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Mental illness goes mainstream
ARCHIVES OF
PSYCHIATRIC NURSING December 1992
Vol. VI. No. 6 EDITORIAL
Mental Illness Goes Mainstream
T
HE FACE OF MENTAL illness, in the form of Kevin Buchberger, appeared on the cover of Time on July 6, 1992. Mr. Buchberger was one of several people featured in an article about schizophrenia and the new drugs, like clozapine, which have dramatically changed the lives of those fortunate enough to be treated with them. This is, afterall, the decade of the brain, and it was only a matter of (well, you know) before Time joined in the celebration. Certainly Time was not the first to feature an article on the latest biomedical discoveries in psychiatry; but, it was the first to give schizophrenia a human face and to tell the story from the patients’ perspective in straightforward, nonstigmatizing terms that most laymen could understand. We were shown pictures of attractive functioning adults and told stories of recovery that took many people from the nightmare of psychosis to the dayto-day reality of school, jobs, and meaningful social interactions. We heard the voices of anguished family members describe what it is like to lose a young son or daughter to schizophrenia, and we felt the pain of burden and unrealized dreams in their words. We learned that very few people currently have access to these new drugs and that some (less than 2%) must be taken off them because of signs of agranulocytosis only to be plunged back into psychosis and the ravages of schizophrenia, even harder to endure after experiencing the possibility of a better quality life. We were cautioned that drug therapy alone was not sufficient for a successful and lasting recovery, but that patients and their families need to work with counselors to gradually reacclimate themselves to
daily living in a society that had become like a foreign culture to them. Families need to relearn the process of letting go after so many years of protecting and caring for their loved ones. An innovative program at Case Western Reserve’s Psychosocial Rehabilitation Clinic is designed to facilitate life adjustment once the drugs begin to take effect. You might be thinking that none of this is news to psychiatric nurses. We know all about recovery and rehabilitation and certainly have been on the front lines in managing the administration of the new drugs and monitoring their side effects. We do know alot about recovery, rehabilitation, and treatment of serious mental disorders. So, why don’t we read about more nurse-initiated innovative programs, which are helping patients and their families make the most of recovery? Psychiatry is forging a new biomedical frontier. The patients and their families are bravely risking public exposure to bring stories of hope to the American public. There is no shortage of opportunity to design and test relevant programs that will assist people in making social and occupational adjustments and that will help them to deal with the ups and downs of new psychopharmacological treatments. Because nurses provide the infrastructure on which much of the mental health system is built, we may have to challenge the status quo in order to redistribute resources where they are most needed in innovative programs. As mental illness goes mainstream, let’s be sure we aren’t swimming against the tide. Judith B. Krauss
Archiues of Psychiatric Ivursing, Vol. Vi, No. 6 (December), 1992: p. 323
Editor
323
PSYCHIATRIC NURSING December 1992
Vol. VI. No. 6 EDITORIAL
Mental Illness Goes Mainstream
T
HE FACE OF MENTAL illness, in the form of Kevin Buchberger, appeared on the cover of Time on July 6, 1992. Mr. Buchberger was one of several people featured in an article about schizophrenia and the new drugs, like clozapine, which have dramatically changed the lives of those fortunate enough to be treated with them. This is, afterall, the decade of the brain, and it was only a matter of (well, you know) before Time joined in the celebration. Certainly Time was not the first to feature an article on the latest biomedical discoveries in psychiatry; but, it was the first to give schizophrenia a human face and to tell the story from the patients’ perspective in straightforward, nonstigmatizing terms that most laymen could understand. We were shown pictures of attractive functioning adults and told stories of recovery that took many people from the nightmare of psychosis to the dayto-day reality of school, jobs, and meaningful social interactions. We heard the voices of anguished family members describe what it is like to lose a young son or daughter to schizophrenia, and we felt the pain of burden and unrealized dreams in their words. We learned that very few people currently have access to these new drugs and that some (less than 2%) must be taken off them because of signs of agranulocytosis only to be plunged back into psychosis and the ravages of schizophrenia, even harder to endure after experiencing the possibility of a better quality life. We were cautioned that drug therapy alone was not sufficient for a successful and lasting recovery, but that patients and their families need to work with counselors to gradually reacclimate themselves to
daily living in a society that had become like a foreign culture to them. Families need to relearn the process of letting go after so many years of protecting and caring for their loved ones. An innovative program at Case Western Reserve’s Psychosocial Rehabilitation Clinic is designed to facilitate life adjustment once the drugs begin to take effect. You might be thinking that none of this is news to psychiatric nurses. We know all about recovery and rehabilitation and certainly have been on the front lines in managing the administration of the new drugs and monitoring their side effects. We do know alot about recovery, rehabilitation, and treatment of serious mental disorders. So, why don’t we read about more nurse-initiated innovative programs, which are helping patients and their families make the most of recovery? Psychiatry is forging a new biomedical frontier. The patients and their families are bravely risking public exposure to bring stories of hope to the American public. There is no shortage of opportunity to design and test relevant programs that will assist people in making social and occupational adjustments and that will help them to deal with the ups and downs of new psychopharmacological treatments. Because nurses provide the infrastructure on which much of the mental health system is built, we may have to challenge the status quo in order to redistribute resources where they are most needed in innovative programs. As mental illness goes mainstream, let’s be sure we aren’t swimming against the tide. Judith B. Krauss
Archiues of Psychiatric Ivursing, Vol. Vi, No. 6 (December), 1992: p. 323
Editor
323