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About Street roots. (Portland, OR) 1998-current | View Entire Issue (March 14, 2014)
8 street roots March 14, 2014 Dr. Delaney Ruston rides with her father in this picture from her youth. Her father’s battle with schizophrenia is documented in her film “Unlisted: A Story of Schizophrenia.” Out of hiding Seattle physician and film m aker Delaney Ruston spotlights the human cost o f our mental health crisis BY ROBIN LINDLEY disorders receive no treatment Ruston has devoted her professional life A bout 450 million people live with : to caring for underserved populations, and Z \ mental illness worldwide and nearly now she’s working to break the silence on JL JLone million a year die of suicide, global mental health. To spark an . Portland’s suicide rate is higher-than the international discussion, the award-winning national average, according the the Portland filmmaker produced the first full-length Police Bureau, and last year the^city’s documentary on this overlooked issue, attention was drawn to Vista Bridge for that “Hidden Pictures.” reason. The Southwest Portland span is also Over the course of five years, Ruston known as the'“suicide bridge” for the high traveled from Seattle to India, China, South rate of suicides committed there each year. Africa and France, exploring the plight of In 2013, the city constructed temporary the mentally ill: the heartrending lack of fences running along the bridge to prevent services, human rights violations and suicide. While the numbers have dropped pernicious stigma in nations rich and poor. they have not been fully averted. Morethan 140 international organizations No city or culture is immune to this screened “Hidden Pictures” on Oct 10,. problem. Mental Health Day, and reviewers, including Dr. Delaney Ruston of Seattle has actress and mental health advocate Glenn traveled the world working on “Hidden Close, have praised it. Among them are Pictures,” her chronicle of how different public radio health reporter Joanne cultures deal with mental illness. Silberner who wrote: “It’s a deeply Seattle has emerged as an epicenter for compelling documentary that exposes us to global health research as the home of thé - - theharm caused by ignorance of these Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; the diseases, at the same time pointing out that University of Washington Department of the currently available approaches to care Global Health; PATH, an international can make a real difference.” health organization; the Fred Hutchinson - Ruston has worked as a primary care Cancer Research Center; the Seattle physician at various clinics for the Biomedical Research Institute; and the underserved in Seattle, She is a graduate of Washington Global Health Alliance. Stanford Medical School and has taught on Until recently, most global health the faculty ip the Department of Medicine initiatives have devoted resources to at the University of Washington. She studied physical health and illnesses while mental filmmaking in San Francisco during her health issues have been largely ignored. Yet,1 internal medicine residency, and she earned according to the World Health Organization, a Fellowship in Ethics and Communication | about 450 million people live with mental at the University of California, San illness worldwide and almost one million a Franciscp. year die of suicide — mostly in low, and In one documentary, “Unlisted: A Story middle-income nations where us many as 85 of Schizophrenia,” Ruston recounted her percent of people with severemental father’s struggle with mental illness,how C O N T R IB U T IN G W R IT E R Delany Ruston she reconnected with him after hiding from him for 10 years, and his eventual suicide. * “Unlisted” was featured on PBS and honored with the Media Voice Award for Best Documentary by Mental Health America in 2011. Ruston’s other films include “Crisis in Control,” about psychiatric advance directives, and “Go Away Evil,” on mental illness in South Africa. Ruston recently spent two years in Delhi, India, as a Fulbright Scholar making films about community mental health workers in India, which will be used to promote mental health services. We talked recently and spoke at length about filmmaking and her mental health advocacy. Robin Lindley: You’re a physician and a prize-winning filmmaker. How did you decide to become a doctor? Dr. Delaney Ruston: My experience growing up with my dad and his schizophrenia influenced my wanting to go . into the health profession. I planned to work in clmics for the underserved when I went into medicine. After my training, when I started working in such clinicsof course, I discovered that many people were facing’ mental health problems. Fortunately, my residency in primary care internal medicine taught us how to help treat many mental health conditions. Even though my dad’s schizophrenia motivated me to go into medicine, I didn’t want to go into psychiatry. I think it just felt too close to home, but now I love helping See HIDING, Page 9
