Recovering From Schizophrenia: Promoting Wellbeing through Self-Expression, Employment and Advocacy

Michelle Hammer is a Schizophrenia Activist and spends her time passionately fighting stigma. She is an NYC native featured in the WebMD documentary Voices, which was nominated for a Tribeca X Award at the Tribeca Film Festival. Michelle was diagnosed with schizophrenia at 22 after a misdiagnosis of bipolar at age 18. At 27, Michelle decided to use her artistic talents and fearless personality to do something that could benefit the mental health community. In May 2015, she founded a mental health-focused clothing brand. Schizophrenic.NYC is a clothing brand with the mission of reducing stigma by starting conversations about mental health. Michelle has also been featured in many publications such as Mashable, The Daily Mail, Stylist, and Buzzfeed. And has also been featured on TV networks like ABC, NBC, and CBS.

Patty Mulcahy is an independent filmmaker. She was the recipient of an artist grant from the Brooklyn Arts Council and has directed PSAs for the Center Against Domestic Violence and the Feminist Press. Patty worked in marketing on HBO’s films and television series. She coordinated production on IBM commercials at the advertising agency Ogilvy & Mather and produced corporate videos. Her article about recovering from schizophrenia appeared in WBUR. Patty’s essay about the parallels between paranoid schizophrenia and conspiracy-based thinking was published in Salon. She has been featured in the New York Time’s mental health section. Patty recently completed a memoir about her descent into schizophrenia titled Lies My Brain Told Me. She currently works as a peer specialist at Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital Inpatient Psychiatry.

Christopher G. AhnAllen is the Interim Director of Psychology, Director of Psychology Training and Director of Inpatient Psychology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, MA. He holds an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry academic appointment at Harvard Medical School. He is a Board-certified Serious Mental Illness psychologist and provides clinical services within the Inpatient Psychiatry service at Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital. He is committed to recovery-oriented care in his work and education of psychology trainees. Dr. AhnAllen received his PhD in clinical psychology from the University of Massachusetts – Boston. His research and professional interests include education in psychology, behavioral emergencies, serious mental illness, tobacco, and gender diversity.