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April 28, 2007
Three Films Feature Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Three films depicting the reaction to trauma are reviewed by Roland Atkinson, M.D., in the April, 2007 issue of Clinical Psychiatry News.
In Red Road, a woman pursues a man she observes by chance on a TV monitor having intercourse with a woman up against a wall. He is wanted by the law, and she sets him up so he is brought to justice. The audience eventually learns that she is motivated by the need to heal herself from her own trauma.
The Secret Life of Words depicts the relationship of a man and his nurse who have both been traumatized in different ways. He is at first overly aggressively seductive while she is frozen and unresponsive. Gradually they approach eachother warily, and reveal their painful stories to each other. This provides some healing for both. The dialog in this Spanish film is in English.
Grbavica is a film about Esma, a woman victim in the Bosnian war, during which she was imprisoned, abused and raped. She now lives with her 12 year old daughter Sara in Saravejo. Esma is painfully reserved and hesitant, while her daughter is full of life. The daughter attends school where acceptance depends on whether you were the child of a soldier who fought the Serbs or a product of rape. Does the discovery of truth set this couple free?
Related Links:
- "Women's Lives in the Wake of Trauma," Clinical Psychiatry News, Volume 35, Issue 4, Page 44 (April 2007)
- Red Road web site
- The Secret Life of Words trailer
- Grbavica web site
Posted by admin at 12:52 PM
Novelist Traces Mental Illness in His Eminent Ancestors
The distinguished novelist Frank Sedgwick was afflicted with a suicidal depression when he turned his attention to his New England ancestors who were both prominent and also frequently suffered from major mental illness from one generation to the next. His research is revealed in his book, In My Blood: Six Generations of Madness and Desire in an American Family.
The saga of his family contains many colorful and tragic characters, and provides Sedgwick with a context for his own illness.
Related Links:
- In My Blood: Six Generations of Madness and Desire in an American Family at Harper Collins web site
Posted by admin at 12:32 PM
New Film Depicts Schizophrenia
Canvas, an award winning independent film, depicts a schizophrenic woman who paints her dreams on a canvas. The film is one of a group of films described in an article, "Mental Illness on Screen," featured in the April, 2007 issue of Psychiatric Times. It stars academy award winner Marcia Gay Harden as Mary, the protagonist, and the Sopranos' Joe Pantoliano as her husband.
Chris, their 10 year old son, tries to conceal his mother's illness, but his mother's behavior alienates him from his schoolmates and creates a rift between him and his parents. The hospitalization of the mother provokes a family crisis, and the film shows how this is resolved by an acceptance of the mother's illness.
The writer/director Joseph Greco derived his inspiration for the film from experience with his mother who had schizophrenia and was hospitalized when he was a child. He also consulted with mental health professionals.
Related Links:
- "Mental Illness on Screen," Psychiatric Times, April 2007
- Canvas movie web site
Posted by admin at 12:11 PM
April 19, 2007
Information about School Shootings and Related Violence
Recent events have again pushed school violence to the forefront of our minds. There are many questions, and there is a lot of misinformation out there as well. The Foundation has links to information we feel will help provide some information for anyone who may be seeking answers. They are llisted below and have also been added to our Links page.
School Shootings and Related Violence
- Psychology of the School Shootings
- Student Violence in America's Schools
- Warning Signs of Youth Violence
- Youth Violence: A Report of the Surgeon General
Posted by admin at 12:25 PM
Too Many Americans Shun Needed Mental Health Care
A Baltimore study finds that stigma and lack of insurance keep two-thirds from treatment. The article follows:
FRIDAY, April 6 (HealthDay News) -- Nearly 30 percent of Americans need mental health care but only about a third of them receive it, researchers say.
Reporting in the March issue of the journal Psychiatric Services, researchers interviewed 816 people in Baltimore between 1993 and 1999.
They found that the most common conditions requiring treatment were alcohol dependence (14 percent) and major depression (11 percent). Other conditions looked at in the study were social phobia, panic disorder and agoraphobia.
Reasons why people don't seek or get care include the belief that they'll get better on their own; the belief that treatment won't help; societal pressures and stigma; a lack of insurance coverage for mental health care; and too few mental health professionals.
"I always ask patients how they sleep, because the way you sleep tells me a lot about how well you are. If you are so tired you are sleeping all the time or you can't sleep, that's a sign that something on your mind is not letting you relax," he said.
The state of a person's work and personal relationships are two other good indicators of mental health, Messias added.
SOURCE: Medical College of Georgia, news release, March 26, 2007
Related Link:
"Too Many Americans Shun Needed Mental Health Care", Yahoo News, April 6, 2007.
Posted by admin at 12:02 PM