Love, Dating, and Serious Mental Illness: Is It Possible? (Ep. 141)

Guest: , Melissa Dalhoe, Social Worker, Asst Professor, University of Minnesota Dept of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences

For parents of loved ones with serious mental illness, one question often lingers beneath the surface: Will they ever find love? Will they date, build relationships, or have a partner to share life with?

Dating and Mental Illness Discussion

The podcast team welcomed Melissa Dalhoe to discuss dating and serious mental illness. The discussion focused on the concept of "frozen in time," where a person's emotional growth stops at the onset of their mental illness, potentially affecting their ability to form relationships. Melissa was brought in to discuss this topic after a listener requested information about someone with schizophrenia who missed out on dating during their teenage years due to their illness.

Dating Curriculum for Psychosis Patients

Melissa explained how she became interested in developing a dating curriculum for individuals with first-episode psychosis, noting that it was driven by the wants and needs of the people she works with. She described the curriculum development process, which included input from multiple professionals and individuals with lived experience, as well as a survey of program participants. The curriculum, which is set to launch in August, focuses on skills training for dating and relationships, with an emphasis on interprofessional perspectives and lived experience input.

Dating Curriculum for Psychosis Patients

Melissa discussed a new dating skills curriculum being implemented in the University of Minnesota's Navigate program for people with first episode psychosis, aged 18 and over. The curriculum covers topics like values, goals, dating apps, messaging etiquette, emotional intimacy, and social cognition specific to interpreting emotions in relationships. The program will offer both in-person and online classes over the course of a year, with social activities and potential membership opportunities to support skill development outside of formal classes. Melissa emphasized the importance of ensuring dating goals are self-directed rather than imposed by family, and noted that while recruitment is ongoing, there has been strong interest from potential participants.

-Social Skills for Schizophrenia: A Step by Step Guide - https://www.amazon.com/Social-Skills-Training-Schizophrenia-Second/dp/157230846X

Move to Heal in Connecticut:

https://www.movetohealct.org/

-Melissa Dalhoe, DSW, MSW, LICSW, 

mdalhoe@umn.edu, 

https://med.umn.edu/bio/melissa-dalhoe 

-UMN Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences Affiliated Psychosis Program Information

M Physicians NAVIGATE Program - 

https://mphysicians.org/our-clinics/st-louis-park-clinic-navigate-program

M Health Fairview Adult Strengths Program - 

https://www.mhealthfairview.org/treatment/adult-strengths-program

STRIDE for Bipolar Disorder - 

https://www.mhealthfairview.org/treatment/stride-first-episode-bipolar

M Health Fairview Child & Adolescent Strengths Program -

 https://www.mhealthfairview.org/treatment/university-minnesota-child-and-adolescent-strengths-program-casp

M Health Fairview Early Strengths Program -

 https://www.mhealthfairview.org/treatment/early-strengths-program

Referral Pathways

Call 952-525-4500 (M Physicians St Louis Park psychiatry clinic location) or 612-273-8700 (M Health Fairview Riverside psychiatry clinic location)

https://www.mhealthfairview.org/early-intervention-program-referral-information

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