Graduation Junkie

Saturday May 26, 2018

Stevenson is committed to making the world a more just place. He implored all of us to figure out how we can do our part. For all who care to do so, he articulated four essential principles. His recommendations grow out of his particular focus on changing the landscape for those wrongly incarcerated. They ring true across the landscape of many and varied social injustices, including those related to mental illness.

Power in proximity. Stevenson warned against trying to impact injustice or inequities from afar. We learn and understand the experience of marginalized communities when we get close. This means overcoming perceived barriers of distance and difference and means giving voice to those who have lived experience. In Stevenson’s case, this meant getting to know the accused on death row. In the case of mental illness, this wisdom is captured in the commitment to have individuals with lived experience of mental illness be part of the conversation to improve mental health systems and services. In the case of global mental health efforts, this means ensuring true partnerships and honoring local expertise in all efforts to increase understanding and build capacity. Two refrains from mental health in this regard are “nothing about us without us” and “global is local.”

Do things that are inconvenient and uncomfortable. We have to understand that the status quo has its supporters. Intentionally or inadvertently, these defenders of the status quo are the naysayers for anyone who wants to make real change. They will tell you all the reasons why your idea is outrageous. They will tell you why you are likely to fail. They will make very good points. But if the changes you are trying to achieve were easy, they would be realized already. Making real change requires inconvenience and discomfort coupled with getting close, changing the narrative and staying hopeful even when the odds are against you.

Where incarceration and mental illness intersect. At the conceptual level, Stevenson’s four principles apply to all strategies aimed at achieving greater social justice. In the case of mental illness, the overlap moves even closer to home. In the same way that racism has fueled the escalating rates of incarceration for black and brown men, prejudice and ignorance about mental illness has meant that among those who are incarcerated, 25% have serious mental illness.

Thank you Mr. Stevenson for getting close, changing the narrative, tolerating the discomfort and staying hopeful. You are creating a more just world and you set an example for us all.

Kathleen M. Pike, PhD — Is Professor of Psychology & Director of the Mental Health Program at CUMC kmp2@cumc.columbia.edu

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