Whole Person Health

Mental Disabilities and the Criminal Justice System

Thomas Parker

This week Elizabeth Kelley talks with her guest, Thomas Parker. The two discuss the mission of the Lindner Center, what they offer to the mental health community, what their process entails, and why it’s so effective.

In this episode, we discuss:

• How the Lindner Center began and provided a free standing psychiatric care clinic with new vision

• What Lindner offers, who they help, and why it’s so effective

• The difference in bipolar disorder, mania, hypomania, psychosis, and the rest of the stair steps

• What the process at Lindner entails, and how their assessments and evaluations work

• What does Lindner consider as stabilization, and how they help with addiction disorders

• How they define complex comorbidity

• Why the case management piece is so crucial to the programs at the Lindner Center

• What advice Thomas has for the families of a loved one with a mental disability issue who is facing a criminal charge

Thomas Parker is the Director of External Relations, Lindner Center of HOPE. He has spent the last 13 years with the Lindner Center of Hope, presently works with national referrers, and was also a member of the spiritual care team during COVID.

Thomas has an MSW from the University of Kentucky and an MDiv from the United Theological Seminary. He previously worked for several nonprofit agencies as a mental health outpatient therapist and adolescent treatment program manager. He is the author of four books that blend theology and mental health reflections during COVID.

Thomas is married with two stepdaughters, one grandson, and another on the way.

Website: https://lindnercenterofhope.org/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LindnerCenterofHOPE

Twitter: https://twitter.com/LindnerCtrHope Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lindnercenterofhope/