Heart Forward Conversations from the Heart

Send a text Support this podcast with a contribution of any amount HERE Meet Mario Colucci, a psychiatrist who has worked in a variety of roles in the Trieste system for over 30 years.  He is currently the director of the Psychiatric Diagnosis and Treatment Service , which is linked to the general emergency room of the civil hospital in Udine, in the same region of Trieste.    I consider him “the...

Send a text Stefania Grimaldi works with the social cooperative La Collina in Trieste Italy.  This particular social cooperative was formed in 1988 and employees 200 people, 35 percent of which are considered “disadvantaged.”    In this episode, we briefly explore the origins of the social cooperative network in Trieste – starting with the first one called the Basaglia SC, which was features recen...

Send a text Michele Sipala is a peer support worker at Recovery House, located in the heart of the city centre in Trieste.  Recovery House provides a six-month transitional residential environment for six young people, age 18 – 35, to help give a “kick start” into more independent living.   Recovery House was started in 2015 and over the past nine years, it has served 55 young people. In this conv...

Send a text In this episode we sit down and talk with Caterina Vicentini in my hotel room in Trieste.  Caterina is a math and physics teacher at the secondary school level in a town – Monfalcone --  that is about 30 minutes from the city centre of Trieste. She is a service user and takes advantage of opportunities like this to share her story to help destigmatize mental illness and to offer hope t...

Send a text In this episode, we speak with Claudia Battison, a Psychiatric Rehabilitation Technician (PRT) in the mental health system in Trieste Italy.  I am joined in this interview by Dr. Joy Agner, Assistant  Professor at the USC Chan School of Occupational Therapy and Occupational Science at USC.    Heart Forward has become particularly interested in the potential role that occupational thera...

Send a text  Elena Cerkvenic recently published a book , Sono Schizofrenica e amo la mia follia , which translated  means:  I am schizophrenic and I love my madness.  This book ia part of a new series being published – La Collana 180:  Archivo Critico della Salute Mentale by Meltemi, a publisher in Milan.    Elena meets with us to share her story as a young woman, living in Trieste,  excited by he...

Send a text In this episode, we learn about the inner workings of two critical elements of the community-based ecosystem in Trieste:  the community mental health center (CMHC) and the psychiatric unit in the city’s general hospital (known as the Psychiatric Diagnostic and Treatment Services or SPDC).   Tommaso Bonavigo, is a psychiatrist at the CMHC Maddalena.  He received his education at the Uni...

Send a text Dr. Giovanna  Del Guidice has spent her entire career in pursuit of promoting a more humane and relationship-based treatment ethos for people living with mental health conditions.  In this interview we hear the story about how she boldly travelled to Colorno Italy as a young psychiatrist in her 20’s to meet Franco Basaglia in person.  The fact that she had read his books and wanted to...

Send a text  Beatrice Stanig is a young woman who is making her way in Trieste.  She is a member of the Women’s Association, Luna e L’Altra and a peer support worker in the mental health system.  She has also written a book, Sei Innocente and started the process to work on a second.  In this conversation, we cover several topics that help to provide insight into the way in which community based me...

Send a text Season Five is a special treat:  made in Italy!   This past year, with generous support from the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, Heart Forward was afforded the opportunity to curate a study group to learn about a system in Trieste, Italy that the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared a global best practice for community-based mental health care.    As the  Équipe met regularly via...

Send a text Meet Georgette Darby in this interview.  She is one remarkable woman who has endured so much and has emerged strong and resilient.  Georgette has a Bachelor of Science in Public Administration with an emphasis in Criminal Justice from California State University at Dominguez Hills. She graduated in 1996.    She also has an AA degree in Science, Computer Information Technology from Los...

Send a text In this episode, we visit with two representatives from Fountain House in New York.  Our primary intent was to provide a platform to share the results of a recent research report issued by Fountain House:  Beyond Treatment: How Clubhouses for People Living with Serious Mental Illness Transform Lives and Save Money .   This first of its kind analysis not only offers a fuller accounting...

Send a text In Part II of this interview with Adrian Berumen, an inmate at Corcoran State Prison (in the interview, he was at Calipatria,  we track his journey from serving as an inmate Mental Health Assistant (MHA) at LA County Twin Towers to being sentenced to serve a 25-year to life sentence.  Adrian’s story resonates with Heart Forward because his peer service, under the supervision of the LA...

Send a text  In this 2 -part interview with Adrian Berumen, an inmate at Corcoran State Prison (he was formerly at Calipatria),  we track his journey from serving as an inmate Mental Health Assistant (MHA) at LA County Twin Towers to being sentenced to serve a 25-year to life sentence.  Adrian’s story resonates with Heart Forward because his peer service, under the supervision of the LA Sheriff’s...

Send a text Dr. Deborah Pitts is a Professor of Clinical Occupational Therapy at the USC Chan Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy.   Her practice expertise includes community-based mental health and psychiatric rehabilitation, particularly in the permanent supportive housing (PSH) context, and the ‘lived experience’ of recovery for persons labeled with psychiatric disorders,...

Send a text  This is Part Two of a conversation with Leila Towry and Aimery Thomas of The Future Organization (TFO) about their recent year-long research study into Los Angeles County ARFs and RCFEs.  These are commonly referred to as “board and care” homes, but the researchers make a case that the community and regulators should intentionally move away from that labelling as we attempt to forge n...

Send a text This is Part One of a two-part podcast interview. A long-awaited research study and report prepared by The Future Organization (TFO) helps to shine a light on an important, but fragile segment of our housing continuum for people with mental health conditions, many formerly homeless.  Colloquially referred to as “board & care homes,” they are officially referred to as Adult Resident...

Send a text Is involuntary psychiatric treatment a solution to the intertwined crises of untreated mental illness, homelessness, and addiction? In recent years, elected officials and advocates have sought to expand the use of conservatorships, a legal tool used to require someone deemed “gravely disabled" (e.g.,  unable to meet their needs for food, clothing, or shelter as a result of mental...

Send a text What we do each day and how we define ourselves to others is critical to our identify and sense of self worth.  In this interview, we will explore the importance of identity as a foundational component of mental health recovery.   For those who are involved in designing social enterprise businesses, or creating more pathways to employment for people living with a mental illness in thei...

Send a text This interview with an amazing couple – Rhoda and Gochin – who have operated a small family-style board and care home in the San Fernando Valley (Los Angeles) for the last 22 years, will leave you feeling anxious at the end.  And that is the objective:  to stimulate not just a sense of urgency, but emergency , to protect precious beds that provide homes for people living with mental il...

Send a text Wow - it's been 10 months since we uploaded the final episode of Season Three! This podcast is a labor of love -- and is not something that is casually produced on the fly.  So, the time is right to jump back in and resume these interviews!  We are excited to provide a platform for some compelling guests and stories in the coming months. The theme remains the same:   The American...

Send a text Mark Gale’s credentials for this interview are unparalleled.   He serves as the Criminal Justice Chair of NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) Greater Los Angeles County.   Mark also represents NAMI on the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Criminal Justice Mental Health Advisory Board , serves as a member of the Permanent Steering Committee of the Office of Diversion and Ree...

Send a text Soumitra Pathare trained as a psychiatrist at Seth G S Medical College & KEM Hospital Mumbai and St Thomas’ Hospital, London. He has a doctoral degree from VU University, Amsterdam and is a Member of The Royal College of Psychiatrists, United Kingdom.     Dr. Pathare is based in Pune, India and is the director of the Centre for Mental Health Law and Policy at the Indian Law Society...

Send a text   Psynergy operates four facilities or campuses – Morgan Hill is the first one, which is discussed in the interview.  In addition, they operate Greenfield Monterey County, Tres Vista supported living at the Morgan Hill campus and Nueva Vista in Sacramento.  On deck is the proposed Vista de Robles campus in Sacramento.    In this interview, we talk with Lynda Kaufman who is the Director...

Send a text Dr. Roberto Mezzina headed the Dipartimento di Salute Mentale in Trieste until his retirement in late 2019.  Both of the California delegations that visited Trieste (in 2017 and 2019) were graciously welcomed by Dr. Mezzina and his staff in our quest to understand the culture and principles that make this system so noteworthy.   Within those two delegations were representatives from th...