Indiana Society for Psychoanalytic Thought

A PANEL DISCUSSION: BIPOLAR DISORDER: BIOLOGY, PSYCHOLOGY, AND THE EXPERIENCE OF TREATMENT
Panel Members: Ben May, MD; Elgan Baker, HSPP; Sandy Currie, Key Consumer, Peer Specialist

Monday, January 14, 2008
7:30 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.

Workshop Description:

Increasingly, the popular understanding of mental illness divides diagnoses between those seen as "medical," meaning genetic and organic, and those seen as rooted in trauma or behavioral problems. Bipolar Disorder, along with Schizophrenia and Major Depressive Disorder, are sometimes understood as "medical" in a way that discourages us from understanding the life events that trigger the genetic potential. Moreover, since the disorder is accepted by third party payers, the diagnosis can become a catch-all fro clients whose history is more complex and warrants more individual exploration. Too often clients and their families are discouraged from looking for possible meaning in their symptoms, seeing them merely as chemical phenomena, to be treated chemically.

ISPT welcomes psychiatrist Ben May, psychologist Elgan Baker, and Key Consumer peer specialist Sandy Currie to present their perspectives on bipolar disorder, and then answer questions and engage in a group discussion.

A Panel Discussion: Participants will learn to:

1) Describe the basic medical understanding of bipolar disorder, in terms of both brain function and how medical treatment modifies symptoms.

2) Describe a traditional psychoanalytic view of bipolar disorder, and how psychiatry has modified this understanding.

3) Describe the role psychoanalytically informed therapy might play in the treatment of bipolar disorder.

4) Describe several of the challenges confronting bipolar consumers who seek psychiatric and/or therapeutic treatment.

About the Panel:

Elgan Baker received his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Tennessee in 1976 after completing an internship at the University of Colorado Medical School. He is a Diplomate in Clinical Psychology, in Clinical Hypnosis, and in Forensic Psychology (ABPP, ABPH, DABPS) and a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, the Society for Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, and the American Society for Clinical Hypnosis. Dr. Baker received his psychoanalytic training at the Houston Psychoanalytic Institute, and is past President of the Indiana Society for Psychoanalysis. He served as Director of the Indiana Center for Psychoanalysis from 1988-2000. He has also served in the governance of numerous divisions of APA for the past 25 years.

Dr. Baker is currently in private practice at Meridian Psychological Associates in Indianapolis, Indiana. He also serves as Adjunct Professor for the Department of Psychology at the University of Indianapolis. His published work has focused primarily on the applications of object relations theory to various clinical problems and aspects of the therapeutic process including borderline personality disorder, eating disorders, and narcissistic spectrum disorders. He has also written extensively about hypnoanalysis and the integration of psychoanalytic theory with hypnotic phenomenology.

Dr. Baker has received numerous awards for his contributions to the field, and has recently been honored with the Hans Strupp Award for Outstanding Contributions to Psychoanalysis, 2007. This award is given jointly by the Division of Psychoanalysis of the American Psychological Association, the Appalachian Psychoanalytic Society, and the Southeastern Psychological Association.

Dr. Ben May is new to the Indiana Society for Psychoanalytic Thought this year. He has a private practice in Indianapolis. We welcome his participation on the panel as a chance to get to know him better.

Sandy Currie has worked as a peer specialist with Key Consumer organization for the past year and a half. Key (“Knowledge Empowers You”) Consumer is an advocacy group for consumers of mental health services. Sandy Currie, who herself has struggled with bipolar disorder, has agreed to speak with us about what the client faces in trying to find appropriate care. Sandy also assists in training workshops at community mental health centers and hospitals throughout Indiana.