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Resources
Knowledge is Empowering. When visiting medical professionals or dealing with a mental health institution, the more you are aware of how the system works and the advances in science, the more you will be able to communicate clearly what you or your loved one is entitled to receive.
BEFORE THE CRISIS - be sure to have ready and printed a one-page psychiatric history of the person who needs help as this can make the evaluation team, or police officers have a broader understanding. List the diagnosis, dates and facilities (ER, Urgent Crisis, Hospitalization), duration of time in each one, medication taken and why. Also include medications that work best and medications that need to avoided. If possible, get from your loved one a written authorization that allows you to communicate and be informed by the medical professionals during the treatment (in case the person is not conserved).
CRISIS - Generally a 2 people Team arrives at the scene. While one interviews the person, hand to the other the one-page psychiatric history and encourage them to read it as this will reassure them of the need for hospitalization. Ask that the person is taken to a county hospital if you want conservatorship. Psychiatric Urgent Care only holds people on a 51/50 for 48 hours which most times is not enough time for stabilization. If your loved one is about to be discharged and you think hospitalization is needed make sure the doctors have the one-page history and make a point as only people at risk of hurting others or oneself are the priorities.
LPS CONSERVATORSHIP - take the excellent course with Gail Evanguelidi, NAMI volunteer, which provides a load of great suggestions, helpful names and numbers.
TEMPORARY HOUSING
SHARE – www.shareselfhelp.org 1-977-SHARE-49
Does not require the person to be on medication, only requirement is to attend self-help groups. Houses have from 8-10 tenants. Tenant is responsible for his own cooking. No manager on-site.
RESPITE HOMES – These are homes that can house for 3 days-2 weeks people with mental illness who need a place to recollect themselves for a short time. Run by Peers.
Project Return – https://prpsn.org
Hacienda of Hope - (562) 388-8183 Long Beach, Ca. Jason Garcia jgarcia@prpsn.org
Soteria Past, Present, and Future: The Evidence For This Model of Care - YouTube
BOOKS
Noah’s Schizophrenia, by Kartar Diamond www.noahsschizophrenia.com
A must read for parents of a mother’s odyssey and relentless advocacy in getting treatment to her son through the maze of misinformation and failures of the mental health system.
No one cares about Crazy People, by Ron Powers
The social history of mental illness in America paired with the deeply personal story of his two sons' battles with schizophrenia.
Hidden Valley Road, by Robert Colker www.hidden-valley-road.com
Clozapine: Meaningful Recovery from Schizophrenia by Robert S. Laitman, M.D. and others.
The story of recovery of a young man with schizophrenia told by himself and his parents who are MD’s and provided high level of care at home. It details how to best use this medication as a first line of defense, instead of making it the last medication to try.
Insane Consequences: How the Mental Health Care System Fails the Mentally Ill by DJ Jaffe
This policy book outlines what has historically not worked to help the seriously mentally ill in the U.S.
and what needs to change. Special emphasis on those with SMI who do not respond to treatment.
Breakdown: A Clinician’s Experience in a Broken System of Emergency Psychiatry by Lynn Nanos
This book documents an emergency psychiatric nurse’s experiences in getting mentally people
hospitalized, only to see them discharged before they are stable and without an appropriate follow-up
treatment plan.
Tomorrow Was Yesterday: Explosive First-Person Indictments of the US Mental Health System-Mothers Across the Nation Tell It Like It Is By Dede Ranahan with 64 Co-Authors
BOOKS and WEBSITES ON MENTAL HEALTH NUTRITION
Gut and Psychology Syndrome by Natasha Campbell-McBride, MD– www.gaps.me
Nutrition and Mental Illness by Carl C. Pfeiffer, PhD, MD
The Brain Chemistry Plan by Michael Lesser, MD, Psychiatrist
This is Your Brain on Food by Uma Naidoo, MD Nutritional Psychiatrist
Bloated? by Edison de Mello, MD, PhD
www.diagnosisdiet.com – by Georgia Ede, MD Nutritional Psychiatrist
FILMS
Shattered Families, Produced by Dr. Stephen Seager
This is a documentary on YouTube which highlights what is wrong with the mental health care system,
how the major mental health care agencies are misguided, and what can change to improve the whole
system.
ADVOCACY, EDUCATION & POLICIES
Treatment Advocacy Center - treatmentadvocacycenter.org
National Alliance for Mental Illness - nami.org
Schizophrenia and Psychosis Action Alliance - https://psychintegrity.org/
Pete Earley - Bestselling Author and Mental Health Advocate peteearley.com
SCIENTIFIC STUDIES
MEDICATION DOSAGE
Less or No Medication After Psychosis Fosters Recovery
https://psychnews.psychiatryonline.org/doi/10.1176/appi.pn.2013.8b2
Medication dosage & Cognition - https://www.hindawi.com/journals/schizort/2016/8213165/
Dose reduction can improve cognitive function and negative symptoms in stable schizophrenic patients
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0269881118756062
Schizophrenia in 2020: Trends in diagnosis and therapy - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26011091/
PHARMACOGENETIC & NEUROIMAGING
Individualized Medicine: Pharmacogenetic Assessment & Clinical Treatment (camhx.ca)
https://www.apnews.com/57f88efc735141a6fa03c489738e2b8f
Treatment-Resistant Schizophrenia: Genetic and Neuroimaging Correlates - PubMed (nih.gov)
Prediction of response to drug therapy in psychiatric disorders - PubMed (nih.gov)
BENEFITS OF MUSIC
Music Therapy as Treatment of Negative Symptoms for Adult Patients Diagnosed with Schizophrenia-
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30939778/
18 studies with 1200 participants - Music therapy for people with schizophrenia and schizophrenia-like disorders - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28553702/
The Effect of Music on Auditory Hallucination and Quality of Life in Schizophrenic Patients: A Randomised Controlled Trial - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30111213/
https://www.musicmendsminds.org/research
BENEFITS OF NUTRITION
Diet Quality and Mental Health Amongst Acute Inpatient Psychiatric Patients - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33552754/
The link between Food and Mental Health - https://www.apa.org/monitor/2017/09/food-mental-health
What Is the Role of Dietary Inflammation in Severe Mental Illness? https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00350/full
Anti-Inflammatory Diets and Schizophrenia - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33204665/
An anti-inflammatory diet as a potential intervention for depressive disorders -https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0261561418325408
Food and mood: how do diet and nutrition affect mental wellbeing? https://www.bmj.com/content/369/bmj.m2382
Milestones in Human Microbiota Research - https://www.nature.com/immersive/d42859-019-00041-z/index.html
Western diet is associated with a smaller hippocampus https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4563885/
Nordic Diet and Inflammation - https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/11/6/1369/htm
Relationship between Mediterranean Dietary Polyphenol Intake and Obesity - https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/10/10/1523/htm
An anti-inflammatory diet as a potential intervention for depressive disorders
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30502975/
KETOGENIC DIET
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/advancing-psychiatry/201904/chronic-schizophrenia-put-remission-without-medication Dr Chris Palmer, Ass. Prof Psychiatry Harvard University
The Use of Ketogenic Diet in Psychiatric Disorders
In April 2019 the medical journal Schizophrenia Research described two cases of complete remission of schizophrenia with the help of the ketogenic diet.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8120987/
GUT MICROBIOME
Gut-Bacteria targeted Diet improves Mental Health
https://www.scientificwellness.com/blog-view/gut-bacteria-targeted-diet-improves-mental-health--683
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30523432/
Gut microbiome shapes schizophrenia – https://www.discovermagazine.com/health/researchers-find-further-evidence-that-schizophrenia-is-connected-to-our-guts
Use of Pre & Probiotic as auxiliary treatment in Schizophrenia - https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00156/full
Influence of gut microbiota dysbiosis on brain function- https://journals.lww.com/pbj/fulltext/2020/04000/Influence_of_gut_microbiota_dysbiosis_on_brain.1.aspx/
The microbiota–gut–brain axis - https://www.nature.com/articles/d42859-019-00021-3
The Human Microbiota in Health and Disease - https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2095809917301492
Effect of Probiotic Supplementation on Schizophrenia Symptoms and Association with Gastrointestinal Functioning – https://www.psychiatrist.com/pcc/schizophrenia/effect-probiotic-supplementation-schizophrenia-symptoms/
BENEFITS OF NUTRACEUTICALS FOR MENTAL ILLNESS
148 studies on Vit D & Schizophrenia - Vitamin D and schizophrenia: 20 years on - PubMed (nih.gov)
Clinical and metabolic response to vitamin D plus probiotic in schizophrenia patients - PubMed (nih.gov)
OMEGA 3 - Efficacy of Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids (PUFAs) on Impulsive Behaviors and
Aggressiveness in Psychiatric Disorders - PubMed (nih.gov)
The impact of omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins E and C supplementation on treatment outcome and side
effects in schizophrenia patients treated with haloperidol
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0278584607002291
Beneficial effects of omega-3 fatty acid supplementation in schizophrenia: possible mechanisms
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7333328/
The Effects of Probiotic and Selenium Co-supplementation on Clinical and Metabolic Scales in Chronic
Schizophrenia - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33409919/
Niacin-respondent subset of schizophrenia – a therapeutic review
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25855923/
Decreased Brain Levels of Vitamin B12 in Aging, Autism and Schizophrenia - PubMed (nih.gov)
Randomized multicenter investigation of folate plus vitamin B12 supplementation in schizophrenia –
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23467813/
Adjunctive Nutraceuticals for Depression: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses | American Journal of Psychiatry (psychiatryonline.org)
Vitamin B6 in treatment of tardive dyskinesia: a preliminary case series study https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10442256/
https://scitechdaily.com/some-people-with-schizophrenia-may-simply-have-a-vitamin-deficiency/
Diet and Psychosis: A Scoping Review - PubMed (nih.gov)
Nutritional supplements in psychotic disorders - PubMed (nih.gov)
Nutritional therapies for mental disorders - PubMed (nih.gov)
BENEFITS OF EXERCISE IN MENTAL ILLNESS
A meta-review of exercise & lifestyle in psychiatry -the role of exercise, smoking, diet and sleep in the prevention and treatment of mental disorders - PubMed (nih.gov)
Exercise and Schizophrenia – Intervention needed to increase Physical Activity Sedentary behavior = more negative symptoms
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00087/full
Aerobic exercise improves cognitive function in people with schizophrenia