Mysteries of Mental Illness

Cook County Jail

Black men with mental health problems are more likely to be incarcerated than white men. 50,000 people pass through Cook County Jail each year and 90% are black. One inmate, Jeremiah Robinson, is diagnosed with schizophrenia, anxiety, bipolar and PTSD, and has been arrested 15 times since high school. How did prisons and jails become a frontline treatment for the mentally ill?

Cook County Jail

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More to Explore from Mysteries of Mental Illness

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    Muslims don’t often seek mental healthcare because of the dearth of services that integrate faith-based concepts into treatment practices. Instead, they seek help from family members, clergymen - people who don’t have the formal training to provide them with adequate care. Dr Hooman Keshavarzi’s Khalil Center provides that much-needed oasis that is a confluence of psychiatry and the Islamic faith.

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    Deconstructing stereotypes around homelessness lies at the core of Dr. Igda Martinez’s work at the Floating Hospital. For 150 years, the New York hospital has made psychiatric care available to unhoused populations who are among society’s most neglected. Shannette Champman, a mother of two, shares her experience of seeking care when she was in need of accessible mental health care.

  • Marià Baig & Hooman Keshavarzi | Decolonizing Mental Health: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Marià Baig & Hooman Keshavarzi | Decolonizing Mental Health

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    At the end of her first marriage, a doctor diagnosed Marià Baig’s bipolar disorder in five minutes, without knowing anything about her spiritual or cultural life. At the Khalil Center, she found a safe space that felt like home after years of being ignored and feeling invisible. Her new treatment, centered around her faith and culture, inspired her to come back and continue therapy.

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