Podcasts Featuring Three Unique Perspectives on Serious Mental Illness Released in Partnership with APA’s SMI Adviser

Jan 11, 2021

In partnership with the American Psychiatric Association’s SMI Adviser, a SAMHSA-funded clinical support system for serious mental illness, NAMI is pleased to release the Medical Mind Podcast series led by NAMI Chief Medical Officer Dr. Ken Duckworth. The six-part series includes episodes on:

• Bipolar disorder
• Early psychosis
• Major depressive disorder

Dr. Duckworth guides deep discussions of each condition that aim to offer insights for individuals, family members and mental health professionals, including: living with a serious mental illness, loving someone who has it, treating it, the impact of cultural identity and more.

Each episode includes three unique perspectives of the featured diagnosis — the individual with the condition, a family member of someone with the condition, and a clinical expert in providing treatment services for that condition:

• Individuals who have been living well with their specific diagnoses share personal perspectives surrounding the onset of their symptoms, different types of treatments they’ve tried, what’s helped with their recoveries and their future plans.
• The family member provides their perspective of their loved one’s experience with that condition.
• The final perspective is from a clinical expert on that condition and covers new treatments, what treatments are underutilized, treatment drawbacks and benefits, common barriers and success stories of patients the clinician has treated.

These podcasts feature the real-life experiences of people with mental illness. Some of the content includes discussions on topics such as suicide attempts and may be triggering. If you are in need of support at any time during the podcast, please contact the NAMI HelpLine at 800-950-6264, available from 10 am – 6 pm EST, Monday through Friday. To receive 24/7 crisis support, please text “NAMI” to 741741 or call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255.