TV Show About Suicide Sends My Friend To ER. Why You Need A Recovery Plan.

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(5-1-17) My friend and fellow advocate, Jennifer Marshall, posted a blog on her website last week that I wish to share with you.)

I Landed in the ER after watching ’13 Reasons Why’

Four days ago I finished watching the Netflix series ‘13 Reasons Why’ and drafted an opinion piece which I published Monday morning. The show rocked me to my core. So much so, that I landed in the Emergency Room of my local hospital. This is the story of how and why that happened.

I live with type 1 bipolar disorder. For those who aren’t aware of the various types of bipolar disorder, Bipolar Hope Magazine is an amazing resource and they have an informative section on their website which describes the types of bipolar and different symptoms. In a nutshell, my type of bipolar disorder means that I lean towards the manic side of the condition. If I’m not careful to protect my sleep, I could find myself launching into a manic episode. It doesn’t happen overnight, rather, over the course of several nights of getting little to no sleep.

 I put my mental health at risk by choosing to watch the show.

I didn’t know how risky it was to begin watching the show because I’ve been mentally healthy for the past 7 years. The last time I was hospitalized for a manic episode was, ironically, exactly seven years ago this month, when I was 5 weeks pregnant with my second child. I thought since I had been so stable for so long, it couldn’t possibly be that risky to watch a few episodes.

I was wrong.

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Rep. Murphy Rips White House Nominee: “Doesn’t Deserve” Top Mental Health Job

(4-26-17) Republican Representative Tim Murphy from Pennsylvania today publicly denounced the White House’s decision to nominate Dr. Ellie McCance-Katz, to be the first Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use in the Department of Health and Human Services.

During an appearance on C-SPAN’s Washington Journal, he said, “I hope that the President withdraws this nomination. I hope that if she advances forward the Senate does not confirm her.” He added: “She doesn’t deserve to be Assistant Secretary.”  

Dr. McCance-Katz currently serves as the chief medical officer for the state Department of Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities and Hospitals in Rhode Island. The White House announced her nomination last Friday, ending weeks of speculation about who might get the top mental health and substance abuse job that was created because of legislation that Rep. Murphy wrote and shepherded through Congress into law in December.

His appearance today came after his office issued a strongly worded press release on Monday criticizing Dr. McCance-Katz for not doing more during the two years that she worked at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) during the Obama administration as the agency’s chief medical officer.

The White House selected her from three candidates that included Miami Dade Judge Steve Leifman and Dr. Michael Welner, a forensic psychiatrist.

I strongly endorsed my good friend Judge Leifman for the job, but Rep. Murphy objected to him because he was not a psychiatrist (although that was not a requirement for the post) and reportedly because Rep. Murphy felt appointing someone from the criminal justice system to oversee the federal government’s largest mental health and substance abuse agency sent the public the wrong message.

In recent days, it has become clear that Rep. Murphy’s choice candidate is Dr. Welner, who I first met when both of us testified at the first hearing Rep. Murphy held after the 2012 Newtown shootings. The congressman has credited Dr. Welner with helping him draft what would become his Helping Families In Mental Health Crisis Act. At the hearing, Dr. Welner criticized HIPAA privacy laws that prevented families from obtaining information about a family member with mental illness.

The family is an essential informant of a mentally ill child’s condition, “but the HIPAA law says that you can’t talk,” said Michael Welner, MD, a forensic psychiatrist who’s the founder and chair of the Forensic Panel. The result is the family takes home a patient who is severely ill without having access to the patient’s doctor, and with no interim manual for mental health training, Dr. Welner said.

The congressman’s criticism of Dr. McCance-Katz was intended to thwart her nomination which must be approved by the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. House members do not vote to confirm presidential appointees, only Senators do. 

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Rep. Tim Murphy Criticizes White House For Nominating New Mental Health Czar Who Wasn’t His Choice

murphy3 (1)(4-24-17) Pennsylvania Republican Representative Tim Murphy said in a press released late today that he was “stunned” by President Trump’s decision to nominate Dr. Ellie McCance-Katz,  to be the first Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use in the Department of Health and Human Services.

Murphy, who was the driving force behind the Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act that created the new mental health and drug czar position, criticized Dr. McCance-Katz in his release because she worked for two years at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) during the Obama administration as the agency’s chief medical officer.

The old regime at SAMHSA was incapable and unwilling to work with me and my colleagues in Congress to deliver the transformative changes needed at the agency and throughout the federal government to serve families in crisis. Therefore I am stunned the President put forth a nominee who served in a key post at SAMHSA under the previous Administration when the agency was actively opposing the transformative changes in  H.R. 3717, the original version of my Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act. In fact, the previous Administration and SAMHSA actively opposed the creation of an Assistant Secretary, as well as opposing my changes to HIPAA, expanding access to inpatient crisis psychiatric hospital beds, strengthening commitment standards and a host of other reforms. 

“Dr. McCance-Katz served as Chief Medical Officer at the very time SAMHSA was under investigation for multiple failed practices and wasteful spending. She was the key medical leader when the agency actively lobbied against any change or accountability, including when the Energy & Commerce Committee, indeed the entire Congress, was aiming to fix our nation’s broken mental health system by passing the most transformational mental health reforms in a half century. And while she was serving at SAMHSA, there were questionable hiring practices, no accountability for federal grants, an anti-medical approach to serious mental illness and substance abuse treatment and most importantly, the continued upward rise of suicide and substance abuse deaths.

The White House announced Dr. McCance-Katz’s selection late Friday after seriously considering two other finalists for the job. They included Miami Dade Judge Steve Leifman, who Murphy reportedly strongly opposed because he was not a psychiatrist, and Dr. Michael Welner, a forensic psychiatrist who reportedly was Murphy’s favored choice for the position but was passed over without explanation. Last week, the Wall Street Journal confirmed a blog  that I posted last month that named Dr. Welner as Murphy’s first choice.

Rep. Murphy’s criticism of Dr. McCance-Katz ignored criticism that she levied against SAMHSA after she resigned. In a blistering essay published in the Psychiatric Times, Dr. McCance-Katz wrote that SAMHSA’s Center for Mental Health Services, which administers federal mental health programs, ignored serious mental illnesses and evidenced based practices in favor of feel-good recovery programs that were politically popular but did little to help persons diagnosed with debilitating disorders. She claimed that SAMHSA was openly hostile toward the use of psychiatric medicine, didn’t focus on helping the seriously mentally ill, and questioned whether bipolar disorder and schizophrenia were even real, arguing that psychosis is just a “different way of thinking for someone experiencing stress.”

In his press release criticizing her, Rep. Murphy didn’t mention Dr. McCance-Katz’s complaints about the agency, even though his release echoed much the same criticism that she had made in her article. He wrote:

“We must end the era of silly, feel-good, anti-scientific, redundant and wasteful actions at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and across all federal programs. The anti-medical approach to mental illness and addiction over the past decade has too often made the care for those with serious mental illness considerably worse.

“Having not been scrutinized by Congress for more than a decade, SAMHSA lacked mission-focus, deviated from congressional intent and spent taxpayer dollars on programs that at best are of dubious quality and effectiveness, and at worst, prevented care from being delivered to the most vulnerable patient population.

Supporters of Dr. McCance-Katz said they were caught completely off-guard by the severity of Murphy’s criticism given that Dr. McCance-Katz shared many of his views.

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My Son’s Story From Arrest To Recovery Is Chronicled In Wonderful Documentary!

(4-24-170 This short documentary is about my son, Kevin, and his struggles and ultimate recovery from mental illness. It was made by Alisa Posey, Stephanie Scriven and Ilayda Kocak, three local film makers.

“Talking about mental illness helps with the stigma we face,” Kevin told his friends on Facebook. “If Prince Harry and Lady Gaga can do it, so can we.”

“As my dad says on this documentary, ‘There should be no shame in having a mental illness, only shame in not helping someone who does!”

Trump Names Former SAMHSA Critic As Mental Health Czar: Dr. Ellie McCance-Katz

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(4-21-17) The White House announced late tonight that it had chosen Dr. Ellie McCance-Katz, as the first Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Abuse inside the Department of Health and Human Services ending months of speculation about who would be selected.

The announcement came after much speculation that Dr. Michael Welner, a forensic psychiatrist, would be chosen. As early as yesterday, some of my sources in the Senate were saying that Welner had a “lock” on the job. He had been endorsed by the American Psychiatric Association.

Dr. McCance-Katz is currently the chief medical officer for the state Department of Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities and Hospitals in Rhode Island.

She became SAMHSA’s first chief medical officer in 2013 but left after only two years.

In a critical essay published in the Psychiatric Times, Dr. McCance-Katz wrote that SAMHSA’s Center for Mental Health Services, which administers federal mental health programs, ignored serious mental illnesses and evidenced based practices in favor of feel-good recovery programs that were politically popular but did little to help persons diagnosed with debilitating disorders.

She claimed that SAMHSA was openly hostile toward the use of psychiatric medicine, didn’t focus on helping the seriously mentally ill, and questioned whether bipolar disorder and schizophrenia were even real, arguing that psychosis is just a “different way of thinking for someone experiencing stress.”

The former SAMHSA critic will now oversee the agency and will be responsible for implementing the Helping Families In Mental Health Crisis Act that was pushed through Congress by Republican Rep. Tim Murphy of Pennsylvania.

WSJ Reporter Writes Murphy Is Backing Welner For Top Mental Health Post

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Congressman Tim Murphy and Dr. Michael Welner confer at hearing.

(4-19-17) This story in today’s Wall Street Journal by Michelle Hackman supports what I reported in a  blog last month about efforts by Republican Pennsylvania Representative Tim Murphy to get Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price and the White House to appoint Dr. Michael Welner as the first Assistant Secretary for mental health. Whether this appointment will really happen, however, is still anyone’s guess given the oftentimes erratic temperament of the White House.

Trump’s Latest Pick for Mental-Health Post Has Helped Prosecutors Secure Convictions

Forensic psychiatrist Michael Welner has testified in high-profile cases; on television, he has called killers ‘alienated losers’

By Michelle Hackman  published in The Wall Street Journal. 

WASHINGTON—The Trump administration is struggling to fill a top mental-health post, a job created last year to coordinate the efforts of far-flung federal agencies.

The assistant secretary position in the Department of Health and Human Services was first offered to a Florida judge, but the offer was withdrawn due to his lack of a medical background, according to people familiar with the matter. A second candidate had broad support but pulled out.

Now a leading contender is Michael Welner, a forensic psychiatrist who has testified for the prosecution in numerous high-profile criminal cases, according to a half-dozen people familiar with the process including Dr. Welner himself. He faces opposition for some controversial positions.
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