By Steve Cannon
When asked to think of a radio celebrity, several personalities come to mind. One generation may think of Orson Welles timeless War of the Worlds broadcast that sent an entire populous running from a fictional alien invasion. Another may think of Andy Rooney reading his news commentary straight from his script, even announcing the page number he was turning to. The younger generation may think of shock jock Howard Stern as he was fired from one radio affiliate to the next creating conflict with management wherever he went.
However, in-between the easy listening stations and the kings of media, there has been one low-key media producer, Bill Lichtenstein, who has been toting the banner of mental health and social justice issues for more than a decade and a half on public radio. Bill Lichtenstein is the founder and president of LCMedia. His career history started in broadcast and investigative journalism leading to his original media production called Voices of an Illness in 1992. Voices of an Illness is a three-part broadcast series that documents patient’s first-hand experiences with mental illness covering clinical depression, bipolar, and schizophrenia — all while winning critical acclaim and numerous awards. Additionally, Bill added to Voices of an Illness his own story of recovery from manic-depression after his first hospitalization. The praise from Voices of an Illness led to the creation of The Infinite Mind, a weekly public radio series started in 1998. The series is hosted by Dr. James Goodwin and each episode features a central topic related to mental health stigma/social issues, therapy for neurological disorders, or documenting the human element of experiencing mental illness. The presentation is smart and informative with guest interviews divided into 20 minute segments of an hour long episode. A variety of guests are interviewed ranging from people in recovery, mental health advocates, doctors and therapists, and family members of a loved one who has mental illness. The Infinite Mind places emphasis on informing its listeners allowing anyone to learn something regardless of their experience with mental illness.
This month the Harford PRP’s Recovery from Mental Illness group will be using a broadcast from The Infinite Mind entitled “Four Lives”. The episode interviews four different people in recovery telling their story about living with mental illness. Participants in the class will use the episode to center a discussion on how people in the broadcast manage their lives and illness. For application, Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP), will be introduced to reflect where recovery efforts, when applied and working, assists the people interviewed in the broadcast.
For more information on media publications from LCMedia visit their webpage at http://lcmedia.com/.
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