Local police officers attend mental illness seminar

NORRISTOWN — The two middle-aged men leading a recent class on a had a brittle, staccato style of telling their life stories.

The individual stories of Michael Solomon and Jack Klein, both of Philadelphia, ended with their eventual acceptance of needing to live with mental illness. But the details of their very different illnesses and the way they keep themselves on an even mental keel helped the “students” in the three-day class understand some of the complexities of mental illness, depression and psychosis.

Two of the eight “students” in the class declined to be identified because their work involved undercover police assignments. The other students included a Bucks County Correctional Facility worker, a state parole agent from Philadelphia, two patrolmen from the Lower Merion police department and one patrolman from the Cheltenham police department.

The Crisis Intervention School for law enforcement and criminal justice personnel trained 473 law enforcement personnel in 2009 at the Montgomery County Emergency Service (MCES) in Norristown. The MCES, located in Building 50 at Norristown State Hospital, operates a 73-bed, in-patient facility for involuntary and voluntary commitments and prisoners with mental health issues. The average length of stay is 8 to 11 days.

Solomon and Klein, under the auspices of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), give a one-hour tutorial to CIS classes several times a month, said Donald Kline, the criminal justice director of MCES. The organization also runs several other classes of varying lengths on mental health systems, psychiatric medication, substance abuse and suicide awareness.

The CIS classes are aimed at teaching law enforcement workers to “stay calm, recognize agitation, not expect rational discussion, initiate relevant conversation and stay positive.”

Solomon, a cordial man who talks in short bursts, worked during the one-hour session to make the law enforcement workers laugh. He was diagnosed with depression after his freshman year at Boston University and put on Stelazine, an anti-psychotic drug, 36 years ago. After taking an overdose of the drug, his mother found him and he was hospitalized at Haverford State Hospital. He recovered from his “MD” - manic depression, long enough to work for his late father’s company for several years.

While living in Philadelphia, Solomon went into “a manic high” that he described as “like driving a car without brakes.” He ended up gambling at Resorts International in Atlantic City.

“I went down there and thought I was the Messiah,” Solomon told the adult students. Solomon’s uncle came to the gambling hall and took him to a 30-day stay at a private psychiatric hospital. With a Lithium treatment he was able to transition into a half-way house from 1986 to 1987.

He has gone through a divorce and a remarriage, the death of his father and several emotional crises while coping with his mental illness. Solomon, the successful sales manager of a food distributor, is proud that he is the senior presenter in Montgomery County for the Crisis Intervention Specialist program at MCES. He takes Klonopin and Clozaril, does a lab test once a month to monitor chemical levels and sees a psychiatrist regularly.

“I love making people laugh. I’m at my cousin’s office because I can cope that way,” he said. “Being married for me is another coping skill.”

Klein said he started sniffing airplane glue at 13, got involved in juvenile crime and eventually was “diverted” from a jail term by “volunteering” for the U.S. Army. He served in Vietnam and described himself as the “prototype for Corporal Klinger,” a television character in “M*A*S*H*” who faked mental illnesses. His military job was processing soldiers’ remains.

“I’ve gone through most of the (mental illness) diagnosis in the book,” Klein said. “I’ve been at Haverford State Hospital, in the Veteran’s Administration psychiatry system and other hospitals.”

“It took me a while to accept that I had a drug problem,” Klein said. “I was in and out of hospitals and finally got sober in 1980.”

Klein has not had an alcoholic drink or taken an illegal drug since 1980, he said. His successful treatment involves going to counselors, nearly constant exercise and a 12-step Alcoholics Anonymous program.

Jack’s coping skill starts with lap swimming. He goes to a senior center and does 2.5 miles of lap swimming on most mornings, he said.

“It gets me awake and helps me de-stress by getting my day started a little better,” Klein said. “I need my calendar to be full with a lot of different things.”

“Keep up the good work. Share what you learned today with your co-workers,” Solomon said. “My hope is that when you go back to your jobs and you cross paths with someone who is stressed and showing symptoms you can help them.”

“The media tells us how awful mental illness is. Its our job to allay those fears and teach people how to relate in a calm professional manner,” said Michelle Monzo, the Forensic Division & Education Specialist at MCES. “We are all individuals.”