I arrived in Billings, Montana today at the invitation of NAMI - MT. (National Alliance on Mental Illness - Montana) The organizers of this state conference have done a fantastic job putting together events!
Tonight we watched "Unlisted: A Story of Schizophrenia", a documentary by Delaney Ruston, MD. This was my second viewing of the film. (My first was the NAMI National Conference in D.C. earlier this year.) I will admit that I was hesitant to watch the film again tonight because when I watched it in D.C. I felt deep sadness.
Yet, in my second viewing I was able to see new layers of what Delaney has brought to this film. It is an important film that I have added to my personal library. Along with "Out of the Shadow", "Tarnation", and "Canvas", "Unlisted" brings a new perspective on the experience of daughters and sons who have a parent with a mental illness AND also new perspective on the experience of parents with mental illness.
Watching Delaney's film again tonight I could not help but ask myself the following questions:
How was Delaney's role as a parent overlooked in his history of mental health care? How was his parenting role overlooked as a motivation toward his wellness?
Keep in mind: 68% of women and 57% of men accessing services for mental illness are parents. (Nicholson, Biebel, Katz-Leavy, & Williams, 2004). This means that most people accessing mental health services are parents. Yet mental health systems are largely missing the untapped potential that providing supported parenting would bring for people who are accessing services for mental health. Parenting should be supported, just as employment is now supported. Not only should it be supported, parents with mental illness should be recognized for the love they have for their children and the esteem they find in being parents.
Watch the film and you will likely also leave with "what could have been?" questions. I feel for Delaney. Personally, in my own, life I have asked: "What could have been?" "What could I (or someone else) have done differently?" "Would things have been different?" - related to my own parents who experienced mental illnesses. A great film/documentary leaves questions unanswered and opens room for discussion. That is part of the success and craftsmanship of "Unlisted".
The experiences of Daughters and Sons are as diverse as the experiences of people with mental health diagnoses. By that I mean, two people can have the same diagnosis, but have entirely different symptoms and/or mixture of personality and symptoms.
Similarly, in organizing with other Daughters and Sons it has become clear that two people may have a parent with the same mental health diagnosis, but may have entirely different experiences with their parent. The more people come forward with nuanced, thoughtful, honest sharing of their stories as daughters and sons the more complex understanding we will build of people's experiences when their parent struggles with mental illness.
Delaney: Thank you for your courage to share this deeply personal and honest experience as a daughter of a father with schizophrenia. Your film is a great contribution to larger mental health advocacy movements. It is also a contribution to a growing library of films, documentaries, books and literature that makes visible the experience of daughters and sons who have a parent with mental illness.
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