One of the goals of The Schizophrenia Oral History Project is to reduce the stigma against severe mental illness. To do this, we offer public presentations to both professional and community groups that include excerpts from our narrators to highlight our shared humanity.
FEEDBACK ABOUT OUR PRESENTATIONS:
“This reminds us that the person is more than a person with an illness. These are interesting people with rich lives, diverse interests, observations and insights.”
“It is so important to hear this valuable information. Each story was heartfelt and I am so appreciative that these people [narrators] were willing to speak so openly and honestly.”
“It was incredible to hear these individuals [narrators] put themselves in a vulnerable position so we could hear their message. I wish this project could go national and be publicly broadcast to reduce the stigma”
To schedule a presentation, please contact us at tracy@schizophreniaoralhistories.com
Community presentations about the project

Group/Location | Date |
---|---|
Xavier University, Cincinnati, OH | 2015 – present |
Northern Kentucky University Social Work graduate program, Highland Heights, KY | 2012 – present |
Kentucky Crisis Intervention Team First Responder Training, Erlanger, KY | October 2018 |
Group/Location | Date |
---|---|
Mount St. Joseph University – keynote speakers (with Rachel Jackson) for Celebration of Teaching and Learning Day, Cincinnati, OH | April 2017 |
Featured on WVXU’s Cincinnati Edition; listen to the podcast here, Cincinnati, OH | March 2017 |
University of Cincinnati/The Christ Hospital’s Family Medicine and Psychiatry residency program, Cincinnati, OH | 2016 – 2017 |
Group/Location | Date |
---|---|
Lindner Center of HOPE Grand Rounds, Mason, OH | September 2016 |
University of Cincinnati College of Medicine Grand Rounds, Cincinnati, OH | September 2016 |
Interviewed for “The Other Side of the Mic” on Amplify: The Oral History Podcast Network | July 2016 |
Featured on WVXU’s Cincinnati Edition; listen to the podcast here, Cincinnati, OH | March 2016 |
Summit Behavioral Health, Cincinnati, OH | March 2016 |
Group/Location | Date |
---|---|
National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), Northern Kentucky, Covington, KY | July 2015 |
National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), Urban Greater Cincinnati Network on Mental Illness, Cincinnati, OH | June 2015 |
NorthKey Community Care, Covington, KY | June 2015 |
Columbia University, Grand Rounds in Social Work; New York, NY | March 2015 |
Group/Location | Date |
---|---|
Sunlight Village Inc., Dayton, OH | November 2014 |
Greater Cincinnati Behavioral Health Services, Cincinnati, OH | June/July 2014 |
Child Focus, Inc., Cincinnati, OH | March/July 2014 |
Wilmington Rotary Club, Wilmington, OH | May 2014 |
LifePoint Solutions, Amelia, OH | April 2014 |
Group/Location | Date |
---|---|
National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), Clermont County, Cincinnati, OH | November 2013 |
National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), Butler County, Fairfield, OH | September 2013 |
Cincinnati Trauma Connection, Cincinnati, OH | May 2013 |
College of Mount St. Joseph – keynote speakers for Celebration of Teaching and Learning Day, Cincinnati, OH | April, 2013 |
Summit Behavioral Health, Cincinnati, OH | January 2013 |
Group/Location | Date |
---|---|
Cincinnati Academy of Professional Psychology, Cincinnati, OH | December, 2012 |
Talbert House, Cincinnati, OH | December 2012 |
University of Cincinnati Medical Center Psychiatric Unit, Cincinnati, OH | July 2012 |
Centerpoint Health – multiple locations, Cincinnati, OH | June 2012 |
National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), Hamilton County, Cincinnati, OH | March 2012 |
Publications and/or academic presentations that have resulted from the project

McDonough, T. A. (2020, January 10). 5 questions about: The Schizophrenia Oral History Project (TSOHP). 5 Questions About a Project: An OHR Blog Series. Retrieved from http://oralhistoryreview.org/oral-history-projects/5-questions-tsohp/
Yeo, C., Hare-Duke, L., Rennick-Egglestone, S., Bradstreet, S., Callard, F., Hui, A., … Slade, M. (2019). The VOICES typology of curatorial decisions in narrative collections of the lived experiences of mental health service use, recovery or madness: Qualitative study. Manuscript under review. (Author team of 15; McDonough is 9th author).
Weinberg, R. (2019). The schizophrenia oral history project (review). The Oral History Review, 46(2), 440–441. doi:10.1093/ohr/ohz017
McDonough, T. A. & Crane, L. L. (2019, October). Ask the psychologists. Panel presented at the annual meeting of the Oral History Association, Salt Lake City, UT.
McDonough, T. A., & Crane, L. L. (2018). Challenging the stereotypes of people with mental illness: The schizophrenia oral history project. In Yang Xiangyin (Ed.), The Oral History Studies. (Vol. 2, pp. 19-40). Beijing: Social Sciences Academic Press. [Invited article; Published in Chinese]
McDonough, T. A., Crane, L. L. & Robson, S. (2018, October). The Importance of Specialized Training for Oral Histories with Particular Populations. Facilitated Discussion session accepted for presentation at the annual meeting of the Oral History Association, Montreal, Canada.
Dahmann, J. (2018, May). The schizophrenia oral history project: An update. Newsletter for the National Alliance on Mental Illness, Northern Kentucky.
DeAngelis, T. (2018). Sharing the reality of schizophrenia. Monitor on Psychology, 49(2), 22-23.
Jackson, R. & McDonough, T. A. (2017, October). Homelessness and Mental Illness: Integrating Oral History Within a Documentary Film. Documentary presented at the annual meeting of the Oral History Association, Minneapolis, MN.
McDonough, T. A., Crane, L. L., Phelps, K. L., & Vice, S. J. (2017). Impacting audiences: Responses to oral histories of persons with schizophrenia. The Qualitative Report, 22(6), 1524-1539.
Crane, L. L., & McDonough, T. A. (2016). Using oral history to foster empathy for and understanding of schizophrenia sufferers. E-xcellence in Teaching Blog: http://teachpsych.org/E-xcellence-in-Teaching-Blog/4362810
McDonough, T. A. & Crane, L. L. (2016, October). Creating a “dialogue” between narrators and the community: The schizophrenia oral history project. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Oral History Association, Long Beach, CA.
McDonough, T. A. (2016, May). Using oral histories of persons with schizophrenia to enhance student learning of mental illness. Paper presented at the annual meeting of Ohio–Project Kaleidoscope, Columbus, OH.
Vice, S., Miroglotta, M., Kessler, O., End, C., & Lonnemann, A. (2016, April). Schizophrenia: Examining the effects of oral histories on social distance. Poster presented at the Ohio Psychological Association Annual Convention, Columbus, OH. (received the Graduate Empirical Poster Award)
McDonough, T. A. & Crane, L. L. (2015, October). Challenging the stereotype of people with mental illness: The schizophrenia oral history project. In E. Jessee (Chair), Using oral histories to change public and private perceptions. Symposium conducted at the annual meeting of the Oral History Association, Tampa, FL.
McDonough, T. A. & Crane, L. L. (2015, March). Oral history with vulnerable populations. Workshop given to the Oral History Master’s Program at Columbia University, New York, NY. Watch the video of the workshop here.
McDonough, T. A. & Crane, L. L. (2014, December). Recruiting and working with sensitive and/or vulnerable populations. Webinar given as part of the 2014 Community Connections Trainings & Webinar series for The HealthPath Foundation of Ohio. Watch the webinar at http://youtu.be/YUv9Ds8ZgT4
McDonough, T. A., Phelps, K., Ives, S., Santillan, D. & Crane, L. L. (2014, November). Using oral history to foster empathy and teach the humanity behind schizophrenia. Paper presented at the Lilly International Conference on College Teaching, Oxford, OH.
Esposito, L. (2014, September). What you need to know about schizophrenia: Some signs of progress for this severe brain disorder, U. S. News & World Report.
Crane, L. L. & McDonough, T. A. (2014). Living with schizophrenia: Coping, resilience, and purpose. The Oral History Review, 41 (1), 27-47. doi:10.1093/ohr/ohu010.
(2014, May 23). Stories about schizophrenia. [Web blog post]. Retrieved from http://www.healthystates.org/2014/05/23/stories-about-schizophrenia/
(2014, May 22). The schizophrenia oral history project. [Web blog post]. Retrieved from http://schizophrenia.com/?p=430
Saker, A. (2014, May). Ending the erasure: Oral history project documents the lives and struggles of schizophrenia patients. Retrieved from http://www.wcpo.com/news/health/ending-the-erasure-oral-history-project-documents-the-lives-and-struggles-of-schizophrenia-patients
Saker, A. (2014, May). Stories as a window into schizophrenia. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://nyti.ms/1ipyZA1
Vice, S. J., Phelps, K. L., McDonough, T. A., & Crane, L. L. (2014, April). Emotional, motivational, and educational responses to oral histories of persons with schizophrenia. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the Rocky Mountain Psychological Association, Salt Lake City, UT.
Crane, L. L. & McDonough, T. A. (2014, January). Using life stories to foster empathy for and understanding of schizophrenia sufferers. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the National Institute on the Teaching of Psychology, St. Pete Beach, FL.
McDonough, T. A. & Crane, L. L. (2013, May). Our turn to speak at last: Stories of living with schizophrenia. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the Midwestern Psychological Association, Chicago, IL.
Crane, L. L. & McDonough, T. A. (2012, November). Voices seeking change, understanding, independence. W. Hogan (Chair). Our turn to speak at last: Stories of living with schizophrenia. Symposium conducted at the annual meeting of the Oral History Association, Cleveland, OH.