The 2008 Spring Conference - Schizophrenia: Diagnosis is Not Destiny
The biological paradigm has dominated psychiatry for nearly five decades and has dramatically influenced thinking about the nature of schizophrenia and its treatment. Attention to the biological processes involved in any clinical problem is important, sometimes life-saving, but many people diagnosed to have schizophrenia live highly productive lives and accomplish their goals with the help of more than medication. Important personal and professional relationships are sometimes life-saving. Advances in understanding the brain and the myriad effects of the stress response, growing awareness of the value of systems biology for transcending reductionistic thinking, and the understanding of human relationships provided by Bowen theory are restoring “teeth” to the largely defunct biopsychosocial model. This conference will be unique in the current environment in that it will be interdisciplinary and represent several important points of view about the nature of schizophrenia and its treatment. Speakers will include scientists, mental health professionals, and people who have been diagnosed with schizophrenia.
Guest Speakers:
Esther Sternberg, MD - Senior Investigator and Chief of Section on Neuroendocrine Immunology and Behavior. Internationally recognized for her work on the stress response, the brain-immune system connection, and the role of the immune system in medical and psychiatric conditions.
Elyn R. Saks, JD, PhD Candidate - Orrin B. Evans Professor of Law, Psychology, and Psychiatry and the Behavioral Sciences at the University of Southern California Lawyer, author, professor, psychoanalyst, and diagnosed schizophrenic. Her most recent book, The Center Cannot Hold, conveys incredible insight into schizophrenia.
Lonnie J. Holt, MS - Computer specialist, marriage and family therapist, and diagnosed schizophrenic. His description of key components in his recovery both inform and inspire.
Michael D. Lumpkin, PhD - Professor and Chairman of the Department of Physiology and Biophysics at Georgetown Medical School Internationally recognized for his expertise in neuroendocrinology and neuroimmunology, he has a remarkable ability to communicate how stress can translate into disease.
Michael E Kerr, MD - Director, Bowen Center for the Study of the Family Internationally recognized for his expertise in Bowen family systems theory, he has long been interested in the interplay of relationships, stress, and the biology of schizophrenia.
Cecile Whitehead and Thomas Whitehead, JD - Ms. Whitehead is the president of an accounting firm and Mr. Whitehead is a retired attorney. An interview with them describes how the parents of a daughter who experienced psychotic episodes worked on their parts in the problem and contributed to their daughter’s recovery.
