I am sitting here in Schiphol International, on a five hour layover heading back home to Los Angeles. My team and I just spent a fast-paced week in Trieste – reconnecting with old friends and forging new connections. We were here to do the advance planning for a study visit that Heart Forward is planning for 20 people in October of this year.

Several weeks ago, I received alarming news from our friends in Italy. As a result of changes in their regional…

This virus is the great equalizer, spreading through the earth with impunity and not discriminating as to wealth, class, ethnicity…

I am not a dottoressa. So often, this past month, visiting Trieste, people assumed I was a dottoressa, a psychiatrist. …

I am a card-carrying member of Luna e L’Altra, one of the network of membership associations that are important for…

Hands down, the best lunch I’ve enjoyed in Trieste this month was prepared today by three beautiful women at the…

Anything that has been around for 40 years is bound to experience the forces of change. The Israelites were disciplined…

As the theme song opens for Mad Men, there is that silhouette of the man in a free-fall. Who is…

The Trieste model emphasizes social recovery as a more critical element than viewing someone as a patient, in a medical…

For the first two days of this week, I’ve been involved in a series of meetings and site visits. Many…

Imagine a psychiatrist in a community mental health center who rarely sits down. He doesn’t have an assigned office and…

“The biggest human temptation is to settle for too little.” Thomas Merton, 1980 People I meet here in Trieste are…

By marginalizing family connection and involvement in America, we are weakening prospects for a better life and recovery for people suffering from mental illness…

Eight years ago, when I first began this journey to explore why our mental health system is so dysfunctional in America, I was impacted by the heart-wrenching story shared by Pete Earley, in his book…

If ever there was a walkable city, it is Trieste. Actually, most Italian cities are perfect for walking – and in fact…

If I am honest, I must admit that I have some trepidation about what awaits me in the month ahead. I have returned to Trieste now for the fourth time since my first visit in…

In 2017, I had the privilege to travel to Trieste Italy with a delegation of professionals involved in mental health services and policy in Los Angeles. I blogged about…