tavis: good evening. from los angeles, i am tavis smiley.tonight, a conversation with dr. lloyd sederer, one of the country leading experts in the field of mental health. 15 million americans cope with some form of mental illness. it is often misdiagnosed and misunderstood and navigating how to get help can be daunting. his new book, entitled "the family guide to mental health care," seeks to address all of that. also tonight, a conversation with brett -- robert randolph, one of rolling stones 100 greatest guitar players of all time. we are glad you could join us for these these conversations, coming up right now. >> there is a saying that dr. king had that said there is always the right time to do the right thing. i just try to live my life every

day by doing the right thing. we know that we are only halfway to completely eliminate hunger, and we have a lot of work to do. walmart committed $2 billion to fighting hunger in the u.s. as we work together, we can stamp hunger out. >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. tavis: one in four adults in this country will experience a mental illness at some time in the lives. one in 10 kids will have serious problems that will derail their educational and social development. 80% of americans with mental

disorders do not receive proper diagnosis and effective treatment. obviously, this is a serious problem in our nation and one that dr. lloyd sederer try to address in his book am a "the family guide to mental health care." an honor to have you on this program. >> thank you for having me. tavis: i just want some sense of fillbad this problem is. that in for me a bit. >> what makes it particularly bad is that the treatments are highly effective. they are just as effective as the treatments for heart disease or diabetes or asthma. not enough people are going to treatment, getting treatment that can work. that is what causes that 80%. too many people who have treatable conditions are not getting the treatment that they need. tavis: how can mental health be such a serious issue and that politically, economically, culturally, be an afterthought?

>> that is a question that has been asked for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. there is not a sense that these are medical conditions that are treatable and then need to be part of standard medical practice, not just going to a psychiatrist or psychologist, but a part of primary care where depression is identified, anxiety disorders are identified, alcohol and drug problems are identified. we do not have that as part of our standard medical care. yet those conditions are more common than diabetes. tavis: the obvious question in my mind is thomas how will this issue be impacted by the affordable health care act? >> obamacare stands to do a lot of good things. a lot more people are going to have health insurance, which means they are more apt to get care. the second thing is that in the

essential benefits, there are a set of 10 essential benefits. one of them is mental health and substance abuse treatment. the third is that there is an element that says, if you provide mental health treatment, you have to provide treatment at the same rate, under the same conditions as you do for medical care. that is called parity. you cannot shortchange people with mental illness. if you are giving the care, you have to give it as if it was a heart disease or diabetes. three things they are out to prove with this affordable care act. tavis: i am trying to find the right word.disdain and disgust that nothing happened on the legislation that would have led to background checks for handguns. that is a conversation for another night. tell me if i am reading this right.

if there is a silver lining in a dark cloud of nothing happening on the handgun legislation, one of the things that had gotten traction and the opponents of the background checks were arguing that a person with mental illness would not be stopped by a background check. now i know there are a number of senators, some of whom who are already on this issue, but others who are trying to advance a serious conversation about that aspect of these shootings that we are sick and tired of seeing this happening, the notion of mental health. how have you been leading this and is it your sense that, even if for the wrong reasons, there might be some conversation on the hill about what to do about mental health if we are not going to do something about background checks? >> that would be the silver lining. if we could figure out better ways -- we know better ways of identifying these problems in teenagers and young adults. half of the people who are going to become mentally ill become ill by the time they are 14.

recorders by the time they are 24. the diseases are starting to appear. they can be detected. if we identify the illness and if we provide care, help families feel comfortable about getting care, we can intervene early. there is nothing like intervening early to prevent the progression of the disease. the progression of the disease leads to severe states where people not only hurt other people, they hurt themselves. tavis: you run this program in the state of new york. i wonder if there is a best practice for who is handling these kind of issues best in the nation. give me some ideas about what we should be emulating that they are doing. >> it depends on whether you are asking about primary care, which is where most people with mental illnesses go, or specialty care in the psychiatric clinics, psychiatric hospitals. what has to be done in both places. best practices need to be identified. in primary care, that is about introducing, screening for

depression and substance abuse just like you and i get screened for blood pressure and diabetes. in specialty care, you got to insist, by creating standards of care, and that is what we are trying to do in new york and there are other states that are doing this as well, that say this is the best practice. not just medication, not just therapy, but combining this and enabling people to stay in treatment. it depends on which setting and the principal settings where people go for care. tavis: i want to spend some time running through these eight guideposts. let me throw them out at you. it gives a good framework for what the book lays out. number one, analyze the behavior. lacks that means you are seeing something, jot it down.

you are going to need to remember. you need some fact talking to your loved one. tavis: remember, it is not your fault. >> for a long time, families are blamed for their problems that their kids and loved ones have . mental illness is a disease. it is no more a family's fault that a child has diabetes than it has depression. tavis: trust yourself. >> that is a really hard one. people doubt what they see. i do not want to believe it. that is why i suggest they write things down and talk to somebody else. do not go alone is another one of the principles. you are going to doubt, lose your confidence. write things down, talk to people about it, and then you can talk to your loved one about it. tavis: seek help as soon as possible. >> that is always the best

advice for any kind of condition. if i can top off, i want to talk about do not go it alone. that is the hardest thing for people to do if they feel ashamed or hopeless. because these are such common conditions, it means that you are not alone. people in your extended family, friends, coworkers, doctors, clergy, this is ubiquitous as a condition. there are people and places and organizations you can turn to that help you not go it alone. tavis: there are some diseases and illnesses that you know are treatable. if you have a mental condition, seeking help as soon as possible does what? if the condition is there, it already exists. >> conditions can get worse and disable people. this is particularly true of serious mental illness in adolescence. we know that the duration of antreated illness, the longer

adolescent goes untreated, the more likely that adolescent will become disabled as a young adult or adult. there is something going on in the brain that is the progression of the disease in the brain. it is what we are trying to prevent. into fights. get >> that is the hardest prescription of all. they say, there is nothing the matter with me, it is your fault. you want to fight back. fighting does not work. it just does not work. there are other ways to do this that have to do with observing, listening. families have leverage. being a part of a family is a two-way street. you give and you get. families can make change. tavis: families have leverage, but they also have agency. one of your eight guideposts is to learn how to bend the mental health care system to fit your needs. lex one example i use is the privacy law called hippa, which says a hospital provider cannot

talk to you without consent. that is a big wall that comes between the family and the doctor or the hospital. the families can get a doctor on the phone and say, i know you cannot talk to me, but you can listen to me. you need to listen because my son is not going to tell you that he is smoking all this open. my son is not going to tell you that he is collecting knives in his room. you can listen to me. there is no law against that. tavis: finally, you say do not give up. >> most mental illnesses are marathons, not a sprint. that is true of most persistent on this is, asthma, diabetes, parkinson's. you have to think you are on the road long road -- on the long road and you have to marshal your resources carefully.

you have to be careful and think you are on a long road the cousins you are and sooner or later, that will work for you. tavis: the book is called "the family guide to mental health care." this book has a wonderful foreword written by glenn close. thank you for being on the program and thank you for your work. >> thank you so much. tavis: coming up next, a conversation with robert randolph. stay with us. rolling stone magazine named robert randolph one of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time, playing one of the most difficult instrument there is, a pedal steel guitar. he perfected his artistry by way of the pentecostal church, the same church i grew up in. the in the church call it sacred steel. he is about to release his first studio album in three years, entitled "lickety split."

let's take a look at a cut from that cd. wherever wearty go train on the track once we leave here, we ain't coming back down from the roof and dance in the street spin it around. it is a party wherever we go ♪ ♪ shout to that. >> me to. [laughter] tavis: how do you process that? every time i hear you play, i ray," wheree movie "

he is in the club and they jump on him. stop playing that. a are in their dancing and cutting a step to it erie it" -- to it. .ay has the backbeat behind it how do you process that? >> i have not stopped hearing it at all. i have a bunch of old articles and on spec call me up, you did not mix the church beat into that song. you went too rock 'n roll this time. they get on me, but it is the roots of our rock 'n roll church. by me playing the lap steel and the pedal steel, it has the loud, edgy thing. i have some different things to make it work. tavis: how did you end up on this instrument? >> our church has a long history of pedal steel, lap steel guitars.

it is sort of like reggae or the buena vista social club, those things. guys before me were not allowed to go outside the church and play. i was a younger guy that came up in the late 1990s. i said, look, i am going out. i am going to take this music out because it has a broader sound and a broader appeal and let the world know what has been going on in our church. >> did you struggle with that personally? how was the process for you, coming to that decision? you know there are so many great black artists that come out of the church. many of them have had that struggle with how to make that transition, if you make it at all. >> a lot of black artists can relate to this story. our church is very old time. old-time rules, old-time laws.

a lot of it does not really mean anything with regards to, you cannot go out and play that music for anybody. so i have to keep sitting here and keep playing for you all? all of you are talking about having love and all of that. for me, it has been a great thing to go out, start playing at some small bars and clubs in new york city. we would see -- small bars, 30 white people dancing. really? they are dancing?a guy came to document our church, his name was bob stone. we started to document the sacred steel music in the church. went to the one in florida, new york, new jersey. i was the young guy. he said, this thing has a bigger appeal to it. this thing could appeal to a bigger audience. you have got to get the word out. it started happening in 2002, just packing all bars and clubs

before we had a record label. we would sell a lot of tickets at the irving plaza in new york philadelphia. it was just off what we were doing in church. some allman brothers and things like that. it has been a tough road, but now i see the love and support from everybody and it has been great. tavis: i asked you how you chose the instrument. i want to ask how you perfected the instrument. it is one of the most difficult to play. not a whole lot of people are playing it. how does a young guy and up being really good at this? >> i was a hard worker. practice. tavis: who were you learning from? >> in our church, we had some older guys who did play, who played the pedal steel guitar.

they dedicate their time to teaching a lot of the young kids like they did me. they spent a lot of hours with me, giving me advice on how to be precise and how to connect with a spiritual thing. in our church, it is common to play a pedal steel and a lap steel guitar. hundreds of kids playing since we have taken off and we are traveling and playing because all of these kids are like, i want to do that. it has just been hours of hard work. tavis: tell me about this new project, "lickety split." >> i came up with that title from hanging around down in nashville, alabama. we compiled a bunch of songs that have spiritual roots, power with carlos santana guesting on two songs, buddy guy, a secret track coming soon, trombone shorty.

the music makes you feel like lickety-split. what is that? get up and dance. let's get it done. tavis: how do you process this? you have played around the world but, in some ways, you are still that young kid from new jersey and you are playing with legends like santana and what a guy on your record. how do you process that? that is high cotton, as they say in the south. >> fortunately, you guys appreciate what i do musically. i do not process it until i am listening back and i am like wow, i am actually that link carlos santana at this song. we are going at it. this great, energetic ease of music, that is when it hits me, when i am driving the car one day.

hey, we are in the studio with this guy and now i cannot get him on the phone.[laughter] that part is cool. i have been very fortunate to have been accepted into the fraternity of great musicians and great artists. eric clapton, carlos santana, dave matthews. i recorded with great gospel artists. cara clarke, marvin ryan. they have all accepted me into their great musical fraternity. tavis: are you going to tour for this? >> we will be touring in the summertime. look for the schedule. you can follow me on twitter. i need more twitter followers. tavis: you and everybody else trying to push those numbers up. >> i just follow you on twitter. tavis: i appreciate that. is that your way of saying i need to follow you now? you have my word, i will make

that happen. for those who have not been to a robert randolph show, how would you describe your show? >> the show is like this scene from "coming to america," where you are not sure what you are supposed to do can i get an amen? you're not sure if you want to breakdance or shout or throw the rock 'n roll symbols. it is great. i tell people it is a mixture of james brown, sly and the family stone, the scene from blues brothers where everybody is doing back flips, it is a mixture of all of that. tavis: on this project, give me some sense of the track selection, how you put together the project. >> what we did putting together the record, because i recorded 40 songs, choosing the songs

that are on the album, we just wanted to make sure we kept the energy up. we had signature guitar licks in all the songs. the performances were good. i am real critical of myself. we just wanted to make sure we had gotten back. for a few years, we had gotten away from our roots, which included the whole gospel influence with the party vibe of the whole thing that makes you feel good. with this record, i wanted to make sure we got back to that. i am on blue note now. brand-new label. they have been great. they allow musicians and artists to be who they are. not try to force you down a path, why don't you do this? why don't you do that? i am not that guy.

>> one thing about your show, you will not sit down. you will play records from beginning to end. it is like a workout tape. you do not do slow stuff. it is all up-tempo. >> that is the thing. every once in a while, i tried to write a love song and i am like that [laughter] tavis: leave that to stevie wonder, huh? >> leave that to stevie, marvin gaye. i like music that is upbeat and wants to make you dance and choose lyrics that are really inspiring. as a young black artist, i really -- my goal in every song is to try and be a positive influence for a younger, up-and- coming artist, to show them that you can make great popular music while having something good to say.

i have seen the effect that a lot of the negative hip-hop music and r&b has had on our young kids. tavis: you work with young kids to. >> yes. i have the robert randolph music and arts resource center coming in newark, new jersey. it has been a big battle trying to shift through all of the stuff with the board of education. tavis: it is politics. >> it has been a headache, man. this is a problem with our school systems. it is not the teachers. now we have the robert randolph music and arts resource center coming soon. we will be working with kids, working with parents in the inner cities, underprivileged kids. tavis: i assume there will be a music program somewhere in there. >> you are going to see a lot of kids playing pedal steel, lap

steel guitars. just giving the kids something to do. tavis: you heard him say he does not do love songs. if you want to have a good time, you should pick up the new project, called "lickety split." it is an awfully good time. as you heard from the top, that little bit we played from you, have all not put it down. great summer. i will see you on tour this summer. that is our show for tonight. thanks for joining us. as always, keep the faith. >> for more information on today's show, visit tavis smiley at pbs.org. tavis: hi, i'm tavis smiley. join me next time for a conversation with elizabeth moll -- elisabeth moss from " madmen."

that is next time. we will see you then. >> there is a saying that dr. king had that said there is always the right time to do the right thing. i just try to live my life every day by doing the right thing. we know that we are only halfway to completely eliminate hunger, and we have a lot of work to do. walmart committed $2 billion to fighting hunger in the u.s. as we work together, we can stamp hunger out. >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> be more. pbs.

% welcome top this is us. i'm beca king. this is a real treasure. tonight we're going to bring you the stories of four local japanese americans. a doctor who is one of only two women in her graduating class from medical school back in 1941. a couple who's story is hard to beat. they founded san jose. it's on our airport normnetta. we're going to learn a lot about making sushi.