Program is co-sponsored by Congregation Har Shalom Sisterhood, B'nai Israel Congregation Sisterhood, and Congregation B'nai Tzedek Sisterhood

Dr. Gail Hornstein will speak to us about the inspiring life and work of Dr. Frieda Fromm-Reichmann, the German-Jewish refugee psychiatrist who was able to do what Freud and almost everyone else thought impossible – to successfully treat people diagnosed with schizophrenia and other severe forms of emotional distress using intensive psychotherapy, rather than medication, lobotomy, or shock treatment. A pioneer in her field, she was the pivotal figure of the unique and legendary mental hospital, Chestnut Lodge (on Route 28 near Rockville Town Center). In honor of Fromm-Reichmann’s extraordinary achievements, Frieda's Cottage – her home and office on the Lodge grounds for more than 20 years, and an iconic place in the history of psychiatry – was recently named a National Historic Landmark. Dr. Fromm-Reichmann was the real-life therapist fictionalized in the novel I Never Promised You a Rose Garden (written by her former patient, Joanne Greenberg), and her life and work stand as an enduring example of Jewish ideals, embodying especially the principle of Tikkun, the repair of the world. 

Gail A. Hornstein is Professor Emerita of Psychology at Mount Holyoke College. Her research centers on the contemporary history and practices of psychology, psychiatry, and psychoanalysis, and her articles and opinion pieces have appeared in many scholarly and popular publications. She is author of two books: To Redeem One Person is to Redeem the World: The Life of Frieda Fromm-Reichmann, which questions standard assumptions about treatment through the story of a pioneering psychiatrist, and Agnes’s Jacket: A Psychologist’s Search for the Meanings of Madness, which shows how the insights of people diagnosed with psychosis can challenge fundamental assumptions about mental health, community, and human experience.  Her Bibliography of First-Person Narratives of Madness in English, now in its 5th edition with more than 1,000 titles, is used internationally by educators, clinicians, and peer organizations. She directs the Hearing Voices Research Project (a national research and training effort in the US, supported by the Foundation for Excellence in Mental Health Care), and speaks widely about mental health issues across the US, UK, and Europe. www.gailhornstein.com