Continuing Education for Psychologists

WOMEN WITH SERIOUS MENTAL ILLNESS
Gender-Sensitive and Recovery-Oriented Care

Women with serious mental illness (SMI) include those with schizophrenia, severe depression, bipolar disorder, and/or complex posttraumatic stress disorder whose illnesses significantly impair daily functioning. While these women commonly present in psychotherapy and research samples, their needs are rarely addressed in academic literature and mental health training programs.

Lauren Mizock, Ph.D., is Core Faculty in the Clinical Psychology Ph.D. program at Fielding Graduate University. Dr. Mizock is the co-author of Acceptance of Mental Illness and Researcher Race and the co-chair, with Dr. Carr, of the Task Force for Women with Serious Mental Illness in the Society for the Psychology of Women of the American Psychological Association (APA). Dr. Mizock maintains a private practice in San Francisco, CA.

Erika Carr, Ph.D., is Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Yale University School of Medicine and Director of the Behavioral Intervention Service and of the Inpatient Psychology Service at Connecticut Mental Health Center in New Haven, CT. Dr. Carr provides clinical care with individuals who experience serious mental illness and has a particular interest in positive behavioural supports (PBS) and women who experience serious mental illness. Dr. Carr is on the American Psychological Association (APA) Task Force for Serious Mental Illness, and Chair of the Section on Community Mental Health/State Hospitals in Division 18 - Psychologists in the Public Sector in APA. Dr. Carr is also involved in advocacy locally and nationally as she seeks to advance the experience of women with serious mental illness.

"In this expertly crafted and accessible guide, Mizock and Carr articulate a culturally competent framework for delivering compassionate care that empowers women in recovery. This much-needed and imminently practical resource is timely and critical for recovery-oriented practice with women. It will appeal broadly to practitioners with its plethora of effective tools and heartfelt case examples."
--Nadine J. Kaslow, PhD, ABPP, Professor, Emory School of Medicine and Past-President, American Psychological Association

"At long last clinicians have book aimed at understanding the unique needs and experiences of women with serious mental illness, and that provides practical tools for helping them discover their own paths to recovery. This is essential reading for anyone involved in the treatment or rehabilitation of persons with severe psychiatric challenges."
--Kim T. Mueser, PhD, Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation, Professor of Occupational Therapy and Psychological & Brain Sciences, Boston University