Leanna May Franklin: Love Without Structure:Navigating Serious Mental Illness as a Family
Digest
This podcast features Liana Mae Franklin, a mental health clinician and policy director, who discusses her advocacy for better mental health policies, particularly Assisted Outpatient Treatment (AOT). Her advocacy stems from her son's experience with psychosis, starting with initially unnoticed symptoms leading to a psychotic break at age 19. Liana details the difficulties in diagnosis and treatment, the complexities of the mental health system, and the gaps in care for adults with serious mental illness. She shares her strategies for supporting her son, including building a wraparound team, petitioning for court-ordered treatment, and setting boundaries. Liana also discusses her work at Seattle NAD and involvement with Camp Hope, an innovative shelter model integrating behavioral health services. The podcast touches on broader support for individuals with schizophrenia, addressing ambiguous grief and the emotional toll on families. Finally, Liana offers advice to families facing similar challenges, emphasizing documentation, building support teams, understanding the system, and prioritizing self-care.
Outlines
Advocating for Mental Health Reform: A Mother's Journey
Liana Mae Franklin, a mental health clinician and policy advocate, introduces her work and personal experience driving her advocacy for improved mental health policies, particularly AOT, fueled by her son's struggle with psychosis. She details her son's journey, the challenges of navigating the mental health system, and the importance of wraparound support.
Navigating the System & Innovative Care Models
Liana discusses the complexities of the mental health system in Washington state, focusing on AOT and its limitations. She highlights innovative models like Camp Hope, showcasing its success despite limited funding, and emphasizes the need for systemic reform.
Support, Grief, and Advice for Families
The discussion expands to broader support for individuals with schizophrenia, addressing ambiguous grief and offering advice to families facing similar challenges. Liana stresses the importance of documentation, building support teams, understanding the system, and prioritizing self-care.
Keywords
Assisted Outpatient Treatment (AOT)
Court-ordered treatment for individuals with serious mental illness who may not be able to seek help independently. Improves access to care and reduces hospitalizations.
Psychosis
A severe mental disorder characterized by loss of contact with reality, including hallucinations and delusions. Often requires specialized treatment.
Wraparound Services
A comprehensive, individualized approach to supporting individuals with mental health challenges, involving multiple professionals and community resources.
Ambiguous Grief
The grief experienced when a loved one is still alive but their personality or abilities have significantly changed due to mental illness.
Systemic Reform in Mental Health
Changes to policies, laws, and funding to improve access to and quality of mental health care. Advocacy is crucial for driving these changes.
Mental Health System Navigation
The challenges and complexities of accessing and utilizing mental health services.
Schizophrenia
A chronic brain disorder that affects a person's ability to think, feel, and behave clearly.
Camp Hope
An innovative shelter model integrating behavioral health services, demonstrating success in providing comprehensive care with limited resources.
Q&A
What are the biggest challenges in accessing mental health care for adults with serious mental illness?
Navigating complex systems, lack of available treatment options, limited funding, and the legal complexities of intervening when an adult refuses treatment.
What is the most effective way to support a loved one experiencing psychosis?
Build a wraparound support team, document everything, advocate for appropriate treatment, set boundaries, and prioritize self-care. Don't give up, but also accept that some days will be harder than others.
What innovative models of mental health care are showing promise?
Integrated models like Camp Hope, which combines shelter with on-site behavioral health services, demonstrate success in providing comprehensive care with limited resources.
What advice would you give to a parent whose child has just been diagnosed with a serious mental illness?
Allow yourself to grieve, document everything, build a support team, learn the language of the system, and advocate for your child. Don't give up, but also remember to prioritize your own well-being.
Show Notes
Leanna May Franklin shares her journey as a mental health advocate after her son experienced a psychotic break at age 19, revealing the challenges of navigating care even with resources and professional expertise.
• Experienced a life-changing moment when her son had a psychotic breakdown during a family gathering
• Recognized signs that she initially thought were typical teenage behaviors but were early symptoms of mental illness
• Her son is now diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder depressive type with polysubstance use
• Despite having resources and knowledge, faced enormous barriers in getting appropriate care for her adult son
• Co-founded a holistic mental health clinic offering integrated approaches including blood testing and IV therapy
• Advocates for successful community treatment models like one in Yakima, Washington that provides services with minimal budget
• Discusses "ambiguous grief" – the unique pain of losing someone who is still physically present
• Emphasizes the importance of documentation, understanding system language, and building support teams
• Believes in setting boundaries as an act of protection while continuing to advocate for better care
• Works with National Shattering Silence Coalition to influence mental health policy reform
If you'd like to learn more about Liana's work or need advocacy support, contact her at leanna@seattlenad.com or call/text 425-393-4762.
She is available to attend meetings anywhere in the US to support those navigating the mental health system.
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intro/outro music bed written by T. Wild
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The content on Why Not Me: Embracing Autism amd Mental Health Worldwide, including discussions on mental health, autism, and related topics, is provided for informational and entertainment purposes only.
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https://tonymantor.com
https://Facebook.com/tonymantor
https://instagram.com/tonymantor
https://twitter.com/tonymantor
https://youtube.com/tonymantormusic
intro/outro music bed written by T. Wild
Why Not Me the World music published by Mantor Music (BMI)
Table of contents
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