Beyond Schizophrenia

Career

Mental Illness in the Workplace: Don't Ask? Don't Tell?

Marjorie L. Baldwin Ph.D. on January 15, 2020

Should a worker with mental illness tell their employer about their diagnosis? Will disclosure result in support and accommodation, or stigma and discrimination?

Should a worker with mental illness tell their employer about their diagnosis? Will disclosure result in support and accommodation, or stigma and discrimination?

Education

Baltimore: The Great Society Implodes

Marjorie L. Baldwin Ph.D. on August 7, 2019

Decadess after passage of the Great Society programs, racial disparities in education have worsened. We can reverse the trend, if we have the political will.

Decadess after passage of the Great Society programs, racial disparities in education have worsened. We can reverse the trend, if we have the political will.

Psychosis

What Every Parent Should Know About Marijuana and Psychosis

Marjorie L. Baldwin Ph.D. on June 10, 2019

What the cannabis industry and state legislators are not telling parents about the dangers of marijuana use in adolescence.

What the cannabis industry and state legislators are not telling parents about the dangers of marijuana use in adolescence.

Psychiatry

Help for the Psychiatric Ward

Marjorie L. Baldwin Ph.D. on January 4, 2019

Shortages of psychiatric beds are so acute that courts are threatening state mental health systems with contempt for holding patients in jail. Now, CMS offers some welcome relief.

Shortages of psychiatric beds are so acute that courts are threatening state mental health systems with contempt for holding patients in jail. Now, CMS offers some welcome relief.

Law and Crime

Mental Illness Is Not a Crime

Marjorie L. Baldwin Ph.D. on October 13, 2018

A person with a serious mental illness is far more likely to be in prison than in a hospital. A Florida program offers treatment instead—and it's working.

A person with a serious mental illness is far more likely to be in prison than in a hospital. A Florida program offers treatment instead—and it's working.

Bias

Is Stigma by Another Name Still the Same?

Marjorie L. Baldwin Ph.D. on August 27, 2018

Have you or a loved one experienced the stigma of serious mental illness? Would it hurt less if it were called prejudice?

Have you or a loved one experienced the stigma of serious mental illness? Would it hurt less if it were called prejudice?

Health

The Simple Economics of Gun Control

Marjorie L. Baldwin Ph.D. on May 28, 2018

The world with stringent gun control laws is not what advocates envision it to be. It is a world of unregulated, underground markets where any kind of weapon is for sale.

The world with stringent gun control laws is not what advocates envision it to be. It is a world of unregulated, underground markets where any kind of weapon is for sale.

Health

Where Is the Next Nikolas Kruz?

Marjorie L. Baldwin Ph.D. on April 2, 2018

Somewhere in the U.S., a mother is worrying that her son could be the next school shooter. All the signs are there. Why don't the authorities intervene?

Somewhere in the U.S., a mother is worrying that her son could be the next school shooter. All the signs are there. Why don't the authorities intervene?

Suicide

Police and Guns are Not the Real Problems

Marjorie L. Baldwin Ph.D. on October 25, 2017

Do we deliberately distract ourselves with seemingly more manageable problems when larger issues are just too scary to face?

Do we deliberately distract ourselves with seemingly more manageable problems when larger issues are just too scary to face?

Politics

Playing Politics with Mental Illness

Marjorie L. Baldwin Ph.D. on July 10, 2017

Unsubstantiated allegations of mental illness directed toward public figures reinforce the pervasive stigma associated with mental disorders. Who is really being harmed?

Unsubstantiated allegations of mental illness directed toward public figures reinforce the pervasive stigma associated with mental disorders. Who is really being harmed?

Health

A Lost Opportunity for Mental Health Reform?

Marjorie L. Baldwin Ph.D. on March 15, 2017

We don't let persons with Alzheimer’s leave the nursing home and wander the streets. Then, why do we allow persons with mental illness to refuse treatment and live under a bridge?

We don't let persons with Alzheimer’s leave the nursing home and wander the streets. Then, why do we allow persons with mental illness to refuse treatment and live under a bridge?

Health

A Tale of Two Killers

Marjorie L. Baldwin Ph.D. on January 21, 2017

The shootings in Charleston and Fort Lauderdale have very little in common, except that innocent people died. One of these tragedies could have been prevented.

The shootings in Charleston and Fort Lauderdale have very little in common, except that innocent people died. One of these tragedies could have been prevented.

Career

Leaning Into the Wind

Marjorie L. Baldwin Ph.D. on October 16, 2016

What's wrong with peer support programs that employ persons in recovery from SMI? Nothing, except that they do not combat the negative stereotypes of mental illness.

What's wrong with peer support programs that employ persons in recovery from SMI? Nothing, except that they do not combat the negative stereotypes of mental illness.

Health

Homeless, Mentally Ill, and Neglected

Marjorie L. Baldwin Ph.D. on August 27, 2016

When the symptoms of mental illness are acute, they affect an individual’s decision-making capacity. Our failure to provide treatment to those in need is discrimination..

When the symptoms of mental illness are acute, they affect an individual’s decision-making capacity. Our failure to provide treatment to those in need is discrimination..

Health

Mental Illness, Politics, and Guns

Marjorie L. Baldwin Ph.D. on June 26, 2016

In the wake of tragedy, politics turns to gun control. Meanwhile, a fractured mental health system allows persons with acute symptoms to go untreated, until someone gets hurt.

In the wake of tragedy, politics turns to gun control. Meanwhile, a fractured mental health system allows persons with acute symptoms to go untreated, until someone gets hurt.

Health

Who Pays for Mental Illness?

Marjorie L. Baldwin Ph.D. on May 23, 2016

Estimated costs of schizophrenia in the U.S. were $155 billion in 2013. Only 1/4 of costs were for health care for the mentally ill. What accounts for the remaining $117 billion?

Estimated costs of schizophrenia in the U.S. were $155 billion in 2013. Only 1/4 of costs were for health care for the mentally ill. What accounts for the remaining $117 billion?

Career

Work: The #1 Recovery Goal

Marjorie L. Baldwin Ph.D. on April 14, 2016

New atypical antipsychotic drugs make it possible for many people with serious mental illness to work. Old stereotypes keep them on the fringes of the labor force.

New atypical antipsychotic drugs make it possible for many people with serious mental illness to work. Old stereotypes keep them on the fringes of the labor force.

Health

Telling the Story of Serious Mental Illness

Marjorie L. Baldwin Ph.D. on March 1, 2016

Seventeen years ago I stood in the emergency room of a university hospital where my son had just been diagnosed with schizophrenia. It took me years before I could tell the story.

Seventeen years ago I stood in the emergency room of a university hospital where my son had just been diagnosed with schizophrenia. It took me years before I could tell the story.