Jennie Marie Battistin Of Hope Therapy Center: 5 Things I Learned While Supporting A Loved One After their Schizophrenia Diagnosis
An Interview with Stephanie Greer
Hire support during times of active psychosis who can take night shifts so you can sleep.
Schizophrenia is a mental disorder that impacts not only the individual who is diagnosed but also their entire support network — family, friends, and loved ones. Understanding and managing schizophrenia is a complex journey that often involves navigating healthcare systems, battling societal stigmas, and managing daily life in new and challenging ways. It’s a journey that teaches invaluable life lessons, reveals the strengths and weaknesses of relationships, and often inspires a new perspective on what it means to love and care for someone unconditionally. In this interview series, we are talking with those who have supported a loved one diagnosed with Schizophrenia. As a part of this interview series, I had the pleasure of interviewing Jennie Marie Battistin, LMFT Executive Clinical Director, Founder — Hope Therapy Community Counseling Center.
As the executive clinical director and one of the clinical supervisors, I empathize with individuals who want to be heard and understood. One common issue we see during therapy sessions are the difficulties many experience with communication. We seek to empower clients to express and explain their perspectives to others and feel heard. We understand how our clients are seeking someone to listen without judgment. Our strengths at Hope Therapy Community Counseling Center include building trust, empathizing, and listening. We teach our staff therapists interventions that include Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and mindfulness techniques. Our goal is to help clients become aware of their thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. We guide clients to see things from a different perspective and challenge them to step out of their comfort zone. Therapy can be challenging and triggering! We understand the effort it takes to work on one’s trauma, fears, insecurities, or stressors. We want to help you overcome any distress that has been affecting your life or relationships. Call to be connected with one of our staff therapists so we can help you heal and grow.
Click to learn more about Jennie Marie Battistin, LMFT.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! We really appreciate the courage it takes to publicly share your story. Before we start, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your background and your childhood backstory?
I am a marriage and family therapist. I grew up with a mother with bipolar disorder and a father had substance use disorder. Watching the challenges my parents encountered and my family experienced led to my interest in the field of psychology. I own a group psychotherapy practice, Hope Therapy Center in the Greater Los Angeles Area.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“Believe you can and you’re halfway there.” — Theodore Roosevelt
My mother often would tell me this quote. Although at times she struggled with her own mental health, she instilled in me that I could obtain anything if I just believe. She would sometimes say “shoot for the stars and at least you will hit the moon.” At age 27, I was the youngest department administrator at UCLA Medical Center. While being a mom and working a demanding job often 50+ hours, I completed graduate school and my clinical hours to become a licensed marriage family therapist. I have since built one of the largest psychotherapy practices in the City of Burbank.
Let’s now shift to the main part of our discussion. Can you share what your journey supporting a loved one with Schizophrenia has been like?
In 2022, my 29-year-old daughter, who had never exhibited any mental health challenges, had a psychotic break in May 2022. After 3 hospitalizations in a 2-week period, the doctor told me I need to accept that my daughter had developed late onset Schizophrenia. While you would think being a mental health provider and growing up with a mother with bipolar disorder may have prepared me for this journey, what occurred between May — August 2022, no one could have been prepared. Overnight my life changed. I had family members come into town and I hired a night nurse to help watch my daughter. Her psychosis had many forms, at times she believed that government was after her, she would dress up in Renaissance clothes and declare she was the Princess of the High Order Juliet, she would wear a blindfold and require us to walk her around the house and appointments as a “trust walk” exercise, she snuck out of the house on several occasions and find her way to Disneyland or other locations, there were many more psychotic behaviors we watched over the month of May. One of the most alarming incident, was on the way to a doctor’s appointment she slipped out of my car and sweet talked a young 20 year Autistic man to allow her to “test drive” his Tesla. She drove this car and then attempted to trade the vehicle at a Honda dealership when the Tesla was out of power. When the Honda salesperson turned their back, she got into a Honda and drove off the lot. I was frantic and had contacted the police, not sure what had happened initially. I quickly learned she had stolen 2 vehicles. She was found 14 hours later wandering the beach by college students who recognized she was not mentally well. An EMT was called, but the police showed up first and when they took her name and asked her questions they decided she was on a crime spree. She was taken to the Santa Barbara jail and booked for 2 grand theft felony auto charges, which we have fought to get dismissed based on her psychosis. After this incident, I desperately worked for several weeks to get her admitted into a hospital. My challenge was that due to her extremely high IQ, she would outsmart the psychiatric evaluation. Finally, I was able to convince a colleague to admit her to UCLA. She was hospitalized for 3 weeks due to the several psychoses that presented once they admitted her. After the hospitalization, she then attended a 3-week residential program and 6 week intensive outpatient program while mood stabilizers were given in large quantities to stabilize the psychosis and mood. Between legal fees and medical bills were are looking at close to 60K in expenses to get her stabilized.
Was there a turning point in your story where things seemed to change?
The turning point was when I found Dr. Michael Broukhim and he assisted with her getting admitted to UCLA Psychiatric Hospital so we could give her proper mood stabilizers and get her more stable.
How has your experience been helping your loved one navigate treatment?
Thankfully my education and background in mental health, helped me navigate treatment and find the best treatment options. I was able to ask the right questions and find those who could help her most. The turning point came when I found Dr. Kate Tenney in Ojai and Dr. Michael Broukhim in Sherman Oaks. Both these doctors believe she could obtain complete recover from Schizophrenia. They both believed there was an organic cause, something that most in the field of psychiatry do not believe. We began a serious of treatments aimed at decreasing the inflammation in her brain that was attacking the basal ganglia of her brain and causing dopamine 1 antibodies. They believe this was the cause of her schizophrenia and that it could be healed. After her 3 weeks inpatient hospitalization, 3 week residential treatment, and 6 weeks outpatient along with the proper mood stabilizers. we began to work on healing her brain. This included a series of medications and supplements to reduce the inflammation in her brain, weekly IV’s, and bi-weekly blood dialysis. Many of the treatments are considered alternative and were not covered by insurance.
What do you wish mental health professionals understood better about supporting family members like yourself?
I wish medical doctors would do a better job at listening and providing resources to help support you. I wish health providers were more compassionate and not assume family members are exaggerating the behaviors are present even if in the moment of the psychiatric interview they are not seeing these behaviors. I wish medical doctors would actually look at the alternative treatments and not assume that schizophrenia in all cases is not really treatable but must only be managed. I wish medical doctors would better understand that schizophrenia is a neuroimmune condition and that in many cases there can be complete recovery with the right treatment and minimal mood stabilizers may be needed long term.
Often, supporting a loved one with a mental health condition involves a process of learning and unlearning. Can you share with us some misconceptions you had initially, and how your understanding evolved over time?
My misconception was that schizophrenia would be a lifelong challenge that could not be healed or stabilized. After finding the right doctors, my daughter has been fully stable and returned to her bright outgoing self since October 2022. At this point she is on a very low dose mood stabilizer.
I really appreciate you sharing your journey, I believe over time stories like these will make a dramatic impact on the stigma of mental health conditions. Unfortunately, in today’s world there is still a lot of stigma to navigate. How does stigma show up in your family or culture and how has it affected you and your loved one?
Fortunately, being a mental health professional and having knowledge has helped me fight back against stigma. Initially, I was a little hesitant because I thought what colleagues would think about my having a daughter with schizophrenia.
I know this is a very challenging journey (to put it mildly) but when you look back, what is one aspect that you are grateful for? Can you share a memorable joyful moment that you and your loved one experienced together during this journey?
I am grateful in the midst of my daughters active psychosis that there would be a few moments she would look at me in a way that told me she was still in there and that I could reach her. I am grateful for Dr. Broukhim and Dr. Tenney who were available 24/7 to navigate this journey. I was grateful that although the psychosis was scary that my friends and family were there to support me and make me laugh when I thought all I could do was cry.
What are your “5 Things I Learned While Supporting A Loved One After their Schizophrenia Diagnosis?”
1 . Get multiple opinions — don’t settle with the first opinion on treatment options.
2 . Hire support during times of active psychosis who can take night shifts so you can sleep.
3 . Make sure every week do at least 1 hour of self-care to help manage your stress.
4 . Cry when you need to cry.
5 . Reach out to friends and family and allow them to support you, you don’t need to be on an island.
Self-care is often emphasized in the context of supporting a loved one with a mental health condition. Can you share how you ensured your own well-being during this time and the strategies that worked best for you?
While I knew self-care, would be my way to keep up my strength and support her through this new diagnosis, something that I religiously discuss with my own client. at times it was hard to employ. I was physically and mentally exhausted due to lack of sleep. Once I assembled enough support between family and hired caregivers, I started to be able to take better care of myself and do some self-care.
For me self-care often would come in the form of laughter. Every day I tried to watch a 30 minute comedy. Then every week I would try to go for a 1 hour massage. Also, hiring someone to stand night shift ensured that I was still able to get adequate sleep, this was a huge part of self-care as well.
Are there any books, podcasts, or other resources that have helped you understand or manage your condition better?
https://www.hopeforschizophrenia.com/
https://www.buzzsprout.com/1604296
We are very blessed that some very prominent names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them. 🙂
How can our readers further follow your work online?
https://www.facebook.com/HopeTherapyCenter/
https://www.instagram.com/hope_therapy_center/
Thank you for your time and thoughtful answers. I know many people will gain so much from hearing this.
About The Interviewer: Stephanie Greer, PhD is the Co-founder and CEO of Akin Mental Health — a company dedicated to guiding families on their journey supporting a loved one with mental health challenges like bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and severe depression. Stephanie is passionate about this topic from her own personal experience growing up with a mother who struggled with bipolar 1 disorder and found a path forward to overcome the obstacles and live well. Stephanie’s professional experience includes a doctorate in neuroscience as well as design research roles at Hopelab and Apple. Stephanie brings this personal passion together with her world-class science and technology background to support families across the US in their personal journeys supporting loved ones with mental illness. To learn more about Akin Mental Health and join our community, visit us at akinmh.com.
Jennie Marie Battistin Of Hope Therapy Center: 5 Things I Learned While Supporting A Loved One… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.