I didn't know about it, didn't watch it, and doubt if I will be able to bring myself to stomach the excerpts. This guy is delusional, impaired and narcissistic and frankly, with Oprah's track record on dealing with med issues in her show, I'm not surprised that she's enabling the creep even more. And he's on antidepressants -- what a surprise! As I said in a comment once before on this blog, this is about a whole family that has been destroyed by their "treatment." And I really wish that Oprah "got it" about psych meds because if she did she could make a difference, but she doesn't; she probably takes them herself. People have tried to reach her but no dice.

Good parody of the interview by the way, Philip. I can see it all now in my mind's eye and it makes me weep.

I would have been nice if Oprah would have had a balanced reporter on the show that really knows about this topic and mental health in general like Philip?

This was just another chapter in "NAMI's" and "BPKid's" hold up the mentally ill child propaganda campaign.

As a parent in the system I regret having a person such as Michael Schofield in the same 'category'.

I refuse to give any empathy to a person who brags about beating his wife and child on his personal blog.

When the adult father beats his child and poisons her with toxic drugs, he's a hero for being her parent. When the child throws a shoe at her mother, she's a monster. Oh the balance.

Philip, it's good your voice is here, a reporter who asks questions, and Stephany, it helps to know there are decent parents out there.

Meanwhile, I gave up on Oprah when she did the Sinead bipolar bit, and Sinead for that matter too though I still like her music.

I imagine Mr. S. would really like to see Jani in a specialized school. Here's one possible reason why: If the placement is part of an educational plan (IEP) the family is forbidden by Federal law to contribute to the plan because the child is entitled to a "FREE and appropriate" education. Assuming she's on SSI, that means the parents get to keep that monthly payment when the child is out of the home. No expenses but they do get the money.

Of course, it would be a small price to pay to get this kid outta there. Not that an institution's likely to do her any good, either. Bad situation all around.

I gave up on Oprah because I couldn't take the whiplash. Serious show on say, abuse issues one day, shopping with Bono the next, bogus non-surgical "face lift" and "make your butt look smaller" jeans fitted by a "stylist" the next. What the hell is a stylist, anyway???

I watched the "Oprah" excerpts, which did not convince me that this child has a serious mental illness. Perhaps because they didn't show any of the violence or "darkness" they kept mentioning. Jani and her "paranoid schizophrenic" friend Becca seemed like bright, creative, even happy kids; certainly hyper and eccentric, but where is the bar for that? So many of the alleged symptoms, like wanting to be called by another name, are common phases kids go through.

No surprise there was no mention that often, adult meds are not approved for use in kids; I also notice Becca said her meds don't even work.

The comments on Oprah's website were what provided a sense of balance, advocating that Jani's parents look into nutrition and other health issues, family dynamics, even spirituality before relegating this delightful girl to a lifetime of labeling and chemical cocktails.

Maybe she really does have schizophrenia. But what if she doesn't?

I didn't watch the show either but I am saddened by Oprah's seeming lack of ability to truly deal with all angles of this child's story and really try to help her as well as her family and any other children out there with schizophrenia and/or other childhood mental health (or abuse) issues. It is extremely unfortunate given how many in our country watch shows like this and Jon & Kate Plus 8 as it descends into lunacy and NOT programs with balanced information and reporting that would be truly helpful to all of us. For some better information, please visit NAMI's website or seek out information elsewhere -- don't just trust Oprah. She is indeed an entertainment program, not news of true information. Thanks for your post. Check out our info. also at www.twitter.com/lifeworksnw and/or our facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/manage/updates.php?id=83294167179&sent=1&e=0#/pages/LifeWorks-NW/83294167179?ref=nf

Miranda - RE your comment that "Maybe she really does have schizophrenia. But what if she doesn't?"
What is schizophrenia but a diagnosis given by a psychiatrist. What exactly is schizophrenia, anyway? I agree with the rest of what you've said, but people with a diagnosis of schizophrenia always seem to be considered a "special case," which isn't the case at all. People with a diagnosis of schizophrenia can recover and do. They are not untreatable. Unfortunately, the emphasis on meds as the only form of treatment has guaranteed many people to being perpetual patients. What a waste!
Best regards,
Rossa

several people have either written to me or left comments expressing deep skepticism of jani's schizophrenia diagnosis based upon scenes with the girl on oprah's show. they also wanted to know why i didn't hammer on that point.

my own impression from watching jani on the show was that the girl is deeply medicated--200 mgs of clozaril is a lot even for a full grown adult--and that makes it incredibly difficult to judge much of anything at such a distance. at least for me. so i kept my mouth shut about her dx.

either way, it is difficult as an adult to see a child so doped-up at such a young age, regardless of whatever her mental health issues might be.

I agree, first thought was Jani's eyes appeared drugged up from the small clip advertising the show on the Oprah site.

I've seen that look from Clozaril and Haldol also I find it interesting that she is engaged enough for photographs, and articulate about her stories. She didnt appear SZ to me at all, but that's just my opinion.

One of the difficulties of this show (the clips anyway) is that they didn't tell you in which scenes Jani was medicated and in which scenes she wasn't. In any case, if she was on meds, that might explain what looks like akathisia (sp?) -- she can't sit still.

Rossa, thanks for your point. I believe whether or not to take drugs is a very individual matter and should not be the automatic go-to even for the most severe illnesses.

my thoughts on oprah. no experience dealing w high need kids or ppl dx w mental illness, she was too intrusive, needed to give space.....

The real culprit here is the UCLA psychiatric center as it is with all psychiatric institutions. Parents trust the advice they are given. When my nineteen year old son ended up in the psych ward of a large, university affiliated hospital, I wish I had known then what I know now. But I didn't, and I took the considered opinion of ridiculously young people in white coats spouting extensive medical jargon. They know, as well as I do now, that there is another non-medical approach, they know all the theories about why children can become psychologically disturbed, but they don't share these with the parents. Instead, they prescribe drugs and they tell you with great certainty that drugs are the only way. When a young child is so delusional, it makes it even harder for the parents. I

n a crisis, where do you go for an alternative to hospitalization? There are none, unfortunately. When my son was recently hospitalized following a really good period where he was off drugs, for six months we watched him steadily detiorate and I kept working on strategies with him at home in order to avoid him having to go into the hospital, because I knew he would be immediately put back on medications. So, that was six months of hell, and he ended up back in the hospital anyway, and of course, he was put back on meds. Now the problem is trying to convince all concerned that he really didn't need meds, he simply needed a place to go where he could get away from his parents and have a time out to heal.

So, I put the onus on the "world class" UCLA psychiatric facility to stop pushing drugs on kids. They are fully aware that there are other ways.

Rossa,
Psych "hospitals" are really misnamed. A hospital is where you go to get well. A psych hospital is where you go so they can shut you up. They're all about meds and only meds. Since they know before you go in that you won't be there long enough to benefit much from therapy and since they have to do SOMEthing... well, meds it is. Nothing like a good drug-smack in the head to knock you into quiescence.

And you are correct, parents will do whatever they are told by those nice, concerned, serious (and delusional) people in the white coats. We're all brought up to trust them so why the heck wouldn't you?

As we Irish say, I'm sorry for your troubles. Really. It's a heart breaker, as you know.
Sherry

Jani's "schizophrenia" is her father's meal-ticket. The guy spends 24 hours a day playing the lead in a bad Hollywood movie of his own devising, and Oprah's review is his first real step towards superstardom.

Immediately after the Schofields' latest TV appearance, the mumber of (almost exclusively fawning) comments at his appalling blog shot up to well over 100. When his book finally comes out it will undoubtedly be a nationwide bestseller, perhaps with the help of another appearance on Oprah to plug the damn thing.

The child is clearly drugged up to the eyeballs, and nothing in her behaviour justifies that grotesque diagnosis of "schizophrenia" - a diagnosis for which Michael Schofield fought tooth-and-nail, for reasons not difficult to discern.

It is a sickening spectacle.

Rossa: someone in my employer's family was a child and adolescent psychiatrist. He used to say that in most, if not all, cases he saw the kid was not the problem. The parents were. But if he told the parents they'd just leave and go to another psychiatrist.

In a way, I've experienced this "It's everybody else's but my fault!"-mentality first hand myself as a trainer of horses and their riders. Anything the rider can't make the horse do, and there certainly is something wrong with the horse or the gear. Suggest that maybe, just maybe, it's their riding abilities that are not quite Olympic standard, and watch them leave for another trainer, deeply injured.

"Jani's "schizophrenia" is her father's meal-ticket. The guy spends 24 hours a day playing the lead in a bad Hollywood movie of his own devising, and Oprah's review is his first real step towards superstardom."

Yep. Poor little girl.

Marian, yes, since the advent of antipsychotics, it has no longer been politically correct to blame the parents. Pharmaceutical companes don't blame the parents, do they? They say your child's problem is biochemical and it is not a result of bad parenting. Nobody wants to be told they are less than ideal parents, so yes, they will go elsewhere these days. The pharmaceutical companies are cleaning up on this one. However, I think the bad parenting thing for schizophrenia is too simplistic. Everybody only sees child abuse these days. They are only connecting two dots is a hugely complex picture. I recommend reading Bert Hellinger, a German psychotherapist, for some really complex ways of looking at why children suffer. For that matter, Jung said the same thing. We are taking on the burdens of past generations. This doesn't just apply to schizophrenia (although Hellinger claims schizophrenia is particularly susceptible to trauma going back four generations), it also applies to why children get cancer, or die young. Not a way that our western minds want to look at things. It is quite scary look, really. We give the parents of young children with cancer a pass, but somehow we convince ourselves that mental illness in a child is caused by child abuse? I read something that Louise Hay said. When she sees a child with glasses, she wonders what the child doesn't want to see. We aren't used to thinking this way about our illnesses.

Perhaps the parents should have a look on www.intervoiceonline.org/ This is the website for people who hear voices.
The parents will find practical advise as well as have a possibility to find the names of expert therapists on voice hearing.

I wish Jani good luck on her road to recovery. It will be not an easy one but there is hope and therapist experience.
Willem van Staalen, voice integrating foster-father/ Netherlands

I had schizophrenia too 16 years ago when I was in California, and I was confined in Las Encinas Hospital, CA. I posted a message to Oprah @

http://www.oprah.com/community/blogs/rstmichael

Schizophrenia is curable, and my website gives more information about it.

Rodney St. Michael
http://illuminated.tripod.com