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To the Editors:

This is the first opportunity I have of reading the Consumer Journal for Mental Health Advocacy. As a senior citizen, resident alien immigrant of African descent and patient of Kings County Psychiatric Center, I was fortunate to obtain a discarded summer issue on my appointment day visit to the hospital…On the article Complete Recovery from Schizophrenia (summer 2005 edition), I would like to say this Ms. Meera Popkin is fortunate to have been taken off medication and as I read here, she had been on medication for 10 years. All I can say is her doctors have insight and a humane attitude toward their patients even though the spiritual aspect might not be considered…from my experiences, Ms. Meera Popkin never had schizophrenia in the first place and thank God for her humane doctors.

On the article A Long Walk Home (summer 2005), the education aspect and the eventual realization that he is highly functional with skills to be an advocate and peer mentor [prompt me to say], “Good for him!”

[Regarding] Saving Mom from the Nursing Home (summer 2005), my mom was put in a nursing home after a circulation problem causing her to lose a leg. She is gone now, but it is so good for that family to have the alternate adult home to choose from for their mother.

Bye and God bless you.

Anonymously Submitted

New York City



Therapy Didn’t Help

To the Editors:

RE: A Letter to My Former Therapist by Elyssa Durant, summer 2005 edition.

I do not think much of therapy. It never helped me. In fact, it hurt me. I had therapists who treated me rudely, who didn’t believe me, who ignored me, etc. In fact, two breakdowns came as a result of them, which required hospitalization.

The “talking cure” doesn’t cure anything. It is not based on facts. Its “psychoanalysis” is based on Freud’s ideas—there were no clinical trials. Freud claimed he was “curing” people, but when pressed could only say he cured one person who had died in World War I.

Therapists (not just psychoanalysts) seem to be trying to run my life for me. I have a high IQ and know myself better than any therapist. A therapist running my life? Sorry, I’m not interested.

Jerome Frank

New York, New York



Four Comments

To the Editors:

First, about Meera Popkin’s article (Complete Recovery from Schizophrenia, summer 2005 edition), I’d add a note from a source like Recovery from Severe Mental Illness: Research, Evidence and Implications for Practice (2005 Davidson, Harding, Spanise) citing from page six that 25-65% of people will recover. I’d add a second note that says that it’s human to doubt something difficult has happened (I know I do!).

Second, I’d not like to see NYC Voices get too “heady” [synonym: “exciting”] with professional-style articles and lose hearing from us “commoners.”

Third, I’d like to know if you could research a difficult kind of label that can be removed after mailing, so I can read every word!

Fourth, remember that we as people with mental problems are so grossly uninformed as to the many known reasons for mental problems, we’d be shocked to find out how many we ourselves can eliminate with a little self-education on the subject.

Mary J Elgin, Illinois



Mail-in Prescriptions

To the Editors:

In a recent issue of City Voices I read there was a movement toward making pharmacies give out three-month prescriptions so that mentally ill people would not have to mail them in and wait (It’s Time to Fight Back by Steve Kaufman, RPH, summer 2005). Well, I got a surprise at our yearly meeting here at work. Every October 1st at our agency we get a new contract with our Health Care Provider. This year in a new twist, our carrier has now forced ALL medications taken on a chronic basis to be filled by mail-in orders. I wonder if this will be a trend but I wouldn't be surprised if it was since companies copy each other. I just thought you would find this interesting.
Ray Caligiure

New York, New York



Fearing Stigma from Others

To the Editors:

I was published in the July/Sept issue of 2003. I am writing with the hope that you will consider removing my work from your site. You see, I feel really, really embarrassed by the poems I wrote back then for a couple of reasons.
The main reason is that it is not at all uncommon these days for new acquaintances, prospective dates, or even possible employers to “Google” [definition: “search the Internet for”] anyone at all. Being schizophrenic is just not the very first thing I want people to know about me as a first impression. Every time someone asks me my last name, my heart freezes because I am worried they will Google me. It is an awful feeling.
The other reason is that I just think the poems don’t reflect any talent. I’ve taken a few writing courses since I wrote those and I have improved. It is simply humiliating to me that these personal and crappy poems are plastered on the Internet for anyone to read.

Former Contributor

Via the Web



Poetry Can Help People Understand

To the Editors:

I can always imagine myself at the podium singing or doing a piece of poetry because for several years we have been using poetry as a vehicle to bust stigma (see Poets Bust Stigma in spring 2005 edition). Let people hear us talk about some of the issues. Let us struggle to depict an idealized world that we poets create to get away from all of the horrible attitudes held about mental illness. We can even show them our fantasies or our sexual appetites and love ideals. Poetic language lends itself to feelings and attitudes that even the normal people might refuse to use. It does not have to embarrass anyone and I have found that my poetry has been well-received. I wish that everyone could find the peace of mind and solace that we poets work at everyday.

Cecil Williams

Jamaica, New York