Living with Schizophrenia: A panel conversation

Mental health advocates Dr Margaret Leggatt and Mary Ryllis Clark are the authors of Living with Schizophrenia: Stories, Advice and Advocacy from the Front Lines of a Mental-Health Crisis. Together with a panel of guests with lived experience of schizophrenia, they’ll discuss the nuances and stigma surrounding this complex condition.

About the book:

One in 100 people have schizophrenia, but it remains one of the most misunderstood and maligned mental health conditions. There is much more our community needs to understand, and much our governments and public institutions can do to support those with the condition.

In Living with Schizophrenia, two mental health advocates, researcher and founder of SANE Australia Margaret Leggett and journalist Mary Ryllis Clark, explore the myths and mistruths around schizophrenia, as well as how we can improve treatment options and ensure earlier interventions for those with schizophrenia and their families.

This book aims to bring about greater public awareness and understanding of what confronts a family when one of its members is faced with a diagnosis of schizophrenia. It also explores the gaps in the healthcare system that are letting too many down, and the complex layering of discrimination that can often result in injustices and poor health outcomes. Ultimately, it makes a passionate case for what can be done to improve the lives for those with schizophrenia and their families. The way forward is clear, they argue. We just have to make it happen.

Featuring interviews with those who live with schizophrenia and their families, as well as professional perspectives from foremost Australian psychiatrists, social workers and psychologists in the field, this is an illuminating and moving book that shines a light on a common condition that needs more public support.

About the Panel:

Mary Ryllis Clark is a writer and historian. The author of several biographies and histories, she also wrote a fortnightly column for The Age, ‘Historic Victoria’, from 1992 to 2005. Mary migrated from London to Australia in 1974, lives in a historic factory in the Melbourne suburb of Fitzroy and enjoys her city’s rich and diverse cultural life. Her most recent book is Turning Points (Monash University Publishing, 2022), a collection of interviews with remarkable Australians reflecting on the moments that shaped their lives.

Margaret Leggatt is an academic and a tireless advocate for families affected by complex mental illness. After founding the Schizophrenia Fellowship of Victoria in 1978, she went on to found SANE Australia, the leading national mental health organisation for people with complex mental illness and their families. Marg has been instrumental in national advocacy about schizophrenia, including working with writer Anne Deveson AO to launch a national community awareness campaign. She has also worked at Deakin University and with Professor Patrick McGorry at Orygen Youth Health. She is a patron of SANE.

Sandy Jeffs was diagnosed with schizophrenia in 1976 when it was considered something from which you couldn't recover. Sandy went on to become a published poet and memoirist, and with Margie Leggatt co-authored the award winning oral history of Larundel Psychiatric Hospital, which has just been reissued with the title Out of the Madhouse: From Asylums to Mental Health Reform - Who Cares?

Jennifer Burger is a dedicated mental health advocate, carer consultant, and educator with over two decades of experience in carer support, mental health policy, and service redesign. She worked for many years at the Schizophrenia Fellowship of Victoria (now Wellways), where she led the development of educational materials and psychosocial rehabilitation initiatives. Following this, she served as Carer Consultant for the North West Area Mental Health Services, championing carer-inclusive practices and contributing to service-wide improvements. Jennifer has held leadership roles in statewide and national advocacy networks, co-authored best practice guidelines, and contributed a chapter titled 'Consumers, Carers and Clinicians Working Together' to Living with Schizophrenia.

Eugene Schlusser is a filmmaker who has produced a number of videos on schizophrenia promoting greater understanding of the condition and better treatments. Notably, his “Schizophrenia Let’s Talk About it”, narrated by Anne Deveson has been widely screened. Eugene also conducted several interviews for Living with Schizophrenia.

The Thomas, Samuel and George Ewing Trust is a fund that fosters literacy, libraries, and a lifelong love of learning in the historic Melbourne suburb of Fitzroy. Fitzroy Library is fortunate to have the continued support of the Ewing Trust endowment that allows for the development and presentation of a range of events and projects for the benefit of Fitzroy residents and visitors.

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Where

Cost

Free