Dr. Jhilam Biswas

What I often will see with people with serious mental illness like a psychotic disorder, whether it's resulting from schizophrenia spectrum disorder or from bipolar disorder or from substance use that then causes a psychotic disorder, those are often the three big pathways in which we see a psychotic illness.

What I often will see with people with serious mental illness like a psychotic disorder, whether it's resulting from schizophrenia spectrum disorder or from bipolar disorder or from substance use that then causes a psychotic disorder, those are often the three big pathways in which we see a psychotic illness.

What I often will see with people with serious mental illness like a psychotic disorder, whether it's resulting from schizophrenia spectrum disorder or from bipolar disorder or from substance use that then causes a psychotic disorder, those are often the three big pathways in which we see a psychotic illness.

Those individuals might not have a lot of insight into what's going on and will be, you know, One of the symptoms of psychosis may be that they don't have insight, they're not engaging in care and treatment, and they don't want treatment.

Those individuals might not have a lot of insight into what's going on and will be, you know, One of the symptoms of psychosis may be that they don't have insight, they're not engaging in care and treatment, and they don't want treatment.

Those individuals might not have a lot of insight into what's going on and will be, you know, One of the symptoms of psychosis may be that they don't have insight, they're not engaging in care and treatment, and they don't want treatment.

At that point, we really do need to get the courts involved to help us provide some psychiatric treatment, which we call, you know, there's various names for it, but we call them antipsychotic medications that every state has laws around. in order to provide that care in a way where the individual doesn't have insight that they need the care. And so it ends up being somewhat compulsory, right?

At that point, we really do need to get the courts involved to help us provide some psychiatric treatment, which we call, you know, there's various names for it, but we call them antipsychotic medications that every state has laws around. in order to provide that care in a way where the individual doesn't have insight that they need the care. And so it ends up being somewhat compulsory, right?

At that point, we really do need to get the courts involved to help us provide some psychiatric treatment, which we call, you know, there's various names for it, but we call them antipsychotic medications that every state has laws around. in order to provide that care in a way where the individual doesn't have insight that they need the care. And so it ends up being somewhat compulsory, right?

But we need the court to mandate that. And in those situations, they can just take a lot longer because there's so many procedural hurdles. And we need to protect the due process, obviously, of the patient themselves, especially if they are refusing treatment and they do have insight and, you know, we're just missing something. Certainly due process is important.

But we need the court to mandate that. And in those situations, they can just take a lot longer because there's so many procedural hurdles. And we need to protect the due process, obviously, of the patient themselves, especially if they are refusing treatment and they do have insight and, you know, we're just missing something. Certainly due process is important.

But we need the court to mandate that. And in those situations, they can just take a lot longer because there's so many procedural hurdles. And we need to protect the due process, obviously, of the patient themselves, especially if they are refusing treatment and they do have insight and, you know, we're just missing something. Certainly due process is important.

But the problem with due process currently is our court systems take a really long time to hear the cases. And so that's what my research showed in one of the forensic hospitals in Massachusetts.

But the problem with due process currently is our court systems take a really long time to hear the cases. And so that's what my research showed in one of the forensic hospitals in Massachusetts.

But the problem with due process currently is our court systems take a really long time to hear the cases. And so that's what my research showed in one of the forensic hospitals in Massachusetts.

It took up to 61 days to get medications to an individual who had acute psychosis, which is why I have worked with multiple other organizations, the Massachusetts Behavioral Health Services Organization, to bring a bill to the Massachusetts legislature called the timely treatment bill.

It took up to 61 days to get medications to an individual who had acute psychosis, which is why I have worked with multiple other organizations, the Massachusetts Behavioral Health Services Organization, to bring a bill to the Massachusetts legislature called the timely treatment bill.

It took up to 61 days to get medications to an individual who had acute psychosis, which is why I have worked with multiple other organizations, the Massachusetts Behavioral Health Services Organization, to bring a bill to the Massachusetts legislature called the timely treatment bill.

more timely medications to people with psychotic illness. Because right now in Massachusetts, and I know in other states, because I talk to psychiatrists everywhere, this is a huge issue. We cannot get care to individuals with serious mental illness who have an insight problem, who can't tell that they're ill. And that's a very common problem among people with psychosis.

more timely medications to people with psychotic illness. Because right now in Massachusetts, and I know in other states, because I talk to psychiatrists everywhere, this is a huge issue. We cannot get care to individuals with serious mental illness who have an insight problem, who can't tell that they're ill. And that's a very common problem among people with psychosis.