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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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Randye Kaye
Mindy Greiling
Miriam (Mimi) Feldman

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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/

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Randye Kaye
Mindy Greiling
Miriam (Mimi) Feldman

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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

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Randye Kaye
Mindy Greiling
Miriam (Mimi) Feldman

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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.

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Randye Kaye
Mindy Greiling
Miriam (Mimi) Feldman

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​Creating a Mentally Healthy Nation for All: the APA Foundation

(Ep. 137)

A discussion with Dr. Vedrana Hodzic, Director of Fellowships and Medical Education for the American Psychiatric Association Foundation, and Dr. Brendan Ross a psychiatry resident at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City.

The conversation focused on:

• the APA Foundation's mission to create a mentally healthy nation, with particular emphasis on their community-based mental health programs.
• Brendan shared his experience working with intensive mobile treatment teams in New York City, which provide mobile psychiatric care to people with severe mental illness in their homes and apartments.
• Dr. Hodzic discussed the Foundation's work integrating mental health services with faith communities through the Mother Cabrini grant program, which includes training peer navigators and increasing access to mental health care in religious settings.
• Challenges in psychiatry, including the need for better reimbursement rates for mental health services and strategies for working with families of people with serious mental illness.
• The guests emphasized the importance of relationship-building and patience in treating individuals with severe mental illness, noting that successful outcomes often require extended periods of trust-building with patients.

Links

https://www.apaf.org/

https://smilrc.org/

https://www.smart911.com/

    link: https://www.psychiatryonline.org/doi/10.1176/appi.pn.2026.02.2.3

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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Randye Kaye
Mindy Greiling
Miriam (Mimi) Feldman

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Guest: (returning) Jerri Niebaum Clark

(Episodes 85 and 32 - Ambiguous Loss and Advocacy)

In Gone Before Gone, Clark describes her son’s “death by degrees” during a young adulthood wrecked by severe mental illness.

Surviving a parent’s nightmare led to Clark’s memoir of self-help—a toolkit for living with “ambiguous loss,” a term coined by Pauline Boss, PhD, an academic, author, and long-time family therapist. Trained by Boss herself, Clark has blended Boss’ concepts with her own experiences and the coping skills she’s cultivated as a long-time yoga teacher.

The result is a book like none other. Part memoir, part survival guide, complete with practical exercises .

Quick recap

Jerri Clark explained how she transformed her grief into a practical guide using ambiguous loss theory, applying these concepts specifically to families dealing with severe mental illness, emphasizing that families can heal while still experiencing pain, and challenging common platitudes about grief and strength.

Jerri shared insights about the importance of proper treatment, including clozapine and assisted outpatient treatment, and how families should not be defined solely by their caregiving roles. The episode concluded with all 3 Moms' (Mimi was not able to be there, Jerri is Mom #3) message that families can live fulfilling lives alongside ongoing grief and advocacy work.

Gone Before Gone book:

https://a.co/d/0gQFqukA

Johns Hopkins Symposium:

https://events.jhu.edu/form/schizophrenia-center-annual-symp

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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Randye Kaye
Mindy Greiling
Miriam (Mimi) Feldman

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We’ve discussed FDA barriers to clozapine and side effects of all antipsychotics. Tonight we’ll zero in on Risperdal its producer, Johnson and Johnson, and the FDA.

First, we’d like to say that for those listeners who are benefitting from Risperdal, the best antipsychotic is one that’s working for you. We’ll be talking about people for whom it’s not working so well.

Our guest for this discussion is Gardiner Harris, author of the NYT bestselling book “No More Tears: The Dark Secrets of Johnson and Johnson.” Mr. Harris, a Yale graduate, is a freelance investigative journalist who was previously an reporter for the WSJ and NYT covering public health and the pharmaceutical industry.

Most book chapters are exposes of trusted Johnson and Johnson products, from Baby Powder to cancer drugs, and are getting media attention, but we shine a light on the section about Risperdal.

Questions:

1. First let’s talk about Risperdal benefit. Tell us about efficacy studies, including the CATIE trial and what they showed about Risperdal. (Dr. Jeffrey Lieberman of Columbia University who led CATIE was a recent guest).
2. How do atypicals compare in price to older drugs like Haldol?
3. What role did J& J and the FDA play in selling them to cash-strapped states?
4. What are state budget trade-offs?
5. What role did NAMI play?
6. In this podcast, we mostly focus on adults with schizophrenia and psychosis-spectrum illnesses, but briefly, what was the off-label market (seniors and kids) for Risperdal and why did it take over sales?
7. What role did psychiatrists play?
8. Please talk about gynecomastia. (breasts, lactation)
9. How did whistleblowers and lawyers help to change J & J practices? Why were no executives convicted?
10. Do you have advice for consumers who seek the best medication for themselves or their loved ones?

Links:

book: https://www.amazon.com/No-More-Tears-Secrets-Johnson/dp/0593229878/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0

author: https://gardinerharris.com/

CMS website/Physicians Payment Sunshine act:

https://openpaymentsdata.cms.gov/

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