Our Scholarship makes a difference

I’ve had an interesting couple of days at the McLean National Council meeting. While it was a great event, with lots of things to learn, there were a couple of amazing highlights for me

• At lunch on Thursday with the clinicians and key staff, an Appleton staffer was able to share that our scholarship recipient is doing very well, being discharged and that our gift has made a dramatic change in his life. I will readily admit that I got choked up upon hearing that.  It is why we are doing this! 
• Elyn Saks was the speaker at the dinner on Wednesday night. It was a revelation to hear her speak, talk about her experiences and memories of being psychotic as well as her journey into acceptance of taking medication. Elyn established the Saks Institute and I had the opportunity to discuss with her the topic of insufficient residential care, particularly for those who cannot afford it. Elyn thought that might be an interesting topic for the Institute in 2015 and I will be in touch with her early in the New Year.  We received her book (The Center Cannot Hold: My Journey Through Madness) as a gift and I look forward to reading it. 

Beyond those highlights, there was information on amazing research that is happening at McLean on PTSD, anabolic steroid use, cardiac concerns for psychotic patients and much, much, more. It was a very busy day and a half and there’s so much to think through, that I’m sure there’s another blog here.