[jdbernard]

Again I'm frustrated that people are just down-voting and not adding to the discussion.

aglavine is right, for example in the case of paranoid schizophrenia. I have personally seen someone I am very close to descend into this madness. When they are not lucid it is literally impossible to establish any trust because the fundamental axioms with which they view the world are skewed. You can reason, but all the conclusions are fore-gone and the paranoid mind will only find more and more fantastical explanations to support the delusion. The delusion is the core reality.

Those of you who down-voted, explain how to establish trust in this context?

[Nomentatus]

You're right, I think you're encountering a lot of black and white thinking on the other side - something like: "if any temporary progress can be made then love will always triumph"; whereas someone who's very seriously mentally ill is not predictable. Even if you take five years to establish trust, as I have in one case, it just takes one irrational conclusion on their part and that trust can be gone in an instant with no way back; that they can be fairly rational or appreciative some of the time doesn't tell you what comes next. When the brain isn't working right, love and respect can meet a wall.