RSVP Conference

Recovery From Mental Illness and Becoming a Commissioner - Dan is a person who has recovered from schizophrenia. He was hospitalized several times prior to becoming a psychiatrist. He is one of the few psychiatrists in the country who publicly discusses his recovery from mental illness. He is a role model for others who are struggling to recover, and his life dispels the myth that people do not recover from mental illness. His recovery and work in the field were recognized by his selection as a member of the White House Commission on Mental Health.

Education and Practice - Dan received his AB. from Princeton University, his Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of Wisconsin and his M.D. from George Washington University. He is a board-certified psychiatrist who completed his residency at Harvard Medical School. He is presently an Executive Director of the National Empowerment Center and a practicing psychiatrist at Riverside Outpatient Clinic, Wakefield, MA.

Speaker/Teacher/Researcher - Dan travels to all parts of the country to conduct workshops, give keynote addresses, teach classes, and organize conferences for consumers/survivors, families, and mental health providers to promote recovery of people labeled with mental illness by incorporating the principles of empowerment. He has been featured on many radio and television programs, including CNN Special Report. In addition he is a researcher having carried out research into neurotransmitters at the National Institute of Mental Health and on the ways that people recover. Along with Laurie Ahern, he developed the Empowerment Model of Recovery and the PACE/Recovery program to shift the system to a recovery orientation. He was recognized for this work by being selected to Clifford Beers, National Mental Health Association Award and the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law's advocacy award.

Author - Dan has written chapters in many books, as well as a number of articles in professional journals such as Hospital and Community Psychiatry and the Psychosocial Rehabilitation Journal In addition to recovery, his focus is on how consumer/survivors can gain a voice in managed care, for which he has produced a video, "Self-Managed Care." He has produced a video and booklet about important aspects of recovery, "Recovery is for Everyone" as well as a video on "Consumers Working as Providers."

Dr. Daniel Fisher has worked as a board-certified psychiatrist for 25 years in a variety of settings and was Medical Director for a community mental health center for 12 years. He also is co-founder of the National Empowerment Center in Lawrence, Massachusetts, a consumer-run Research, Training, and Information Center.

Based on their research, he and Co-Director Laurie Ahern have developed the Empowerment Model of Recovery. They also have designed a training program based on the empowerment model, called the Personal Assistance in Community  Existence(PACE)/Recovery Program.

The purpose of the PACE/Recovery Program is to inspire and educate the mental health system and the public to view mental illness in a positive light, and to help all involved in these crises to understand that through hope, self-determination, and believing in the person, people can recover.

Dr. Fisher spent five years doing neurochemical research at the National Institute of

Mental Health from 1968 to 1973. He studied the enzymes which control the synthesis of the neurotransmitters dopamine and serotonin. He published several papers and chapters in books on these topics. During this period, Dr. Fisher was labeled with schizophrenia and hospitalized several times.

Dr. Fisher obtained an M.D. from George Washington University Medical School in 1976 and completed his Residency in Psychiatry at a Harvard teaching program at Cambridge Hospital. He earned a Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of Wisconsin in 1968 and an A.B. in Biology from Princeton University in 1965. He is among the few psychiatrists in the country who openly discusses his recovery from mental illness. His involvement in advocacy and peer support have played a vital role in his recovery.

Dr. Fisher lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts with his wife and two college-age daughters. As the only person in recovery on the President’s New Freedom Commission on Mental Health, Dr. Fisher is uniquely qualified to describe what they hoped to accomplish, as well as what actually did get done.

You can see Dr. Fisher's story at:  http://akmhcweb.org/recovery/My_Story.htm