For former Congressman Patrick J. Kennedy, advocating for mental health care is not part of his family’s legacy.
His uncle, President John F. Kennedy, signed legislation establishing a community-based mental health care system.
Ari Rogin sat down with Patrick Kennedy to discuss his latest book detailing the everyday mental health struggles of Americans.
Reporter: The United States has long had a mental health crisis, but experts say it has gotten worse in recent years.
More than one in five adults have a mental illness, but there is still a stigma around talking about it openly.
Patrick J. Kennedy’s new book is called Profile of Mental Health Courage.
The title pays homage to his uncle’s book that profiled American political leaders.
This collection of profiles features the mental health journeys of people around Trick Kennedy. Thank you for being here.
Patrick J. Kennedy: I’m glad to be here.
Reporter: What made you want to write this book?
Patrick: Well, I remember when Simone Biles didn’t finish at the Olympics and everyone was like, “Why can’t she get on the balance beam?”
And she said, “I have to protect my mental health.”
But the truth is, we don’t really know what that means because we don’t have anyone to tell us the whole story.
I told the story, and frankly, we all whitewash it a little bit so that people who are still in the middle of the story don’t see themselves reflected in the public narrative. It looks nice.
Because let’s be honest, these are nasty and complex diseases.
And we prefer finite and very linear descriptions.
And as a nation, we know that all the statistics are frightening.
Suicides are on the rise, and overdoses are on the rise.
What we lack is a sense of what this really means.
Real people’s lives, how do they navigate insurance coverage? How do they get adequate insurance in terms of providing evidence-based treatments that many people don’t have? Are you doing it?
And how do they build relationships?
These are not isolated diseases, so the whole family is involved.
And often, such stories are left alone.
We only heard the first person story, but this is what happened to me as if their family was not a part of it.
So I interviewed therapists, family, and friends. Interestingly, it provided a more realistic depiction of what they were actually experiencing than the therapists we often try to talk to.
Ali: You address a lot of misconceptions in your book.
What do you think is the biggest and most persistent misconception about mental health?
Patrick: Well, the good thing about these stories is that by the end of the story, people understand the person and their illness.
One of the reasons people don’t want to talk about these illnesses is because they think it reflects their moral character, but in fact, reading these passages shows that the illness is holding them hostage. It is clear that their actions are unreasonable. A reflection of their brain disease.
And that’s the part that we haven’t really fleshed out, because people still say, you know, that’s your moral failure, that you acted in such a way.
Reading these stories gives you a very clear feeling.
No, this is who this person is and this is their disease.
And those who are doing so are already in the middle.
They read stories they can relate to and feel less alone.
We have very diverse profiles and we have very diverse diagnoses, all of which show that people need evidence-based therapy, talk therapy, medicine, and social support. I think you can see that it’s support and housing. , supported employment.
You can’t just do part of this and expect everything to work.
Unfortunately, given our health care system and the amount of money we pay, we often pay for one leg of the stool, and it’s no wonder it falls off.
And no wonder we as a nation wonder, are we spending all this money on mental health?
But what attracts us?
We’re not paying for something we have to pay for.
If so, we won’t get results just because we screen people early, which is what we do for cancer, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes.
We could also treat them sooner, which means they are more likely to recover.
When people read these stories, they will gain the sense they need to move further up the ladder as a nation.
If we talked about this earlier, we wouldn’t be so filled with shame and could help people earlier in the suffering process. I shouldn’t talk because it invades their personal area.
We have those conversations because we want to save each other’s lives.
And at the end of the day, more people will survive.
Ali: One of the things you write about a lot in the book, in terms of your own story and other stories you’ve shared, is the connection between mental health and addiction.
And very often they are treated as two completely separate things.
Why was it important to emphasize that point throughout the book?
Patrick: Well, obviously we’ve categorized brain diseases as if they were separate diagnoses, where it’s brain, brain, brain.
And clearly, both types must be treated at the same time for best results.
And in the world of advocacy, we need to stop silos.
we all want the same thing.
Therefore, we need to create a new political movement that is more sophisticated and has the power to actually reflect the numbers.
We are the largest special interest group.
Or it could be if you’re organized.
And as a former elected official, if I had known this, a lot of people in my district would have been interested in this issue, which I don’t have access to right now, but I think it’s important to note that environmental issues, organized labor, and other issues. Isn’t there a listserv like about?
I don’t know how many people in my district would actually vote differently based on whether they adhere to the priorities they have set.
At the back of this book, you will find a QR code to adjust your progress.
The concept is that we want to provide housing support, medication, talk therapy, and align financial incentives to get the best results.
Our goal is to achieve 90% testing, 90% evidence-based treatment, and 90% supportive recovery.
That should be our goal as a country.
Unfortunately, there is no vision that unites us, but to create that vision we must build on these stories.
Ali: And these stories really demonstrate the vision you’re talking about.
Patrick Kennedy, author of the new book “Profile of Mental Health Courage.”
Thank you very much for visiting us.
