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, non-profit founder, entrepreneur, and lawyer. She is also a Faculty Member of the Program for Recovery and Community Health, Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Yale University. Katherine 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 created the ForLikeMinds peer support community, BipolarThriving coaching service, and Psych Ward Greeting Cards patient outreach program. 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. Her life's mission is to share her hope, inspire others to believe that mental illness recovery is possible, and help them reach it.
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
Part I
Our Journey
Stigma, Meet Hope
Me - and My Wife's Bipolar Diagnosis
Part II
Self-recognition
Hope and Recovery
Power to Create Change Comes from Within
Two Antidotes to Stigma
The Many Impacts of Self-stigma
Embracing the Diversity within Us
The Stages of My Mental Illness
Helping People Accept Their Mental Illness Diagnoses
Understanding Mental Illness Triggers
Addressing Emotions with Mental Illness
Lived Experience Matters: Coming Out and Sharing
Talking about Mental Illness: Reaching In
The Example Celebrities with Mental Illness Set
Part III
Treatment and Recovery
Finding the Best Psychiatrist for You
How to Prepare for Your Psychiatric Appointment
Hope Starts with Mutual Peer Support
The Effectiveness of Peer Support within the Context of Mental Illness
Family-to-Family Peer Support
Shared Decision-making: Getting a Say in Your Care
Families Can Work Together
Finding the Best Medication Regimen
A Risk Too Big Not to Take: A Story of Recovery
What Is Recovery
Serious Mental Illness Recovery: The Basics
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
How Families Can Work Together
Working on Recovery with Loved Ones
Advice for Mental Illness Caregivers
Learning to Take Care of Myself
Part IV
Specific Experiences
Learning from Past Manias and Avoiding Future Relapses
Bipolar Depression: The Lows We Don't Talk About Enough
Understanding Schizophrenia
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
What Should I Gift My Loved One with Mental Illness
A Letter to Those Struggling with Mental Illness
Part V
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
My Relationship with Religion While Living with Mental Illness
Part VI
Rights and Advocacy
The Many Forms of Mental Illness Discrimination
Ways We Can Address the Social Determinants of Mental Health
Criminal Justice Involvement of People with Serious Mental Illness
Mental Health Law Considerations, New York Example
A Primer on Government Benefits
A PORTION OF BOOK SALES WILL BE DONATED TO NAMI-NYC