In this episode of SMI Spotlight, host Dr. Xavier Amador talks with actor and advocate Michele Hicks about her brother’s journey with schizophrenia and what it means to be a family caregiver.Michele shares her deeply personal story — from recognizing her brother’s first symptoms and navigating interactions with police and providers, to understanding anosognosia (lack of insight), the limits of HIPAA, and the emotional toll of caregiver burnout and guilt.She also discusses how her experience inspired her advocacy work with Treatment Advocacy Center, the importance of including families in treatment, and how the media industry can help portray serious mental illness with honesty and compassion.Hosted by Dr. Xavier Amador, SMI Spotlight explores real stories and expert perspectives on severe mental illness (SMI) — bringing awareness to conditions with psychosis like schizophrenia and bipolar disorder while highlighting the people and policies shaping better care.Video Sections:
In this episode of SMI Spotlight, Dr. Xavier Amador speaks with Leslie Carpenter, TAC's legislative advocacy manager. Leslie is a passionate mental health advocate whose lived experience supporting a family member with a severe mental illness has shaped her perspective on treatment and recovery. She is an accomplished advocate who led efforts in Iowa to pass legislation for Assisted Outpatient Treatment (AOT) programs. Together with Dr. Amador, Leslie discusses anosognosia and the challenges of creating a continuum of care for people living with SMI.Video Sections:
In this SMI Spotlight Q&A episode, Dr. Xavier Amador—founder of the LEAP approach and renowned clinical psychologist—answers real questions from our viewers about living with, supporting, and advocating for people with severe mental illness (SMI) such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.From managing stress-induced symptom spikes to navigating HIPAA, helping loved ones accept medication, and addressing substance use, Dr. Amador offers practical advice and compassionate insight backed by decades of experience.Video Sections:
In this episode of SMI Spotlight, renowned clinical psychologist and author Dr. Xavier Amador answers your most pressing questions about anosognosia—a common and often misunderstood symptom of severe mental illness like schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
Dr. Amador, founder of the LEAP method and author of I Am Not Sick, I Don’t Need Help!, shares expert insights on:
• Whether withholding financial support can motivate treatment
• If showing someone a video of themselves during psychosis can increase insight
• What people remember after a psychotic episode
• The different types of insight impacted by anosognosia
• Where to begin when a loved one refuses help
• Whether insight improves with age
• How to manage medication-related weight gain
SMI Spotlight is a podcast series from TAC, focused on evidence-based care and real-life strategies for supporting people with severe mental illness.
In today's episode of SMI Spotlight, Dr. Xavier Amador is joined by Dr. Marketa Wills, CEO and Medical Director of the American Psychiatric Association (APA). Dr. Wills discusses her career journey, leading her to enter the field of psychiatry and administration. She covers her vision for the upcoming advocacy from the APA, emphasizing the need to decriminalize mental illness. To achieve this decriminalization, she discusses the need for more tools and legal mechanisms to provide treatment for individuals with severe mental illness who may be unable to see their own need for medical intervention. She also speaks to how the APA advocates to address the shortage of psychiatrists nationwide. #smi #apa #xavieramador Video Sections:
In today's episode of SMI Spotlight, Maria Sutherland joins Dr. Xavier Amador to discuss the systemic failures that led to the loss of her son Michael, following complications of his schizophrenia diagnosis. Their discussion touches on the need for supportive housing, dedicated behavioral health crisis response teams, extended family guardianship, increased access to long-acting injectables, and widespread understanding of anosognosia - the lack of insight preventing many with SMI from engaging in treatment. Sections:
In this episode of SMI Spotlight, Dr. Xavier Amador sits down with Dr. Roshni Koli, Chief Medical Officer at the Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute, to explore the Collaborative Care Model — an evidence-based approach integrating mental health care into primary care settings.Dr. Koli explains how this model:-Increases access to early mental health intervention-Supports primary care doctors with psychiatric consultation-Reduces stigma and improves follow-through on care-Addresses the urgent workforce shortage in mental healthThey also discuss how collaborative care impacts those with serious mental illness (SMI) and what it means for improving equity in rural and underserved communities.⏱ With evidence from over 90 clinical trials, collaborative care is proven to be more effective than standard care — and it’s the only integrated healthcare model with its own billing codes for care coordination.Whether you're a clinician, policymaker, caregiver, or someone seeking better access to care, this conversation offers a blueprint for a better, more integrated system.Video Sections:
In today's SMI Spotlight episode, Dr. Xavier Amador, clinical psychologist, author of I Am Not Sick, I Don’t Need Help!, and creator of the LEAP (Listen, Empathize, Agree, Partner) method, answers listener questions about severe mental illness (SMI), including schizophrenia, anosognosia, family communication, and advocacy.🔹 Topics Covered in This Episode:✔️ How to respond to delusions and paranoid thinking in loved ones✔️ Tips for families dealing with anosognosia (lack of insight)✔️ Using LEAP communication techniques to build trust and encourage treatment✔️ Supporting a loved one in jail or the legal system while maintaining boundaries✔️ Finding and maintaining hope despite societal challenges✔️ How to plan for long-term care as aging caregivers✔️ Breaking the cycle of hospitalization, incarceration, and homelessness📢 About Dr. Xavier Amador:Dr. Amador is a world-renowned psychologist, mental health advocate, and founder of the LEAP Institute. His work has been featured in major media outlets, and his expertise helps families, clinicians, and law enforcement better understand how to communicate with individuals who struggle with insight into their illness.Episode Sections:
Sections:
00:00 Anosognosia: key schizophrenia symptom often overlooked
00:56 Introducing Lindsay and Dr. Xavier Amador
04:12 Myth of the Schizophrenogenic mother
05:44 Med compliance
06:40 "Died by" vs. "committed" suicide
07:21 What helped her brothers stay in treatment?
09:18 Why in treatment even with anosognosia?
10:19 Conflict over taking medication
11:21 Telling someone to stop hallucinating
12:02 Getting help herself
12:27 Sexual abuse and SMI
14:58 Distancing family from psychosis
16:24 Not knowing about anosognosia
18:15 Why even professionals may not have heard of anosognosia
19:49 The difference anosognosia makes in schizophrenia outcomes
20:56 How understanding anosognosia would have made a difference in Lindsay's family
23:18 Anger at the individual with SMI
24:01 Anosognosia in SMI vs. in Alzheimer's
24:54 The wide variety of schizophrenia symptoms
27:07 Clozapine
28:50 Average time from onset of SMI to treatment
29:49 Viewing anosognosia as one possible symptom
30:33 Peter's death from long-term high-dosage of medication for SMI
34:37 Is med treatment enough? Importance of therapy36:23 Wave of support from families who have experienced SMI
37:02 Reflecting on the documentary series
38:44 Separating SMI from other mental health and substance use diagnoses
40:16 Housing for people with SMI
41:28 The difficulty in accessing appropriate care - Clozapine example
42:32 Peter's experience with criminalization
45:14 For profit prisons and the defunding of psych hospitals
46:21 The current lack of enforcement of parity laws
47:56 Arizona Mad Moms
48:49 More compassion for people with SMI
50:50 How awareness of anosognosia changes people's view of SMI
53:04 Lindsay's website54:18 Involving family in the care of people with SMI
55:32 How Lindsay's advocacy for her brother's care was crucial for his heart treatment
56:37 Getting around HIPAA with power of attorney
57:18 Contact us!Lindsay’s website! https://lindsaymarygalvinrauch.com/Schizophrenia is one of the most misunderstood mental illnesses, but few people know about one of its most devastating symptoms—anosognosia. This neurological condition prevents individuals from recognizing that they have an illness, leading to treatment refusal, medication noncompliance, and a cycle of hospitalization, homelessness, and incarceration.In this powerful conversation, we hear firsthand how anosognosia shaped one family’s experience, affecting six siblings diagnosed with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder. Their story sheds light on the mental health crisis, the failures of the psychiatric system, and the urgent need for better education, treatment, and compassion.Every year, millions of people struggle with untreated schizophrenia due to anosognosia. Families are left feeling helpless as their loved ones cycle through hospitals, jails, and homelessness. We must educate the public, improve psychiatric training, and advocate for better policies to ensure people with serious mental illness receive compassionate, effective care.
Important Topics Discussed:🔹 Why anosognosia is NOT denial—it's a brain disorder.🔹 How the criminal justice system fails people with schizophrenia.🔹 The urgent need for housing, medical care, and psychiatric support.🔹 Why blaming parents for schizophrenia is outdated and harmful.🔹 How mental health parity laws need better enforcement.🔹 The need to separate serious mental illness from general mental health discussions.🚨 Serious mental illness is a public health crisis. It's time to change the conversation. #Anosognosia #Schizophrenia #MentalHealth #SeriousMentalIllness #SchizoaffectiveDisorder #BipolarDisorder #Clozapine #MentalHealthAwareness #Psychiatry #BrainDisorder #SchizophreniaAwareness #LEAPMethod #DrXavierAmador #EndTheStigma #MentalHealthMatters #SeriousMentalIllnessAwareness #Clozaril #MentalHealthAdvocacy #Psychosis #PsychiatricCare #HIPAA #MentalHealthCrisis
Anosognosia, also called lack of insight, is a biological condition that prevents some people with severe mental illness (SMI) from knowing that they are experiencing symptoms of a brain disorder. Anosognosia is thought to be the most common reason for not seeking or maintaining treatment for people with severe mental illness.
In the first episode of SMI Spotlight, TAC's executive director Lisa Dailey discusses anosognosia with Dr. Xavier Amador. The interview covers Dr. Amador's journey supporting his brother with schizophrenia, studying anosognosia as a clinical psychologist, and developing the LEAP method to help connect with people and encourage them to seek treatment even if they don't believe they have a mental illness.
Dr. Xavier Amador is an internationally renowned clinical psychologist and leading expert on anosognosia. As TAC’s Scientific Officer, Amador brings decades of clinical research, worldwide speaking tours, and extensive work in schizophrenia, bipolar, and other disorders to audiences through written blog posts, podcasts, and social media. Amador is the founder of the LEAP Institute, CEO of the Henry Amador Center on Anosognosia, author of many popular books on topics related to SMI, and has previously served as faculty at Columbia University and other institutions. Dr. Amador is passionate about making information about SMI easier to understand and widely available.
As TAC's Executive Director, Lisa Dailey leads an energetic team dedicated to improving the lives of families affected by severe mental illness with a focus on only this population through the lenses of advocacy, research, public education, and movement-building. Dailey brings many years of nonprofit policy and advocacy experience as well as a diverse background as an attorney that includes trial work, representation of asylum-seekers, and legal scholarship in the area of human rights and civil liberties. Dailey read for a master’s degree in international human rights from the University of Oxford after earning a juris doctor from Hamline Mitchell School of Law and bachelor’s degrees in psychology and English from Macalester College. Video Chapters: 00:00-Introduction 01:07-Dr Amador's Connection to Severe Mental Illness 04:28-Connecting Anosognosia with SMI 06:22-Difficulty with Mental Health Professionals' Acceptance of Anosognosia 08:30-The Impact of Thinking of Anosognosia as Denial 11:32-Don't try to talk someone out of a delusion 12:24-Is Anosognosia like a light switch? 13:20-Why Dr Amador's Brother Took Medications Despite Having Anosognosia 14:08-The Importance of Listening (The L in LEAP) 16:08-What is LEAP? 19:10-Respectfully Disagreeing with Delusions 21:13-How Dr Amador met Dr E. Fuller Torrey (Founder of TAC) 23:57-How a focus on Anosognosia aligns with TAC's Mission 25:19-The Value of Focusing on the Relationship 26:20-What Advice can be hard to find? 28:20-Recent Developments in SMI Treatment 29:57-Why Focus on Helping People with Anosognosia? 32:36-What Topics does Dr Amador want to Cover? 35:18-The gaps in Available SMI Information 36:44-The Importance of Understanding the Science Behind SMI 38:31-Voluntary Treatment vs Waiting for rock Bottom 41:36-The need for Connection 43:28-The Difference that Families make 45:50-Contact us!