Current DBSA Speakers

Presentations are from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. and are free and open to the public: donations are welcome at the door. Share Care Groups follow the talks. On Wed. nights when there are no lectures, we will have 2 hour Share Care Groups from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. Please arrive between 6:15 and 6:45 p.m.

November 23: No Speaker - Happy Thanksgiving!

December 14, 2011 - "Readings from and Discussion of Dr. Ghaemi's most recent book A First-Rate Madness: Uncovering the Links between Leadership and Mental Illness," S. Nassir Ghaemi, MD, MPH. Dr. Ghaemi is an academic psychiatrist specializing in mood disorders, especially bipolar disorder. He is Professor of Psychiatry and Pharmacology at Tufts Medical Center in Boston, where he directs the Mood Disorders Program. He is also a Clinical Lecturer at Harvard Medical School.

Dr. Ghaemi served as a consultant to our support groups many years ago and recently invited DBSA-Boston to institute a monthly support group at Tufts Medical Center. As a result of these efforts, Dr. Ghaemi was the 2011 recipient of the Irene Jakab, MD Professional Service Award. There will be a book signing after the presentation.

January 11, 2012 - "Recent Research Findings on the Utility and Benefit of Informal, Addiction-Focused Community Resources, Such as AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) in Addressing Substance-Related Problems as Adjuncts to Formal Care," John Kelly, Ph.D. Dr. Kelly is Associate Director, Center for Addiction Medicine - Massachusetts General Hospital; Clinical Psychologist, Addiction Specialist, Center for Addiction Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital; Director, Addiction Recovery Management Service; and Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School.

January 25, 2012 - "My Journey into and Out of the Closet," Cynthia Piltch, Ph.D., MPH, LCMT, and Reiki Master. Cynthia, a member of DBSA-Boston, is an educator, consultant, and clinical practitioner trained in a variety of integrative healing modalities including therapeutic massage, Reiki, reflexology and craniosacral therapy. Dr. Piltch conducted her dissertation research on a gender comparison of the causes and consequences of stress in an industrial sample of workers. She received her Ph.D. from Boston University, her MPH from the University of Michigan, her AB in Psychology from Harvard University, her diploma in massage from the Muscular Therapy Institute and her Reiki Master training from Arlington Reiki Associates. Cynthia also maintains a private clinical practice and is on the teaching faculty of the Center for Community Health in Boston. She has also co-authored a quarterly research column for the Massage Therapy Journal and taught numerous stress management, research methods and Reiki courses.

February 8, 2012 - "Quantitative and Qualitative Results of the Share/Care Satisfaction Survey," designed and conducted by Arthur Stead. Arthur is the current President of DBSA-Boston. He has been attending groups since 2001. He has served as Chairman of the Activities Committee, Webmaster, member of the Share/Care Committee, and member of the Board of Directors. During his tenure at DBSA-Boston he worked and earned a Bachelor's degree in Social Psychology, and Master's degree in Applied Sociology from the University of Massachusetts-Boston campus. His Master's Thesis, "Perception of Mental Illness of the University of Massachusetts-Boston," provided him the knowledge, experience, and expertise to design, implement, and analyze the results of the Share/Care Satisfaction Survey.

February 22, 2012 -" DBSA-Boston's Annual Creativity Forum," members read from their prose and poetry.