Are There Reprisals in the Mental Health System?

by Jay Gilpatrick

In discussions with a few friends recently, I have been warned of being too outspoken. They fear that there will be punishment for disagreeing with powerful people who have authority in the mental health system here in Buffalo, New York.

Actually, I have several times spoken my mind about issues I’m concerned about. The freshest in my mind is a few years ago when a controversial program was proposed. I had an advance copy of the proposal and considered it to be very discriminatory toward people who have a mental illness. A powerful community group and the mental health commissioner were in favor of it. I did my homework and wrote a speech which I read at an informational meeting with about 50 people present. There was a follow- up meeting with three or four people in attendance. I found it very difficult to present my views of discrimination in that meeting. There was very little said about the proposal after that meeting. The proposal was dropped and never implemented.

I don’t feel there was a reprisal against me for speaking out at that time.

Contrasted with the above, there has been a committee leader who has used a condescending tone with me. There have been questionable tactics used in this committee, and it has been my practice to bring them to light. This is a policy making board but very little is ever brought to the board to be voted on. Even the task of reviewing the leader’s performance and voting on raises has been usurped. I’m not sure what, if anything, I can do about it.

In another meeting my complaints were handled in such a way that I felt the leader was trying to break my spirit. I wasn’t too stable and became very upset. I went to the emergency room and was admitted to the psychiatric ward as a voluntary patient. I started joking around about trying to escape from the ward. I joked with the housekeeper about giving her money to let me out. Actually I had no money. Then, one of the staff accused me of trying to bribe the housekeeper. The staff person said I had to turn in my street clothes and put on a hospital gown. She said I would be in a hospital gown even if she had to call the entire hospital staff. This threat got me to voluntarily change clothes. But then I became a non- voluntary patient. I called Neighborhood Legal Services and Mental Hygiene Legal Services. Any action by them would take 72 hours.

So, anyway, I endured a few jokes about my hospital gown and got out of the hospital three days later.

The question remains if this was reprisal or was this a message to not cause waves. Should I accept the status quo in my dealings with boards, committees and the mental health system or fight for what I think is right? I would like to hear from readers on this question.

There are many different truths and objectives in society and the mental health system depending on individual experiences. I actually think it is very immature to take reprisals as an organization or as an individual. There very definitely have been reprisals against me, but I get through them one way or another. We all have the same objective in the mental health system which is to help individuals with a mental illness get healthier. We may differ on how to do this. It helps if we all work together, but there are bound to be some people who don’t get along.

Let’s work together anyway and get the job done right.