the Moms - please include your contact info if you want a response. thanks!

Guest: Fortescue Filmmaker / Rebeccah Love

About Rebeccah Love: 

This Toronto-based filmmaker, writer, and community organizer debuts her debut feature film, “Fortescue,” a drama exploring the complexities of mental health, female friendships, and societal expectations.

 “Fortescue” delves into the protagonist’s struggle with psychosis, a condition Love herself has navigated, offering a raw and honest portrayal rarely seen on screen.”

We ask:

-> Can you tell us about your mental health journey?

-> How did you first get into filmmaking?

-> How does your filmmaking relate to your experience of psychosis?

-> What does your mental health advocacy look like in Canada?

-> What did you wish you knew when you were first diagnosed with Bipolar?

Links:

FORTESCUE TRAILER

https://vimeo.com/1009454730?share=cop

Support the show

Please share and support the podcast so we can reach more people who need the info and support.

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Randye Kaye
Mindy Greiling
Miriam (Mimi) Feldman

Send a Text to the Moms - please include your contact info if you want a response. thanks!

Vince Granada discussed his book "Everything is Fine," which tells the story of his family's experience with schizophrenia following his sibling's deteriorating mental health condition and tragic outcome. 

To support the podcast

https://www.buzzsprout.com/1604296/supporters/new

Vince explained that he wrote the book not to instill fear but to help others understand how such terrible situations can occur and potentially prevent them in the future. He shared that the book emerged from his personal need to process his family's experience and his discovery of significant gaps in mental health treatment systems.

Vince shared his family's tragic experience when his brother Tim, who had undiagnosed schizophrenia, killed their mother during a psychotic episode in 2014. 

Vince discussed how his parents, both doctors, struggled to understand the severity of Tim's illness and the challenges of treatment, including the lack of assisted outpatient treatment (AOT) laws in Connecticut. 

The conversation covered the rare but real occurrence of violence in schizophrenia cases, with Vince estimating approximately 200 such incidents in the US in 2013, and the importance of discussing these cases to reduce stigma rather than avoid the topic. 

Vince described his ongoing relationship with Tim, who is currently in a forensic facility but has shown significant improvement in recent years on clozapine medication, and emphasized the need for better communication strategies with people experiencing psychosis, particularly understanding anosognosia and avoiding dismissive responses to their experiences.

Links: 

https://www.vincegranata.net/

Vince’s book on Amazon

https://a.co/d/02cJTeA9

Thanks for liking and sharing the podcast! 

Mindy and her book: https://mindygreiling.com/

Randye and her book: https://randyekaye.com/

Miriam and her book: https://www.miriam-feldman.com/

Support the show

Please share and support the podcast so we can reach more people who need the info and support.

Want to know more?
Join our facebook page 
Our websites:
Randye Kaye
Mindy Greiling
Miriam (Mimi) Feldman

Send a Text to the Moms - please include your contact info if you want a response. thanks!

Guest:

Laura Stack, founder and CEO of Johnny's Ambassadors, a non-profit focused on youth THC prevention, discussing the tragic story of her son Johnny who died by suicide at age 19 after experiencing cannabis-induced psychosis.

Scroll to the bottom of show notes for a link to join our family of supporters!

 The discussion covered:

•  the significant differences between today's high-potency THC products (containing 25-40% THC) and historical marijuana use, with Laura explaining that adolescent brain development makes them particularly vulnerable to these effects.
• research showing that 40% of young men who experience cannabis-related psychosis will be diagnosed with schizophrenia within three years, and discussed the challenges of distinguishing between drug-induced psychosis and genuine mental illness. 
• advice to parents about monitoring their adolescent's marijuana use and encouraging listeners to visit Johnny's Ambassadors website for educational resources and support.

Podcast Updates and Upcoming Events

• Upcoming film screening in Minnesota on May 18th (No One Cares About Crazy People) and its availability for pre-order on Apple TV
• Schizophrenia Symposium in Baltimore in June where Randye will speak about involving families in recovery. 
• The podcast is in its sixth season and we’ve been funding the podcast themselves. We’re now able to ask for listener support to help spread the word about the podcast.Supporters will have benefits like the opportunity to participate in “listeners ask” episodes.
• We are working on tagging all episodes to make them easier to search by topic.

Links:

https://johnnysambassadors.org/

Film: https://noonecaresfilm.com/

Schizophrenia Symposium at Johns Hopkins:https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/psychiatry/specialty-areas/schizophrenia/symposium

Bradford Hill Analysis of Causation Applied to Cannabis Use and the Development of Psychotic Disorders: https://johnnysambassadors.org/bradfordhillcip/ 

Mindy and her book: https://mindygreiling.com/

Randye and her book: https://randyekaye.com/

Miriam and her book: https://www.miriam-feldman.com/

Support the show

Please share and support the podcast so we can reach more people who need the info and support.

Want to know more?
Join our facebook page 
Our websites:
Randye Kaye
Mindy Greiling
Miriam (Mimi) Feldman

Send a Text to the Moms - please include your contact info if you want a response. thanks!

For families and those living with Schizophrenia, words matter. Today, we look at what’s behind the diagnosis, why experts are rethinking it as a neurodevelopmental syndrome—and whether changing the name could change lives. 

This podcast episode focused on rethinking and potentially renaming schizophrenia as a neurodevelopmental syndrome. 

Dr. Matcheri Keshavan (Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston; Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School)

 and Dr. Raquelle Mesholam-Gately (Assistant Professor, Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Co-Director, Recovery in Shared Experiences (RISE) Early Psychosis Program, Cambridge Health Alliance, Cambridge, MA.)

 discussed their research on renaming schizophrenia, with the most popular suggestion being "Altered Perception Syndrome" based on their survey of 1,200 respondents. 

They explained that schizophrenia may be better understood as a spectrum of disorders rather than one condition, with evidence showing developmental brain abnormalities including excessive synaptic pruning in adolescence. 

The experts described how a name change could help reduce stigma, enable earlier detection through biomarkers, and lead to more personalized treatment approaches. They also discussed the historical context of the current name's origins and shared that similar name changes for other conditions like bipolar disorder and autism spectrum disorder have shown positive results in reducing stigma and improving care.

Thanks for liking and sharing the podcast! 

Links: 

Schizophrenia & Psychosis Action Alliance : https://sczaction.org/

Mindy and her book: https://mindygreiling.com/

Randye and her book: https://randyekaye.com/

Miriam and her book: https://www.miriam-feldman.com/

Support the show

Please share and support the podcast so we can reach more people who need the info and support.

Want to know more?
Join our facebook page 
Our websites:
Randye Kaye
Mindy Greiling
Miriam (Mimi) Feldman