Meet darrell herrmann
CONTACT DARRELL
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Darrell Herrmann is originally from western Kansas where he was raised on a small family farm approximately 30 miles east of Dodge City. This is the real Dodge City of all the westerns. Darrell can truthfully say that he got the heck out of Dodge.
He attended Kansas State University and graduated with a B.S. in Physical Science in May of 1976. At this time he also received a commission as a Second Lieutenant in the United States Army through the ROTC program. In 1984, he was serving as a Captain specializing in Field Artillery and Nuclear Weapons when he experienced a rapid onset of symptoms that would later be diagnosed as schizophrenia. |
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Schizophrenia and Nuclear Weapons don’t go together very well so he was retired from the army. Darrell returned to Kansas State University to pursue a degree in Computer Science and graduated with a B.S. in Computer Science in December 1986. Starting in January of 1987, he worked full time very successfully as a computer programmer. Darrell held a variety of jobs with several large companies and moved to Columbus, Ohio in April 1995 for a job with Bank One, now Chase, and has remained here since.
In November of 2004, the stress of working -- which in many ways seemed to mean living the life of the comic strip character Dilbert -- became too much for him and, upon the advice of his therapist and psychiatrist, Darrell went on disability. He made it his mission in life to do everything he could to help people with severe mental illness live better lives. Darrell facilitated hospital groups with hospitalized psych patients at psych hospitals all over Columbus until the COVID Pandemic ended volunteer work in those hospitals. During the 10 years prior to COVID, he spoke to more than 30,000 patients.
Based on his personal experience and research and all the questions those hospitalized patients had, in November 2019 Darrell wrote and published a book titled Straight Talk About Living With A Severe Mental Illness (available in paperback, Kindle, and Audio Book versions) which has been very well received.
Since December 2023, Darrell has been active leader with the National Shattering Silence Coalition and an impactful contributor to the organization, accepting the position of Ohio Policy Director in June of 2024. He has been a principal author to our Frontline Peer Perspective papers, offering expert testimony on critical issues including anosognosia, the illusion of “recovery-oriented” hospitals, the need to rethink involuntary commitment for individuals experiencing psychosis, and the historical roots and impact of the antipsychiatry movement. These papers can be accessed here.
Darrell authored NSSC's popular Guide, A Peer’s Guide To Psychosis And Psychotic Illnesses, which can be downloaded for free as a PDF or viewed as an electronic flip-book. Please visit Resources - Guide to Psychotic Illnesses.
In November of 2004, the stress of working -- which in many ways seemed to mean living the life of the comic strip character Dilbert -- became too much for him and, upon the advice of his therapist and psychiatrist, Darrell went on disability. He made it his mission in life to do everything he could to help people with severe mental illness live better lives. Darrell facilitated hospital groups with hospitalized psych patients at psych hospitals all over Columbus until the COVID Pandemic ended volunteer work in those hospitals. During the 10 years prior to COVID, he spoke to more than 30,000 patients.
Based on his personal experience and research and all the questions those hospitalized patients had, in November 2019 Darrell wrote and published a book titled Straight Talk About Living With A Severe Mental Illness (available in paperback, Kindle, and Audio Book versions) which has been very well received.
Since December 2023, Darrell has been active leader with the National Shattering Silence Coalition and an impactful contributor to the organization, accepting the position of Ohio Policy Director in June of 2024. He has been a principal author to our Frontline Peer Perspective papers, offering expert testimony on critical issues including anosognosia, the illusion of “recovery-oriented” hospitals, the need to rethink involuntary commitment for individuals experiencing psychosis, and the historical roots and impact of the antipsychiatry movement. These papers can be accessed here.
Darrell authored NSSC's popular Guide, A Peer’s Guide To Psychosis And Psychotic Illnesses, which can be downloaded for free as a PDF or viewed as an electronic flip-book. Please visit Resources - Guide to Psychotic Illnesses.