Oklahoma Watch (http://oklahomawatch.org/category/publichealth/mental-health/page/2/)
A spike in fatalities in Oklahoma jails this year and several confrontations between police and the mentally ill have raised questions about whether officers and jailers are sufficiently trained to deal with people with mental health problems.
Gary Clark, schizophrenic for years, stood on his front porch one day, holding a kitchen knife and experiencing a mental-health crisis. Officers would end up shooting him with pepper balls, shocking him with a Taser and firing three bullets into him.
In rural Oklahoma, the tug of war between drug addiction and the wait time for treatment can be a one-sided competition: The power of addiction often wins.
Former state Senate President Pro Tem Cal Hobson talks about his struggle with alcoholism and his efforts to regain control of his life through drug court.
The annual Zarrow Mental Health Symposium in Tulsa this week brought home the reality of efforts to combat mental illness, distress and addiction: that the war must be waged on many fronts.
Transportation is one of the biggest barriers in rural Oklahoma for those needing mental health or substance abuse treatment.
Former University of Oklahoma football coach Barry Switzer reflects on the trauma and family turmoil he experienced as a young man.
The methamphetamine scourge is spreading again in Oklahoma, with fatal overdoses from the drug spiking last year, according to numbers from the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs.
The idyllic images of rural Oklahoma conceal a deep struggle with substance abuse and mental illness. With this overview, Oklahoma Watch launches an ongoing series, titled “Unsettled Country,” on mental health in rural areas of the state.