My friend and long-time National Alliance on Mental Illness advocate, Joanne Kelly, attended the White House summit and felt that my criticism this week was much too harsh. She kindly offered to share her views and specifics about what the conference accomplished. Thank you Joanne!

Obama: You are not alone. Recovery is possible. There is hope.

By Joanne Kelly

President Obama opened Monday’s National Conference on Mental Health with inspiring words for people with mental illnesses and their families. “Let people who are struggling in silence know: You are not alone. Recovery is possible. There is hope.”

He convinced me he understands the stigma problem. I am also convinced his words were not empty platitudes. He intends to do something about it, and the conference was a first step. A baby step, perhaps, but a step in the right direction.

The conference brought together people from across the country, including mental health advocates, educators, health care providers, faith leaders, government officials, and individuals with mental health problems, to discuss how we can work together to reduce stigma and help the millions of Americans with mental health challenges recognize the importance of reaching out for assistance.

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I’m grateful to the Rev. Alan Johnson for writing yesterday about the White House summit on mental health. As you might imagine, I have a different take, as I explained in an editorial that USA TODAY posted online yesterday.

President Obama deserves credit for hosting a White House summit on mental health on Monday, but the White House forgot to invite the people who arguably deal daily with more mentally ill persons than anyone else.

No police officers, sheriff’s deputies, correctional officers, probation officers or judges spoke at the summit. No high ranking Justice Department official attended. Nor was there any detailed mention by the president or his hand-picked speakers about the recent mass murders committed by young men with diagnosed mental disorders in Newtown, Conn., Aurora, Colo., and Tucson or on the Virginia Tech campus.

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Glenn Close was one of the celebrity advocates invited to The White House

My friend, the Rev. Alan Johnson, was one of the 150 guests invited to the White House’s summit on mental health yesterday.  Here is his report. Thanks Alan for being our eyes and ears!

Are you listening, America?  The White House is talking!

Who would have thought that over 150 people from across our country who are working in the trenches for better mental health would be invited to a whole day in the White House?  But it happened! The White House brought together mental health advocates, educators, faith leaders, veterans and local officials for The White House Conference on Mental Health.

President Obama was the first one to speak to us at the conference, and he empathetically stated that we must “do a better job recognizing mental health issues in our children, and making it easier for Americans of all ages to seek help.” The President was not only speaking to those of us gathered, but to the whole country,where the overwhelming stigma on mental illness blocks people from even acknowledging there is mental illness and keeps them from seeking help.  In this climate of embarrassment and fear, the President acknowledged there needs to be education to overcome the misunderstanding of mental illness and support to come out of the closet to speak with authentic stories of one’s own mental health challenges.

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During a visit, Dean let me sit in his chair from Cuckoo’s Nest

I lost a good friend and mentor last week and our nation lost a true mental health champion.

Dr. Dean Brooks died Thursday morning in Salem, Oregon, which is home to the Oregon State Hospital, where he was the superintendent from 1955 to 1981. He was 96.

Dean is best-known  for his role in the 1975 movie, One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest. Although he was not an actor and never wished to be, Dean was cast as Dr. John Spivey, the director of the mental hospital in the landmark film. The irony is that Dean Brooks was the exact opposite of the dictatorial and callous superintendent who he portrayed in the film — a fact that several of his friends recalled this week in a joint telephone call after his death.

I joined Dean’s friends in talking about how he always put his patients first.  An example: Dean told his secretary at the state hospital to put letters and memos from patients at the top of his office’s  IN BOX. One day, she mentioned that the governor had sent over an important  note. Dean told her to put it on the bottom. He’d get to it, but first had to read the notes from patients.

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FROM MY FILES FRIDAY – I first published this blog in 2010, but the question is still germane. When do you reveal that you have a mental illness?

WHEN DO YOU GO PUBLIC?  May 2010

From the moment I was first contacted by a House subcommittee investigating our failed mental health care system, I have urged its staff to hear testimony from persons with mental illnesses. Rep. Tim Murphy (R.Pa) has conducted two hearings and a public forum, the most recent being held last week.

Yet, the House Oversight and Investigations subcommittee of the Energy and Commerce Committee still has not heard from anyone who actually has a mental disorder.

Rep. Murphy risks undercutting his subcommittee’s earlier accomplishments unless he holds another hearing — this one entirely focused on listening to persons with mental disorders.

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