CNN profiled Ohio University alum Fred Frese ’74M, ’78Ph.D. as one of the nation’s “Mental wellness warriors: Fighting for those who need it most.”
Frese earned an M.S. and a Ph.D. in Psychology from the College of Arts & Sciences at Ohio University.
Fred Frese stands as the epitome of successful recovery from mental illness. At 25, he was diagnosed with schizophrenia as a Marine Corps officer, and over the next decade he cycled in and out of military, state, county, Veterans and private hospitals.
In the summer of 1968, he was picked up by police because “I was trying to convert people to love, peace and justice.” A magistrate in Ohio found him insane and committed him to the state psychiatric hospital. “Twelve years after I was declared to be insane,” Frese says, “I was promoted to be the director of psychology at Ohio’s largest state hospital.”
Frese travels the nation promoting mental health treatment, giving speeches and serving as a positive example for those with severe mental illness. He says not enough people in recovery speak publicly because the stigma of mental illness is so strong.
Frese is a bundle of energy, a man who speaks in rapid-fire fashion almost like an auctioneer. He approaches mental illness as both patient and practitioner: his schizophrenia kept in check by medication and proper care. He says the nation’s mental health care system is in need of drastic reform. He points to the rise in homelessness, suicide and the difficulty in getting treatment.
“This is a national disgrace. We have abandoned, ignored and marginalized persons with these disorders, and something has to be done,” he says.
Frese approaches the topic with authority, and with humor. He describes himself as a stand-up schizophrenic. “Particularly proud of being an escaped lunatic,” he tells audiences to laughs.
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