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NAMI Criticizes Dr. Phil and Brian Williams For Prejudicial Remarks; But Wait, Have You Seen What Dr. Oz Is Doing?

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The National Alliance on Mental Illness issued a statement Friday night chastising both Dr. Phil and NBC’s Brian Williams for inappropriate  remarks they have  made which stigmatized persons with mental illnesses.

NAMI’s statement [printed below] further legitimizes complaints that I raised in an Op Ed about Dr. Phil published Wednesday in USA Today’s online edition and blogs published by others criticizing Dr. Phil and Williams. Major news sources often don’t pay much attention to individual blogs, but do react when NAMI, the largest grassroots mental health organization with more than 300,000 members, issues a statement.

I hope NAMI’s statement will bring additional pressure on NBC’s Williams and Dr. Phil to publicly apologize, although I am skeptical either will. 

Meanwhile, you can add a third offender to the list of television personalities who should know better but apparently believe it is funny to make light about persons with mental illnesses.

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First Dr. Phil, Now NBC’s Brian Williams: Stigmatizing Mental Illness

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I’ve been warned that fighting stigma is a bit like tilting at windmills, but I find it difficult to keep silent when I see blatant examples. Dr. Phil’s comments about how “insane” individuals “suck on rocks and bark at the moon” were especially offensive since he is a psychologist. Last night, I flipped on the news and heard NBC Anchor Brian Williams make remarks that were just as stigmatizing.

Williams announced that Ariel Castro, the Cleveland kidnapper/rapist who held three women captive for a decade, was “arguably the face of mental illness.” 

Not content to toss millions of Americans who have mental health issues under the bus, Williams spoke with contempt about how Castro had given a rambling, difficult to hear speech, during which he justified his actions by  “appropriating the language of the addiction and treatment culture” and declaring himself “sick.”

What exactly is the “language of the addiction and treatment culture” Mr. Williams?

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Words Do Matter Dr. Phil and Your Words Promoted Stigma

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An explanation about my disappearing Dr. Phil blog
I was horrified last week when I learned of a slur Dr. Phil made about individuals diagnosed with mental disorders. I wrote an Op Ed piece chastising him and an editor at USA TODAY agreed to publish it on the newspaper’s online edition. That meant a national audience would read why I felt Dr. Phil’s remark was insensitive and promoted stigma. On Monday, I posted my Op Ed here, only to have the editor call me within minutes and explain that the newspaper couldn’t put my Op Ed on line if I posted it here first. It had first rights. I hadn’t realize that I had violated our agreement and immediately removed my blog. The newspaper posted my Op Ed on Wednesday which means I am free to post it here now. That’s why my blog on Monday vanished and is now reappearing!
 

His remark that the insane ‘suck on rocks and bark at the moon’ stigmatizes people.

     “You won’t believe what Dr. Phil just said on his show,” my wife, Patti, told me. “He said insane people ‘suck on rocks and bark at the moon.'”

    “Dr. Phil said what?” I replied.

    “Insane people suck on rocks and bark at the moon. He also told a young woman who was stalking her boyfriend that she wasn’t some ‘crazy, psycho’ because of her obsession.'”

    I turned on our DVR when I got home from work to watch a Dr. Phil episode called Obsessed With Love, which focused on a 19-year old girl named Victoria.

     Within minutes, Dr. Phil mouthed exactly what Patti had quoted him as saying.  After underlining the word “insane” in a letter that Victoria had written to him seeking his help, he brushed off her worries by declaring that her obsession did not mean that she was “insane” because insane people “suck on rocks and bark at the moon.”

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I Love Hearing From You, But Not Now — Sorry

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August will be here in a few days and I will spend much of it on the road doing research for my new book and squeezing in a much needed and too short vacation. Not only is the deadline for the memoir that I am helping Jessie Close write quickly approaching, but I am starting work on a new novel.  This past week, more than 6,000 of you visited my blog, leaving behind in excess of a hundred comments. While I found most thought provoking, especially the ones that told personal stories, there are simply not enough hours in the day for me to keep up with my writing assignments, write blogs, give speeches, answer emails,  and now add the extra duty of having to monitor comments. Something has to give and I have chosen it to be monitoring comments.  I will no longer be publishing comments on past or future blogs, but will continue posting blogs each Monday along with guest blogs on Fridays or repeats of my earlier ones.

Enjoy the rest of your summer and thanks for your continued efforts to improve our mental health care system.

— Pete Earley

 

 

Virgil Stucker Describes Healing, Building Bridges and a “Recovery College” Concept

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This has been a turbulent week on this blog, beginning with a letter from an angry mother accusing NAMI and journalist Robert Whitaker of causing her son to stop taking his medications. This led to Whitaker’s response. In between, many of you posted passionate, emotional and sometimes angry comments.

Disagreements are inevitable. The question is: can we learn from each other and move forward to build a better system? I asked Virgil Stucker, the executive director of CooperRiis, to answer that question in today’s blog. Located in western North Carolina, CooperRiis is a therapeutic community. Like others that I have visited, it creates an inclusive environment where individuals feel accepted, something I believe is essential to recovery. CooperRiis and other therapeutic settings are understandably expensive so I asked Virgil to share how some of the guiding principles at CooperRiis can be used to help others in their own communities.

It is time to build bridges across the divisions  

Thank you for the invitation, Pete, to address your readers. Of  late, the dialogue, both on your blog and in the national arena has become quite divisive when it comes to answering the question: How can we best help the vulnerable amongst us, those with mental illness and sometimes addiction issues, to achieve and maintain their highest levels of recovery?  I agree with you that by “working together cooperatively with respect and open mindedness, we can achieve change.” 

You asked, “What would a mental health care system look like” that could be individually responsive to complex mental health challenges and provide effective care that is compassionate, comprehensive, and community-based? 

As we look around us, we notice that people are more different than the same.

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Rules For Posting Comments On My Blog

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What you are reading is an Author’s blog. It is not a public chalkboard where anyone can scribble whatever they wish for others to read.

My comment policy is reprinted below and can be found at the bottom of my home page.

During the past twenty-four hours, several comments appeared on recent blogs that violate my policy. They are being removed and I apologize to readers who were offended by their language or their content.

I encourage differences of opinion, but this is my website and I reserve the right to remove posts for any reason. If you are unable to abide by my policy, you are welcome to launch your own blog or post your comments elsewhere.

Thanks to those who follow the rules and add your thoughts to our discussions.

Pete Earley

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