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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