Schizophrenia Daily News Blog

Stanford University Annual Schizophrenia & Bipolar Disorder Education Day

On Oct. 1, the Stanford University School of Medicine is hosting its second annual Schizophrenia and Bipolar Education Day conference to raise awareness of these two common yet serious psychiatric disorders.

The free event is intended for patients and their families, caregivers and anyone interested in learning more about the disorders. It runs from 8 a.m. to noon at Fairchild Auditorium on the medical school campus. The public is welcome to attend.

The school's Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences hosted a similar event last year. "More than 400 people attended and assessed the program as beneficial, so we decided to hold another this year," said Terence Ketter, MD, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences and director of Stanford's bipolar clinic.

This year's event includes lectures on the diseases, diagnosis and treatment updates and a Q&A session with Stanford experts. Among the speakers are Ketter and Ira Glick, MD, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences and director of Stanford's schizophrenia clinic. Representatives from two patient support and advocacy groups, the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill and the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance, will also be on hand.

Ketter said he hopes by sharing information, more people will seek treatment for themselves or their loved ones. He noted that bipolar disorder is often under-diagnosed or misdiagnosed; the average time between a patient's onset of symptoms and accurate diagnosis is 10 years. "Early accurate diagnosis allows for early treatment that can prevent further episodes and illness progression," he said.

More information can be found at http://www.bipolar.org/. For additional assistance, contact Jennifer Nam at (650) 724-4795.