For
Like
Minds
Mental Illness Recovery Insights
I have been waiting for over 30 years for someone to write a book like this - an instructive and very practical guide - directly applicable to the everyday lives of persons living with mental illnesses and their loved ones - offering them a hand and leading them step by step through many of the lessons Katherine has had to learn mostly on her own - from creative, dogged, and prolonged efforts to find a way to build and maintain a full life in the face of a serious illness.”
Larry Davidson, Ph.D.
Professor of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Yale University
Author
Katherine Ponte, BA, JD, MBA, CPRP
is a mental health advocate, writer, entrepreneur, and a lawyer. She has been living with severe bipolar I disorder with psychosis and extended periods of suicidal depression for 20 years. She is now happily living in recovery. Katherine is the Founder of ForLikeMinds and BipolarThriving and the Creator of Psych Ward Greeting Cards.
She is a member of the Board of the National Alliance on Mental Illness-New York City and is a monthly contributor to the NAMI National Blog. Katherine is also a Faculty Member of the Program for Recovery and Community Health, Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Yale University. A native of Toronto, Canada, she calls New York City home.
Katherine’s mission is to share her hope and inspire others to believe that mental illness recovery is possible and help them reach it. In two years since reaching full recovery and starting to share her story publicly, her work has reached over one million people.
Contents
01
Our Journey
Stigma, Meet Hope
Me - and My Wife's Bipolar Diagnosis
02
Self-recognition
Hope and Recovery
Power to Create Change Comes from Within
Two Antidotes to Stigma
Embraciong the Diversity within Us
The Stages of My Mental Illness
Addressing Emotions with Mental Illness
Talking About Mental Illness: Reaching in
Coming Out About Your Bipolar Disorder
The Example Celebrities with Mental Illness Set
03
Treatment and Recovery
Finding the Best Psychiatrist For You
Hope Starts with Mutual Peer Support
The Effectiveness of Peer Support
Family-to-Family Peer Support
Shared Decision-making
Families Can Work Together
Finding the Best Medication Regimen
A Risk Too Big Not to Take: A Story of Recovery
What is Recovery?
Psychiatric Rehabilitation
People with Mental Illness Can Work
The Mental Health Movement in the Workplace
Mental Health Peer Specialist Support
Building Mental Health Resilience
Ways to Manage and Cope with Stress
The Remarkable Human Animal Bond
Coping with Mental Illness: What Not To Do
Working on Recovery with Loved Ones
Learning to Take Care of Myself
04
Specific Experiences
Learning from Past Manias and Avoiding Future Relapses
Turning Suicidal Ideation into Hope
Suicide: Saving Lives Now and Beyond
My Reality During a Psychotic Episode
Preventing and Preparing for a Mental Health Crisis
That Time in the Psych Ward
05
Specific Communities
Suicide Prevention for College Students
Parents and their College Child’s Mental Health?
Taking a College Medical Leave
Mental Health Challenges in the LGBTQ+ Community
Mental Health Challenges in Immigrant Communities
06
Rights and Advocacy
The Many Forms of Mental Illness Discrimination
Social Determinants of Mental Health
Mental Health Law Considerations
A Primer on Goverment Benefits
A PORTION OF BOOK SALES WILL BE DONATED TO NAMI-NYC