The street psychiatrist: Earning trust with vulnerable patients
Street psychiatrist Liz Frye sees her caregiving work as a kind of apology for the traditional health care system’s shortcomings.
When psychiatrist Liz Frye first encounters a potential patient, she knows she is entering the conversation at a disadvantage. She works with people who are unhoused and living on the streets — many who’ve likely had negative experiences with health care workers in the past.
“It’s important for me to offer a different experience for the person sleeping outside and to recognize that they have no reason to trust me,” said Frye, who has been a street psychiatrist for 16 years, first in Atlanta and more recently, in Pittsburgh. She is also chair of the board of directors at the Street Medicine Institute.
