The Stigma of Mental Illness

It is because stigma still lies underground in our human psyche that parents of an adult in a group home are kept in the dark about his/her treatment. But what the author discovers is that not just the parents but also the staff at the group home are kept in ignorance of what they are doing and why. Dubono therefore reveals the fundamental cause behind the general public apathy and despair. It is as though they too, and even the psychiatrists who prescribe those drugs are kept in a straight jacket. For they are denied their fundamental right to use their judgment and their creativity. The author relates how she had to petition the Supreme Court for guardianship in order to become involved in her daughter's treatment.