Fawcett, Jan Alan 1934-

views updated

FAWCETT, Jan Alan 1934-

PERSONAL: Born March 31, 1934, in Jamestown, NY; son of James Earl and Gretchen Fawcett; married; five children. Education: University of Rochester, B.S., 1956; Yale University, M.D., 1960.

ADDRESSES: Offıce—Rush Presbyterian, St. Luke's Medical Center, 1720 Polk Street, Chicago, IL 60612; 1725 West Harrison, Ste. 1074, Chicago, IL 60612.

CAREER: Psychiatrist. USPHS Hospital, San Francisco, CA, intern, 1960-61; Langley Porter Neuropsychiatry Institute, San Francisco, resident, 1961-63; University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY, resident, 1963-64; NIMH, Bethesda, MD, clinical associate, 1964-65, principal investigator of NIMH grants, 1970—; Illinois State Psychiatric Institute, Chicago, chief of research unit, then associate director, 1966-72; Department of Psychiatry, Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center, Stanley G. Harris Professor and Chairman, Chicago, 1972—. Mental health consultant for Oprah Winfrey Show. Military service: U.S. Navy, 1952-54.

MEMBER: American Psychiatric Association, American Psychosomatic Association, American Society of Adolescent Psychiatry, American Association of Suicidology, Psychiatric Research Society, Central Neuropsychiatric Society, American College of Neuropsychopharmacology, Central Foundation of Medical Care, American Psychopathological Association, National Depressive and Manic-Depressive Association (founder), Illinois Psychiatric Society (president 1972-74).

AWARDS, HONORS: Anna-Monika Award, 1973.

WRITINGS:

(Editor) Dynamics of Violence, [Chicago, IL], 1971.

(Co-editor, with David C. Clark) Anhedonia andAffect-Deficit States, PMA Publishing Corporation (New York, NY), 1987.

(Co-editor, with Kenneth Jobson and Dan J. Stein) Textbook of Treatment Algorithms in Psychopharmacology, J. Wiley (New York, NY), 1999.

(With Bernard Golden and Nancy Rosenfeld) NewHope for People with Bipolar Disorder, Prima (Roseville, CA), 2000.

(Co-editor with Ada P. Kahn) The Encyclopedia ofMental Health, Facts on File (New York, NY), 1993.

Consulting editor, Life-threatening Behavior, 1970; Current Clinical Beliefs, editor, 1980-88; Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, associate editor, 1981-87.

SIDELIGHTS: Jan Alan Fawcett is a psychiatrist, author, and the Stanley G. Harris Professor and chairman of psychiatry at Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center in Chicago. Fawcett edited Dynamics of Violence in 1971. He co-edited Anhedonia and Affect-Deficit States in 1987 and co-edited Textbook of Treatment Algorithms in Psychopharmacology in 1999.

Fawcett published the book New Hope for People with Bipolar Disorder in 2000, a self-help manual featuring three different authorial perspectives: his own, that of Bernard Golden, Ph.D., a psychologist and professor at the Illinois School of Professional Psychology, and that of professional writer Nancy Rosenfeld, a bipolar-disorder survivor. Chapter by chapter, the book defines bipolar disorder, presents new research findings, medication options, therapy techniques, tools for parenting a bipolar child, and more. Fawcett said of this work, "A book from the perspectives of a patient, a psychiatrist and a psychologist seemed like a good idea, especially a book that attacked stigma and educated people. . . . The book offers hope on many levels. . . . One does not need to be defined by his or her illness. There need be no shame in having bipolar disorder. Knowledge about the illness and its treatment will enable one to find effective treatment."

As Fred Goodwin, M.D., explains in the book's foreword, bipolar disorder involves dramatically different states of mania and depression—deep depression can transform into mania in a patient, literally overnight, and vice versa. Doctors have attempted to understand how the single drug lithium functions to bring depression up and mania down. Another point of interest: though the mental disease is genetic, one's psychosocial environment seems to affect genetic vulnerability. Goodwin noted, "With the appearance of this book, a new genre has been established—a close collaboration between a bipolar patient and doctors. Jan Fawcett, one of the two doctors collaborating on this book, is one of the world's leading authorities on depression and bipolar disorder." Reviewing the book for NAMI-MC online, Judy Baassler suggested, "This book can be read as a factual presentation into the most prevalent, misunderstood and ignored physical-emotional-mental illness in current society."

Fawcett co-edited the 1993 edition of The Encyclopedia of Mental Health, with Ada P. Kahn. Kahn, Here Fawcett provide a glossary of entries describing mental health terms and theories. Reviewing the book for Library Journal, Dale Farris suggested that the book is accessible to general readers and health-professionals alike, offering more than 1,000 entries. The editors discuss major illnesses, psychiatric aspects of physical diseases, treatment options, drugs, herbal remedies, social problems affecting mental health like domestic abuse, euthanasia, sexual harassment, and environmental allergy, and more, including the biographies of important psychotherapists and listings of various mental health organizations and treatment centers. Farris wrote that this edition is more thorough in its listings than The Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, Complete Home Guide to Mental Health and described it as "Highly recommended for all libraries."

Fawcett helped found the National Depressive and Manic-Depressive Association and also serves as a mental health consultant for the Oprah Winfrey Show.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

books

Biographical Directory: Fellows and Members of theAmerican Psychiatric Association, American Psychiatric Association (Washington, DC), 1989.

Fawcett, Jon Allen, Bernard Golden, and Nancy Rosenfeld, New Hope for People with Bipolar Disorder, Prima (Roseville, CA), 2000.

periodicals

Booklist, December 1, 1993, review of The Encyclopedia of Mental Health, p. 712.

Book Report, May-June, 1994, Becky Copeland, review of The Encyclopedia of Mental Health, p. 52.

Choice, March, 1994, N. L. Powell, review of TheEncyclopedia of Mental Health, p. 1098; April, 2002, L. L. Scarth, review of Encyclopedia of Mental Health, pp. 397-398.

Library Journal, October 1, 1993, Ina M. Wise, review of The Encyclopedia of Mental Health, p. 89.