Heart Forward Conversations from the Heart
Heart Forward Conversations from the Heart
Kerry Morrison
The American mental health system is broken beyond repair. Rather than trying to tweak a system which fails everyone, it is time to commit to a bold vision for a better way forward. This podcast explores the American system against the plumb line of an international best practice, recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO), in Trieste, Italy. The 40-year old Trieste model demonstrates how a community-based treatment system upholds the human rights of the people served.The Trieste story is anti-institutional and models the therapeutic value of social connection. Topics will address contemporary challenges in the American failed mental health system as contrasted with the Italian approach toward accoglienza – or radical hospitality – as the underpinning of their remarkable culture of caring for people. Interviews will touch upon how the guiding principles of the Italian system – social recovery, whole person care, system accountability, and the human right to a purposeful life – are non-negotiable aspects if we are to have any hope of forging a new way forward in our American mental health system.This podcast is curated and hosted by Kerry Morrison, founder and project director of Heart Forward LA (https://www.heartforwardla.org/). Heart Forward is collaborating with Peer Mental Health as the technical partner in producing this podcast (https://www.peermentalhealth.com/about/). Kerry Morrison is also the author of the blog www.accoglienza.us.
Part Two of our conversation with Dr. Mezzina and Dr. Sashidharan:  Family relationships, law enforcement, human rights and mental health in the time of coronavirus
This is the second of a two-part conversation with  Dr. Roberto Mezzina and Dr. S. P. Sashidharan that brings Season One of this podcast to a close.Roberto  joins from Trieste Italy where he served for 40 years in the Dipartimento di Salute Mentale, and...
Dec 19, 2020
59 min
The U.S. Mental Health System seen through an international lens:  A Conversation with Dr. Roberto Mezzina (Trieste) and Dr. S.R. Sashidharan (Glasgow)
There is much to be gleaned from this very rare opportunity to have two extremely thoughtful and committed psychiatrists in the same Zoom room.    Dr. Roberto Mezzina joins from Trieste Italy where he served for 40 years in the Dipartimento di Salute...
Dec 11, 2020
56 min
Fountain House and the Promise of the Clubhouse Movement as a Place of Hospitality and Purpose:  A conversation with Dr. Ashwin Vasan
Far too often in American communities, people living with mental illness are marginalized from community supports and experience the debilitating impacts of social isolation, loneliness  and even the downward spiral into homelessness or incarceration.  ...
Dec 4, 2020
48 min
He Came in with It:  A Portrait of Motherhood and Madness.  A conversation with the author -- and my former neighbor -- Miriam Feldman
Miriam Feldman – one of the strongest women I know -- recounts her journey as the mother of a son struggling with schizophrenia.  She points out that as a mother, you tend to worry about child abduction or car accidents.  Nothing prepares you for...
Nov 28, 2020
52 min
Vocation, Purpose and Bridging the Digital Divide:  A Conversation with David Israelian of Peer Mental Heath and the Painted Brain
David Israelian joins Kerry Morrison in a conversation that explores his passion about the importance of work, vocational rehabilitation, and purpose for people living with a mental illness in our communities.   David is the founder and CEO of Peer...
Nov 20, 2020
1 hr 2 min
Our Role as Mental Health Assistants at L.A. County Jail:  A rare conversation with Craigen Armstrong and Adrian Berumen
Imagine if your job was to live 24/7 with mentally ill inmates at L.A. County Twin Towers.  The L.A. County Jail system is arguably is the largest mental institution in America with close to 5,000 inmates incarcerated.  In this interview, we talk with...
Nov 13, 2020
1 hr 1 min
The Power and Promise of Community Inclusion:  What we can learn from Trieste.  A conversation with Dr. Dave Pilon
Dr. Dave Pilon talks with Kerry about his journey through the world of community-based mental health.   In talking with him, one gets a sense of how our life experiences, over decades, can come full circle to tie everything together.  Most recently, ...
Nov 6, 2020
45 min
Mutual Accompaniment and the Creation of the Commons:  A Discussion with author Dr. Mary Watkins
Liberation psychologist Dr. Mary Watkins is the co-founder of Pacifica Graduate Institute’s MA/PhD specialization in Community, Liberation, Indigenous, and Eco-Psychologies in Santa Barbara.  Her 2019 book, Mutual Accompaniment and the Creation of the...
Oct 30, 2020
45 min
Housing That Heals Part Two:  A Conversation with Lauren Rettagliata and Teresa Pasquini
Lauren Rettagliata and Theresa Pasquini, AKA as “ Moms on a Mission,” took a CA road trip in 2019 to search for housing solutions for people with serious mental illness.  “Housing First” is not a viable option; their loved ones require a full system of...
Oct 23, 2020
51 min
Housing That Heals Part One:  A conversation with Lauren Rettagliata and Teresa Pasquini
Lauren Rettagliata and Teresa Pasquini, AKA as “ Moms on a Mission,” took a CA road trip in 2019 to search for housing solutions for people with serious mental illness.  “Housing First” is not a viable option; their loved ones require a full system of...
Oct 16, 2020
42 min
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