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A “Just Us” episode - inspired by listener input

Many listeners have asked us to do an episode about recovery that is “in the middle” - not miraculous, not superstar, but appreciating when “ordinary” is, in itself, a miracle.

Along the way we also talk about President Trump’s Executive Order on Homelessness - On July 24, the White House issued an Executive Order, “Ending Crime and Disorder on America’s Streets,” which directs federal agencies to make it easier to involuntarily treat people with serious mental illnesses as part of a bid to address homelessness across the United States.

Addressing Homelessness and Mental Illness

The group discussed President Trump's executive order on addressing homelessness and mental illness, with Randye, Mindy, and Mimi expressing concerns about the approach. They agreed that while affordable housing is important, it alone is not enough to solve homelessness, and that involuntary treatment must be accompanied by a robust mental health system. Mindy highlighted the need for both conservative and liberal support to create a comprehensive continuum of care, while the group criticized the lack of funding for mental health services under the current administration. They shared personal stories of individuals with mental illness who were unable to access appropriate treatment due to system failures, emphasizing the urgent need for a balanced approach that combines housing, treatment, and support services.

Challenges of Schizophrenia Recovery

The group discussed the challenges faced by individuals with mental illness, particularly focusing on those who are not in active psychosis but still experience significant negative symptoms. The Moms explained that recovery does not mean complete recovery but rather being in a process of improvement, and highlighted the eight principal negative symptoms of schizophrenia, including apathy, blunted emotions, social withdrawal, and anhedonia. The group explored how negative symptoms affect daily life and recovery for their sons.

Challenges of Schizophrenia's Negative Symptoms

The group discussed the challenges of managing schizophrenia, particularly focusing on negative symptoms and their impact on daily life. 

Mindy shared her experience with her son Jim, who struggles with negative symptoms such as lack of initiative and social withdrawal, leading to isolation and difficulty engaging in activities. 

 Mimi shared her positive experience at Dr. Laitman's barbecue event with her son, emphasizing the value of community and understanding among families facing similar challenges. 

The hosts also mentioned President Trump's executive order on homelessness and encouraged listeners to create local support groups for individuals with mental health issues.

Randye described her son's journey with schizophrenia, including periods of improvement followed by setbacks, and highlighted the importance of structure, community, and purpose and treatment in managing the condition. Both women emphasized the difficulty of explaining negative symptoms to others and the need for more support and understanding for individuals with schizophreni

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Randye Kaye
Mindy Greiling
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Guests: Stephanie Greer (DoroMind), Xavier Amador(LEAP)

Ever wish you had a communication coach in your back pocket to guide you through a conversation with your LO (loved One) with SMI (Serious Mental Illness)?

DoroMind and the LEAP Institute are working on it - want to try it out?

“At Doro Mind and the LEAP Institute, we've been weaving AI into our clinical operations to improve the experience for the families we support, the care teams we employ, and to make what we offer more financially accessible and sustainable. We'd appreciate the opportunity to highlight some of the work we've done at the intersection of SMI and AI - and also highlight some of the new AI work underway with Xavier Amador and the LEAP Institute.”

In this episode, hear what happens when Randye and Mindy try out this LEAP approach on current challenging situations- with on-the spot AI coaching.

In the Summer of 2025, you can try it yourself! 

Dr. Amador, author of I Am Not Sick, I Don’t Need Help, was our guest on episode 27 (one of our most popular).  We had a guest from Doromind on Episode 107, along with Dr. Rob Laitman.

Links:

https://www.doromind.com/

https://leapinstitute.org/

To use the free 3-day Trial

1. Download the Doro Mind app in the app store on your phone
2. Open the Practice tab (this is a tab at the bottom of the screen)
3. Tap ‘start’ to access your free 3-day preview. After you click the start button you will have 3 days to test out the AI coach.

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/

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Guests Wyatt Forte, and his mom Denise Forte

Those Not So Little Voices offers a unique narrative as it is authored over the course of three and a half years --- from the age of fourteen to almost eighteen --- by a teenager struggling to make sense of psychotic symptoms that he experienced since he was six years old.

Wyatt’s journey is an amazing story, filled with heart-wrenching moments and major setbacks, but most importantly, it's an uplifting story that shows the power of love, support and resiliency.

Link: the book on Amazon - 

https://a.co/d/4i3kVkU

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/

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Guests: Rakesh Jain, MD, and Sherland Peterson, who has experience living with TD

More than 14 million Americans have a serious mental illness, such as bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder or schizophrenia – conditions that can be treated with antipsychotic medicines. Use of these medicines has increased 22% in recent years, particularly within the last 10 years, in turn increasing the risk of a debilitating chronic movement condition called tardive dyskinesia (TD), which can cause uncontrollable and repetitive movements that make eating, drinking and walking difficult.

While TD can be treated, integrating new medicines into existing treatment plans can be difficult, and people living with schizophrenia may worry that treating TD could cause regression in their mental illness. A one-pill, once-daily treatment option exists that can be integrated into existing mental health treatment plans, helping people manage their mental health and TD in tandem.

We Ask:

Dr. Jain:

·       What is tardive dyskinesia and what are the common signs and symptoms of this condition?

·       What is the connection between tardive dyskinesia and the use of antipsychotics, and what are the primary challenges that patients and doctors face when treating this condition?

·       What is this one pill, once-daily treatment option and why is it an important option to consider?

·       Where can people go to learn more?

Sherland:

·       Can you share your personal story of living with tardive dyskinesia?

·       What impact has tardive dyskinesia had on your life, from daily activities, to your mental health and social events?

·       What do you wish more people knew about tardive dyskinesia?

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/

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Guest: Laura M . Brancato, Esq. - Elder Law And Vulnerable Client Specialist

“As an attorney and an advocate, my mission is to provide specialized legal advice and support to families with vulnerable loved ones. With a focus on mental health, special needs, elder law, substance abuse disorders and related matters, I am dedicated to helping clients navigate complex legal landscapes and achieve the best possible outcomes for their families.”

TEXT re HIPAA and patient privacy  (link below):

Even when the patient is not present or it is impracticable because of emergency circumstances or the patient’s incapacity for the covered entity to ask the patient about discussing her care or payment with a family member or other person, a covered entity may share this information with the person when, in exercising professional judgment, it determines that doing so would be in the best interest of the patient.

Past Episodes: Conservatorship, ep. 6

Judge Lisa Wexler on Mental Health and Legal Matters, ep. 12 and 13

SSDI: Ep. 50

Laura on LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/laura-m-brancato-67728814/

Video on Silver Hill website:

https://silverhillhospital.org/community/video/families-in-a-double-bind-the-need-for-legal-advice-in-navigating-the-psychiatric-health-system-by-laura-brancato-esq/

HHS and HIPAA:

https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professionals/faq/488/does-hipaa-permit-a-doctor-to-discuss-a-patients-health-status-with-the-patients-family-and-friends/index.html

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/

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Guests: Natasha Williams and Liz  Sjaastad

Natasha Williams  -The Parts of Him I Kept: The Gifts of My Father's Madness  (Natasha’s book) is an intimate account of a daughter’s coming of age in the face of her father’s schizophrenic unraveling. Williams investigates the limits of our medical and cultural understanding of schizophrenia while chronicling the shared burden and benefits of caring for a mentally ill family member.

Liz Sjaastad - Liz has written a memoir, You’re Too Young to Understand, about growing up with, and then caring for, her father – a quiet Russian immigrant, an intellectual who drank too much and her mother – a smart and proper beauty who suffered with the life-altering brain illness of schizophrenia, though she never acknowledged it. 

We ask: 

If you could give one piece of advice to a child with parents like yours, what would it be?

When did you begin to understand?

Did your family life affect your siblings differently? If so, how?

Have you forgiven your parents and if so when and how?

When did you think your children were old enough to understand? How did you talk with them?

Have you stopped fearing for yourself getting a serious mental illness? Your children?

LINKS:

Liz Sjaastad

[email protected]

www.lizsjaastad.com

Facebook

Instagram

NatashaWilliams:

https://www.natashawilliamswriter.com/

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/

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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

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Guest: Regina Graham, MD (she/her)

Medical Director of Early Psychosis Programs,

Health Sciences Clinical Professor

UC Davis School of Medicine

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, nearly one in five U.S. adults live with a mental illness ( 52.9 million people in 2020). While People of Color (POC) have rates of mental health disorders similar to Whites, these disorders are more likely to last longer and result in more significant disability for POC. Most mental illness goes untreated, especially in communities of color. Fifty-two percent of Whites with AMI received mental health services in 2020, compared to 37.1% of Blacks and 35% of Hispanics.

Dr. Graham is a child, adolescent, and adult psychiatrist, with expertise in intensive mental health settings -- including inpatient, residential, and emergency interventions -- working with vulnerable populations. She has a passion for prodromal, early and first-episode psychosis and its management utilizing specialized care models to optimize outcomes for patients, their families, and communities.

Definition of Minoritized Communities:

• Groups who have experienced systemic discrimination and marginalization due to factors like race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, or socioeconomic status
• Groups excluded from opportunities and power structures in our society

Questions:

• How does cultural background impact the experiences of schizophrenia for the individual and their loved ones?
• How could trauma impact members of minoritized communities with schizophrenia?
• How are members of minoritized communities with schizophrenia being served in mental health services, and what are the barriers to treatment?
• Specific story about how individuals from minoritized communities with schizophrenia hesitate in seeking treatment during a crisis?

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/

Hosts:

Who:

Randye Kaye - was a morning Radio Personality bringing humor to CT families when her own son was diagnosed with schizophrenia. Now she is still a Broadcaster, Actress, Voice Talent, Speaker, and Author (Ben Behind his Voices, Happier Made Simple)

Miriam Feldman -  is an artist, writer, and the mother of an adult son with schizophrenia. Her book, He Came in With It chronicles her family's story and was released to rave reviews on July 21st, 2020.

Mindy Greiling - Mindy Greiling was a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives for twenty years. She helped found the nation's first state mental health caucus, which successfully lobbied for

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• Letters…we get letters…well, actually emails, comments, and messages. In this episode we do our best to respond with perspective, information and resources.
• Please know that we are not doctors, cannot prescribe medication - nor do we know all the legalities and resources in each state or country (hello, international listeners!) - but, often, our guests do.

Her are some of the episodes we mention for your references:

108. Should our Loved One with SMI Live With Us?

99. What Will Happen When We’re Gone? Trusts, Pooled Trusts and More

83. What Do I Do Now?: THE Handbook for SZ Caregivers: guest, Nicole Drapeau Gillen

71. Help and Tips for Families in Mental Illness Crisis: Treatment Advocacy Center

56. Housing That Heals: Essential for Many with SMI

50 and 70. Help! I Don’t Understand SSI/SSDI - guest: Dani Page, JD

33. Fellowship Place, One Supportive Community Fostering Mental Health

18. Rethinking Clozapine: Should it be the First Resort to Treat Schizophrenia? - with Dr. Robert Laitman

12 and 13. Let’s Talk about the Law - Mental Illness and Legal Matters (Judge Lisa Wexler

6. Conservatorship for Schizophrenia: Who Needs it? Why? and How?

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/

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Actionable strategies for these family members and friends who give so much but whose needs and sacrifices are often unappreciated. Written by clinical psychologist Dr. Michelle Sherman and her mother, DeAnne Sherman, an advocate and educator, the book provides:

• Tools to cope with difficult emotions
• Strategies to empower loved ones, including how to navigate the mental health system
• Communication and limit-setting skills
• Approaches to supporting loved ones who have experienced trauma or have PTSD
• Ways to manage common challenges, such as alcohol or drug misuse, and when a loved one declines professional help
• Strategies to support children
• Skills to build personal resilience and strengthen relationships

Links:

I Am Not Alone book:

https://www.seedsofhopebooks.com/i-m-not-alone

Loving Someone with Mental Illness book:

https://www.seedsofhopebooks.com/loving-someone-with-a-mental-illness-or-history-of-trauma

Website for Michelle and DeAnne (has free resources):

https://www.seedsofhopebooks.com/

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

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

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

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Randye Kaye
Mindy Greiling
Miriam (Mimi) Feldman