Steven Harvey
Steven Harvey thinks of himself in the same vein as "the unsinkable Molly Brown," the heroine who played a huge role in rallying survivors following the Titanic disaster.
"Growing up, ‘the unsinkable Molly Brown' was my biggest hero; she was eager to learn and liked to be around people, and I think of myself like that now," Harvey said. "I didn't always feel that way during some of my more difficult years."
That's because when Harvey was 17 and a senior in high school, he started experiencing symptoms of mental illness that swept over him.
"I knew something was terribly wrong, but I didn't know what it was," he said.
Living in Colorado at the time, Harvey turned to his church pastor who secured mental health services for him. Throughout his treatment, he was hospitalized at a local mental health facility while attending college. He would go to classes during the day to complete required tests and then head back to the hospital ward at night where he was staying and receiving treatment.
Harvey conquered his academics, eventually graduating with an undergraduate degree in biology and attending post-graduate pharmacy school. At that time, senior pharmacy students were permitted to choose their clinical rotations, and Harvey chose to do his at the Colorado State Hospital.
"I served as a clinical pharmacist on the ward of acutely psychotic and depressed individuals, and in helping them, I was also helping myself because I could see myself in them," he said.
Harvey credits his hard work, compassion for others in the mental health system and his own experiences for his recovery and success. After moving to Arizona in 1994, Harvey continued to find mental health support groups to help him in his own recovery and eventually joined the staff of a prominent mental health advocacy agency.
Today, he works as a peer mentor with Southwest Network, a behavioral health provider network organization in Maricopa County, counseling other individuals challenged by mental health and substance abuse issues. Harvey keeps his pharmacy license current, taking courses related to behavioral health, and may return to the occupation one day. He also recently joined Magellan Health Services of Arizona's Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee, which examines trends in psychiatric medications and prescribing practices, and makes recommendations to ensure continued safety for recipients in the mental health system.
"I have a dream in my lifetime to see the use of the phrase ‘severely mentally ill' abolished in the behavioral health field," Harvey said. "It is extremely stigmatizing. A mental illness is serious—period. I'd like our state leaders and the public to lose their fear of people like me—people with mental illness—and come together as a community to understand and become more involved in issues like this that make a difference in the lives of so many."
