Brian Neville is a 54-year-old Massachusetts resident who was treated for depression at McLean Hospital. The memory is as fresh today as the feeling that night six years ago when I got up at around 2:30am and headed into the kitchen for a snack. It was as if a switch went off—but not the lights. It was the depression that had enveloped me for six years suddenly lifting. And every day since, I...
Watch Aaron’s story on how he was diagnoses with borderline personality disorder and taught the skills he needs to manage his mental illness.
April’s mom recalls that it was sophomore year in college when “things started to fall apart.” By the time her parents arrived at school to take her to the emergency room, April was experiencing a severe first onset of psychosis.
Ten years ago, then 27-year-old Mike Muccio thought he was having a heart attack or a stroke. His heart raced, he was dizzy, off-balance, and felt like he was dying—and it kept happening. With his parents at his side, Mike spent the next nine months in and out of physician’s offices with no concrete diagnosis. When a doctor finally suggested the psychiatric ER at Massachusetts General Hospital,...
60 Minutes highlights McLean’s Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) Service.
Wayne is a former patient at McLean’s LEADER program which offers substance abuse and trauma care for first responders. Learn about Wayne’s story.
Learn more about Allen’s mental health story.
Transcranial magnetic stimulation is a treatment method often used for depression and other similar mental health diagnoses.
Brian Neville had a good life. A one-time body builder, he was 43, a successful businessman in the tanning industry, with a home in Massachusetts and a vacation condo in Florida. Then one morning in 2006 he woke up with the blues. It developed into a persistent darkness that just would not go away. After about six months, he sought treatment. He received prescription medications that he was...
Chris received treatment at McLean’s Signature Recovery Program, Fernside. Watch Chris’ story of recovery.
The following story features Brandon Marshall, a 33-year-old NFL wide receiver, co-founder of PROJECT 375, and participant in our Deconstructing Stigma: A Change in Thought Can Change a Life mental health public awareness campaign. Told through the eyes of its participants, this campaign boldly challenges the misconceptions of what those with mental illness look like and is intended to spark...
The road to success is often neither short nor smooth. Kayla Harrison of Danvers, Massachusetts, is a two-time Olympic gold medalist and the first American to win gold in judo. But she has not always been joyful and confident, as she was when she delivered the commencement address at McLean Hospital’s Arlington School 2017 graduation ceremony. Kayla’s pursuit of judo gold, she told the...
Learn more about Jessica’s mental health story.
Join McLean’s OCD Institute in celebrating 20 years of helping patients with obsessive compulsive disorder.
The following story features Luanne Rice, a 60-year-old novelist and participant in our Deconstructing Stigma: A Change in Thought Can Change a Life mental health public awareness campaign. “My throat hurt. I was holding back tears and words.” For Luanne, writing is therapeutic. She creates characters in her best-selling novels that are rich in the dark experiences of her own life. Growing up...
At 22, Robin did the hardest thing she had ever done in her life: she confronted her fears. Her fear of God, her fear of unintentionally causing others harm, and her fear of germs—all caused by obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD)—had robbed her of her teen years and she wasn’t going to let the illness destroy her life any longer. Robin was one of the first patients admitted into the Obsessive...
Abby and Mary are sisters and participants in McLean’s Deconstructing Stigma campaign. Watch as they tell their mental health story.
Learn more about Sadie and her mental health story.
With Autumn, his guide dog and partner by his side, Randy Pierce came to McLean last week—including visits to the Arlington School and Pathways Academy—to deliver inspirational and instructive stories about adversity, perseverance, and teamwork at the weekly Grand Rounds lecture. A neurological disorder caused Randy to lose his sight in his 20s and led to his temporary use of a wheelchair at the...
Patients and their families, staff, and other members of the McLean community enjoyed original artwork and beautiful music at last week’s Expressions of Hope, Recovery, and Resilience Concert and Art Exhibit, sponsored by McLean’s Patient and Family Advisory Council. The celebration featured music by Me2/Orchestra, the world’s only classical music organization created for individuals with...
