Breta Meria Conole spent more than two decades in a state psychiatric hospital, but the reason for her confinement remains a family mystery. Her great grandniece tried for years to obtain Conole’s medical records from New York, believing they could reveal mental health patterns in the family, including depression in her oldest daughter. She requested the records twice and was denied both times, even when a therapist supported the request to better understand family medical history. Similar frustrations are common, with some families seeking records to explain depression and bipolar symptoms. Reform efforts have led to policy changes in some states, including Massachusetts and Washington, while progress elsewhere remains slow.
"Breta Meria Conole was in a state psychiatric hospital for more than two decades. But the reason why is a family mystery. Debby Hannigan, her great grandniece, tried for years to access Conole's medical records, because she thought they might hold clues to mental health issues in her family, including her oldest daughter's depression. Hannigan twice wrote to the state of New York for the records. The second time she included a supporting note from her daughter's therapist, who said the details would help "to know their family medical history better." Both times she was turned away."
"Her experience is hardly unique. Frustrated family members and others have been pushing for law changes in New York and other states that would allow the release of mental health records of long-dead ancestors. Their efforts have resulted in access policy changes in some states, including Massachusetts and Washington, but elsewhere reforms are happening slowly or not at all."
""It really does piss me off that we couldn't just say, 'Hey, we're the descendants, here's the proof, now tell us what you know!'" said Doug Clarke of Alfred, New York, who tried unsuccessfully to get records of a great-grandfather. The records might help explain the depression and bipolar syndrome seen in his generation of his family, he said."
#mental-health-records #privacy-laws #state-psychiatric-institutions #family-medical-history #legal-reform
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