Collin County mental health experts gather for symposium
Celina Record (TX)Nov 28, 2015
Over a dozen organizations were represented last Thursday at the
Donning their favorite team jersey in honor of this year's theme, "Teamwork: a Playbook for Success," agencies that encounter residents with mental illnesses like the
This year's keynote speaker was
Cuban spoke about his history with mental illness and his long battle with drugs and alcohol and his subsequent recovery. He also suffered from bulimia.
Cuban said he consistently struggled with self-esteem growing up in
It was only through the intervention of his family, Cuban said, in particular the bond among his brothers Mark and Jeff, that he was able to turn his life around. In 2007, he made a vow of sobriety that he has yet to break. He's also the author of "Shattered Image: My Triumph Over Body Dysmorphic Disorder," which recounts his struggle with body image and attempt to destigmatize eating disorders, especially for men.
"Loving yourself is a process," Cuban said. "It's a process even to this day for me."
According to the
Downs said he might have health complications arising from concussions suffered during his time playing professional football. He said he feels the NFL is taking the issue seriously now, though he'd have liked it to happen sooner.
"What I guess I'm a little bit angry about is it took so long for it to break and do something about it," he said. "Mental illness is a problem and it seems like it's getting worse rather than better."
In his lecture, Young played an audio clip of a standoff in which he attempted to negotiate a peaceful ending between police and an armed man. The situation ended in a shootout.
In such a situation where someone is actively psychotic, Young said an officer may need to give that person room, avoid placating them (i.e. "I hear the voice, too") and ground them in reality by asking them what they see and telling them to focus on the officer and listen to their voice.
"Some helpful techniques are patience, calm, understanding regarding the individual's symptoms, paraphrasing what's said, allowing for venting and then moving towards problem solving once that individual feels heard," Young said.
"It was this whole deinstitutionalization. Now where the people end up going and getting treatment are the jails and the prisons," she said.
"Obviously there are some offenses ? a murder or things like that that are crimes of insanity ? that we need that immediate safety net and there is a repercussion sometimes," Ferguson said. "But the other folks, the criminal justice system is not the right place for them."