Over the years Eric has spoken publicly about his journey through mental illness and addiction to a wide variety of audiences including treatment providers, lawmakers, judges, attorneys, parents, caregivers, peers, and other stakeholders.

Eric presented twice for Stanford University law students at the request of Stanford professors. He also has various major media appearances such as People Magazine, Oprah Daily, National Public Radio, Dr. Drew’s podcast and live streaming show, New York Daily News, and Yahoo! News. Part of his story is written about in Bedlam, authored by Peabody Award-winning Kenneth Paul Rosenberg, MD. Eric has been a speaker at conferences around the United States, and was the keynote speaker at a Laura’s Law judicial training event in California. Eric was a speaker at the 2022 Judicial Summit on Mental Health in Texas and also at the first-ever Kentucky Judicial Commission on Mental Health Summit in 2023. At the invitation of lawmakers and other stakeholders, Eric provided testimony in Texas, Virginia, California, Washington, Massachusetts, and Maryland. Part of Eric’s journey is included in the book You Are Not Alone: The NAMI Guide to Navigating Mental Health―With Advice from Experts and Wisdom from Real People and Families written by National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Chief Medical Officer Dr. Ken Duckworth, and the book attained bestseller status through both USA Today and Amazon. Eric wrote a chapter about being incarcerated without treatment for mental illness in the 2022 anthology Navigating Bipolar Country, a book that reached #1 in Amazon’s New Releases in five categories. For NAMI at the national level Eric served as moderator for Crisis Conversations, a live event for which he hosted discussions with various types of peers and experts as well as managed a live Q&A with the audience. Eric is a proud member of the NAMI Texas Public Policy Committee and S&PAA Peer Advisory Committee.

Eric’s powerful combination of storytelling, advocacy, knowledge, and consulting positions him as one of the premier lived experience voices in the realm of serious mental illness (SMI), a category of diagnoses also sometimes referred to by advocates as serious brain disorders (SBD) or serious brain illnesses (SBI).

To legally and ethically meet demand for Eric’s perspective and specialized knowledge, Eric formed Eric W. T. Smith Consulting, LLC. It is from Eric’s lived experience in meaningful recovery with SMI and accumulated knowledge as a respected advocate with valued insight that he provides consultation.

If you are interested in becoming a client for Eric’s consultation services, please send him an email with any relevant information you wish to share with him through this website or directly at:

eric@ericwtsmith.com

Please do not include in your email to Eric any links or files to download, as Eric will not click links nor download files he receives via email unless otherwise communicated in advance.

A message from Eric:

“The consulting services I offer are something I wish were available as an option early in my recovery and in the years after that. It would have been hugely beneficial for me to talk with someone who lived through anosognosia, psychosis, addiction, mental illnesses of both the SMI variety and not of the SMI variety…someone I could directly relate with on a personal level to ask questions and get feedback or guidance in the absence of shame and judgement. I would have loved speaking with someone who attained meaningful recovery, being able to ask them questions about various aspects of their journey and then apply that to my life. It would have been helpful to talk with someone who experienced many of the same things I experienced, someone who could help me explore ways to be happy and healthy living in recovery, and learn tips for setting and achieving goals in recovery. Based on conversations I’ve had with many parents and caregivers from around the world over the years, they also tell me there is a unique value in speaking with me as someone who lived through anosognosia and psychosis, helping them navigate systems that I had to navigate to find meaningful recovery. I am glad to be there as an option for people to consult with, whether parent, caregiver, person of the diagnosed population like me, or anyone else who can benefit from consulting with me.”

NOTE: Eric’s services are purely consulting in nature. Eric will not diagnose nor treat conditions or disorders, nor does he prescribe medication. Through Eric’s consulting efforts, he offers a perspective that is uniquely valuable and distinctly different from a treatment provider.

AOT conference Las Vegas @ LINQ hotel

Written about in Bedlam by Peabody Award-winning and duPont Columbia Award-winning Dr. Ken Rosenberg

Spoke at the Texas State Capitol for a conference sponsored by the Sheriffs’ Association of Texas, NAMI/NAMI Texas, Treatment Advocacy Center, and the Texas Council of Community Centers

WAMU (Washington DC’s local NPR station)

First national AOT symposium, Columbus Ohio

Treatment Advocacy Center’s white paper about AOT–was part of the team that created AOT at Northeast Ohio Medical University

Quoted by The NY Times bestselling author and  Pulitzer Prize-winning Ron Powers in his online blog, “No One Cares About Crazy People”

CURESZ Foundation (written content for their print and web publication)

SARDAA (Schizophrenia and Related Disorders Alliance of America)

Healing Minds NOLA

Psychology Today

NAMI Santa Barbara County Public Policy Committee

Testified at Virginia Senate Joint Subcommittee to Study Mental Health Services in the Commonwealth in the 21st Century, also known as the Deeds Commission

Addressed Stanford University law students (mental health law class)

Treatment Advocacy Center–consultant

Authored article published at the Treatment Advocacy Center: “Personally Speaking: Assisted Outpatient Treatment Saved My Life”

Guest on The Dr. Drew Podcast, Episode 466

The 6th International Conference on Law Enforcement and Public Health

Greenburger Center for Social and Criminal Justice

Guest on Schizophrenia: Three Moms in the Trenches (podcast)

Testified at Sacramento County Alcohol and Drug Advisory Board

Interviewed by New York Daily News

Guest on Dose of Dr. Drew

Washington State Senate Behavioral Health Subcommittee to Health & Long Term Care Committee

Interviewed in Treatment Advocacy Center documentary “Stopping the Revolving Door”

Featured in American Psychiatric Association’s SMI Adviser AOT training modules