DorlandHealth

Dr. Ken Duckworth

"The impact these illnesses have on the United States is pretty breathtaking. About 1 percent of the population in America has schizophrenia and about 2 or 3 percent have bipolar disorder. And this 3 or 4 percent of people occupies a tremendous number of beds, a tremendous number of disability lost days. When you combine (these) with depression and OCD, you can account for thousands and thousands and thousands of disability lost days in America."

Editor in Chief Anne Llewellyn talks with Dr. Ken Duckworth from the National Alliance on Mental Illness on August 27, 2007, in preparation for an article that appeared in the December 2007/January 2008 issue of Case in Point. The article is titled "Raising a Voice for Mental Illness."

Dr. Duckworth, the medical director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, has a long affiliation with the field of psychiatry and has vast experience in the field of public health. Dr. Duckworth is an assistant professor at Harvard University Medical School and medical director of Vinfen Corporation in Boston.

In this interview, Dr. Duckworth talks about the impact of mental illness on personal and societal levels, addresses the role of stigma, and explains some of the steps NAMI is taking in an effort to reduce the burden of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder on patients, families and caregivers.

To learn more about NAMI's initiatives, resources and history, visit them on the Web at www.nami.org.

Listen to the interview