Forum Network

**Patrick J. Kennedy**, the former congressman and youngest child of Senator Ted Kennedy, details his personal and political battle with mental illness and addiction, exploring mental health care's history in the country alongside his and every family's private struggles. On May 5, 2006, the New York Times ran two stories, “Patrick Kennedy Crashes Car into Capitol Barrier” and then, several hours later, “Patrick Kennedy Says He'll Seek Help for Addiction.” It was the first time that the popular Rhode Island congressman had publicly disclosed his addiction to prescription painkillers, the true extent of his struggle with bipolar disorder and his plan to immediately seek treatment. That could have been the end of his career, but instead it was the beginning. Since then, Kennedy has become the nation’s leading advocate for mental health and substance abuse care, research and policy both in and out of Congress. And ever since passing the landmark Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act—and after the death of his father, leaving Congress—he has been changing the dialogue that surrounds all brain diseases. Image: [IrishCentral.com](http://www.irishcentral.com/opinion/niallodowd/Patrick-Kennedys-cheap-shots-at-his-father-Ted-Kennedy-Senior.html "Ted and Patrick Kennedy")

Whitaker's work has alerted both the medical community and the general public to the serious dangers of psychotropic medicines when used for extended periods. He has become a standard reference for the facts. Two of Robert Whitaker's books on this subject are among the most cited in the literature: Mad in America (2002) and Anatomy of an Epidemic (2010). He has received numerous awards, including a George Polk Award for medical writing and a National Association of Science Writers Award for best magazine article. He was a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize in 1998. Robert Whitaker is a prominent medical writer, whose concentration is on psychiatric care and psychotropic drugs. In this presentation he provides important information about how ADHD 'now an 'epidemic'' is diagnosed and why users of medications for ADHD should be cautious. Recent news stories about the hazards of long-term ADHD medications and the more general use of these drugs to enhance concentration underscore the importance of Whitaker's discussion.

Harvard Book Store is pleased to welcome the editor of The Atlantic, Scott Stossel and editor at large for Vanity Fair, Cullen Murphy for a discussion of Stossel's latest work, My Age of Anxiety: Fear, Hope, Dread, and the Search for Peace of Mind. A riveting, revelatory, and moving account of the author's struggles with anxiety, and of the history of efforts by scientists, philosophers, and writers to understand the condition As recently as thirty-five years ago, anxiety did not exist as a diagnostic category. Today, it is the most common form of officially classified mental illness. Scott Stossel gracefully guides us across the terrain of an affliction that is pervasive yet too often misunderstood.

This forum, specially designed for school leaders, teachers, counselors, and community interventionists, discusses potential student and family reactions to trauma, as well as immediate and sustained ways for assisting in their continued emotional and educational development. The panelists discuss how, in the wake of traumatic events, educators often grapple with understanding and responding to the needs of affected children.

Inform Your Mind, Fuel Your Spirit is a panel discussion about mental health awareness in the black community moderated by Terrie Williams author of *A Plentiful Harvest: Creating Balance and Harmony Through the Seven Living Virtues*. Williams is also founder of The Terrie Williams Agency and The Stay Strong Foundation. Williams is joined by Alvin F. Poussaint, professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, and author of *Lay My Burden Down: Suicide and the Mental Health Crisis Among African Americans*; Altha J. Stewart, president of the American Psychiatric Foundation and former president of Black Psychiatrists of America; Rhonda Ross, a writer, vocalist, and Emmy-nominated actress; and Tracy Tyrone Moore, the president of the Black Men's Forum at Harvard University.

Terrie Williams leads a panel discussion about mental health awareness in the black community. Panelists include Dr. Alvin F. Poussaint, professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, and author of Lay My Burden Down: Suicide and the Mental Health Crisis Among African Americans; Dr. Altha J. Stewart, president of the American Psychiatric Foundation and former president of Black Psychiatrists of America; Rhonda Ross, a writer, vocalist, and Emmy nominated actress; and Tracy Tyrone Moore, the president of the Black Men's Forum at Harvard University.

Music therapist Suzanne Hanser shares examples of how the neurobiological foundations of music are leading to exciting new treatments for a variety of health problems. Music not only energizes us and calms us; research shows that it has powerful healing properties. Music can ease pain, lower blood pressure, and relieve anxiety and depression. It can even alleviate the symptoms of neurological disorders such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, mitigate the side effects of cancer, and help women in childbirth.

Tal Ben-Shahar discusses current research on the science of happiness and introduces ideas and tools that can actually make a difference in one's life. break The study of happiness or of enhancing the quality of our lives, has been dominated by pop-psychology (much charisma, but relatively little substance) and academia (much substance, but isolated from most people's everyday lives). Positive Psychology, the scientific study of optimal human functioning, creates a bridge between the Ivory Tower and Main Street, making rigorous academic ideas accessible to all. Tal Ben-Shahar, instructor of the most popular course at Harvard University, discusses the findings of current research on the science of happiness and introduces ideas and tools that can actually make a difference in one's life.

Dr. Robert E. Gilbert, professor of political science at Northeastern University, discusses how profoundly affected President Coolidge was by the death of his 16-year-old son, Calvin Jr., as a result of blood poisoning in 1924. This experience plunged him into a deep and devastating depression from which he never fully recovered. Calvin Coolidge, governor of Massachusetts and 30th president of the United States has often been described as a do-nothing, incompetent president who slept 15 of every 24 hours, despite having been a respected and capable governor.

Clinician and laboratory researcher Richard McNally challenges the ready acceptance of a notion he says goes beyond common sense, and contends that traumatic experiences are indeed unforgettable and the evidence for repressed memories is surprisingly weak. Are horrific experiences indelibly fixed in a victim's memory? Or does the mind protect itself by banishing traumatic memories from consciousness? How victims remember trauma is the most controversial issue in psychology today, spilling out of consulting rooms and laboratories to capture headlines, rupture families, provoke legislative change, and influence criminal trials and civil suits. This lecture is presented in collaboration with Boston Theatre Works to coincide with the world premiere of *Conspiracy of Memory*, a timely new drama by local playwright Steven Bogart that explores issues of aging, forgiveness, acceptance, and redemption.