Back in 2010 I walked out of a job I loved because I couldn’t trust myself anymore. I was a surgical technologist working at a level 3 trauma hospital and saw things that broke my mind. My kids were frightened of me and moved in with my parents. The state got involved and their father and I were pulled into court for a Child In Need of Care case. With my mental health deteriorated, I was terrified of the judge, but the Honorable Daniel Mitchell ordered me into a mental health evaluation which proved a multiple personality disorder and treatment immediately ensued.
Sadly, in the same month that the kids were returned to my custody, their father committed suicide.
Later in 2019, I learned that my peers with mental illness going through criminal court proceedings were not allowed to enter evidence with their diagnosis to work with their defense. They had no voice and were probably just as frightened as I was in family court. For them, it’s time to restore the M’Naghten Rule in Kansas.
Keri Strahler
