Foundation to Feature Carrie Fisher At Annual Conversations Event

Actress and best-selling author Carrie Fisher will be the featured guest and speaker at the second annual Conversations event of the American Psychiatric Foundation on Tuesday, May 20, at APA’s 2003 annual meeting in San Francisco.

Fisher, daughter of actress Debbie Reynolds and singer Eddie Fisher, is best known for her role as Princess Leia in the science fiction epic “Star Wars” and her novel (which she later turned into a screenplay), Postcards From the Edge.

The foundation launched its Conversations series at last year’s annual meeting in Philadelphia to provide an opportunity for psychiatrists and mental health professionals to hear from people whose lives are touched every day by mental illness. The event is conducted as an interactive interview to allow for freer conversation between the featured guest and an interviewer.

After many years of struggling with undiagnosed bipolar disorder, Fisher finally found peace through accurate diagnosis and a commitment to treatment. She continues to act, host a talk show on the Oxygen network, write, and raise her daughter, Billie. She also devotes time to promoting early recognition of mental illness and the efficacy of treatment. She is a strong advocate for increased access to mental health services for the mentally ill.

Fisher has most recently been seen discussing her illness on the Discovery Health Channel series “Celebrity Medical Profile.” She speaks openly about her battle with drugs and alcohol that resulted from her early denial of the disease and proper treatment.

Fisher will discuss her battle with bipolar disorder and how the stigma of mental illness, lack of knowledge about the disease, and her descent into drug and alcohol addiction hampered her treatment. She will share how her disease has influenced her writing and acting both professionally and creatively. She will also discuss how the media portray mental illness.

The event is open at no charge to all attendees of the annual meeting and is supported through an unrestricted educational grant from AstraZeneca.

More information about this and other annual meeting events hosted by the foundation is posted on the Web at www.PsychFoundation.org. ▪

Ms. Sayer is a development officer at the American Psychiatric Foundation. She can be reached at (703) 907-8519.