Mother Recovered From Schizophrenia and Daughter to Address Psychiatric Conference

ORLANDO, Fla. - Oct. 15, 2013 - PRLog -- Psychiatrists at the 60th Annual Conference of the Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry in Orlando  on Tuesday October 22 will have a rare opportunity to hear how someone with schizophrenia managed to end 12 years of crisis to get her life back together again. And, they will also hear how those years of crisis impacted the child of someone with schizophrenia.

Their session is described as:

This extraordinary book intertwines a mother and daughter’s individual stories through a series of letters written to each other. Sakeenah, a woman with schizophrenia, and now a National Alliance on Mental Iillness multicultural board member and speaker, has been in recovery for decades. Her daughter, Anika, graduated magna cum laude from an Ivy League university and is now a successful entrepreneur. The story explores how they have been able to maintain a relationship despite the instability, havoc, and confusion that schizophrenia has caused in their lives. The program includes reading excerpts from the book by its authors and discussion with mental health professionals with expertise in family systems, ethics, and the treatment of mothers with schizophrenia.

Sakeenah and Anika will be presenting with Arden D. Dingle, M.D , John Sargent, M.D. and Sarah E. Herbert, M.D., M.S.W in a session chaired by Sarah Y. Vinson, M.D. (https://aacap.confex.com/aacap/2013/webprogram/Session104...)

Sakeenah Francis was a young mother, college graduate and homecoming queen when schizophrenia struck. As a result of the illness, she lost everything but, one day, while trying to drown herself, she thought of her daughter and the impact that her suicide would have on her child. She did not go through with it and focused on doing all that she could to get better. And she did.

Today, Sakeenah is an active member of the National Alliance on Mental Illness in Cleveland where she has, to date, given over 50 presentations to various groups on mental illness. Anika lives in Atlanta where she has her own business and advocates for improved services for those with serious mental illnesses.

Together, they wrote Love's All That Makes Sense A Mother Daughter Memoir which chronicles their journey and offers hope to the countless others suffering either directly from this illness or their children. Psychiatrist Sarah Vinson writing on the website, Black Mental Health, said that "this book will provide validation and inspiration for families who face similar struggles, as well as provide mental health care providers with perspectives that can inform care."

Sandra Shwayder Sanchez of Bookpleasures said "I cannot recommend this wonderful book highly enough for each and every reader who cares about a world where people love and care for one another."

And the reviews on Amazon (5 our of 5 stars) have been as equally impressive calling this book "a beautiful story of love between a mother and daughter" and  "reading like a conversation between you and your best friend".

In September, both Sakeenah and Anika presented a number of workshops at the Roads To Recovery '13 Conference entitled "A Journey Beyond Medicaid" in Cleveland Ohio. The two  discussed the best practices for recovery and resilience for consumers, family caregivers and providers from a consumer and family caregiver's perspective.

Anika, a yoga therapist, then gave a talk about research findings on therapeutic yoga practices that improve mood, reduce stress and anxiety, and counter depression. In another session, Sakeenah talked about "Our Own Voice" on living with mental illness.

On November 1, they will be the keynote speakers at the Pastor's Summit Multicultural Faith Based Leadership Summit on Mental Illness put on by National Alliance on Mental Illness Alabama in Montgomery, Alabama.

Love's All That Makes Sense A Mother Daughter Memoir (http://bridgeross.com/francis.html) is available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, BAM and other book stores and in a Kindle and Kobo version. (ISBN  978-1927637005, 260 pages, 19.95)

Mother and Daughter discuss their journey on Youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hd5__GBAjWA