Finding Mental Health Care

Marcus Rivera was thirty-four when his marriage almost ended over a forgotten anniversary dinner reservation. He had set three reminders. He had told his wife that morning he was looking forward to it. By 7:48 p.m., when she was sitting alone at Bavette’s in Chicago’s West Loop with a glass of Sancerre, Marcus was still … Read more

Helen Whitmore was eighty-one when her daughter Rachel found her standing in the kitchen of her Sarasota condo at 3:14 a.m., methodically unpacking the dishwasher into the freezer. Helen looked up, smiled, and said, “I’m just helping your father put these away.” Helen’s husband had been dead for six years. Rachel, who had flown down … Read more

Therapy Across Years, Not Months The cultural script around therapy treats it as an episode. The patient enters with a problem, works on the problem, and exits when the problem is resolved. The reality for many people who use mental health care over a lifetime is different. Therapy is a relationship that can span decades, with periods … Read more

David Park sat across from his attorney in a borrowed conference room in downtown Phoenix and listened to the words “competency to stand trial” for the first time in his life. His twin brother Jonathan had been arrested on a weapons charge during what David recognized immediately as a manic episode, the third in five … Read more