Daniel Fisher, MD, PhD

Retired psychiatrist and clinical director; retired professor at the University of Massachusetts:

Was diagnosed with schizophrenia, has recovered completely, has been medication-free since 1977.

For five years (1969–1974) he had severe symptoms of schizophrenia described in the Diagnostic and Statistics Manual. He states that his diagnosis was “correct,” according to the criteria used by clinicians, but he believes that schizophrenia and other diagnoses are not meaningful and not helpful. He went off medications, graduated from medical school, earned board certification in psychiatry, and worked as a psychiatrist for 44 years before he retired. In his practice, he used medications with his patients’ consent. One of his patients described the role of medication in this way: “The medication forms the foundation while I construct the house of my recovery.” Among his other positions, he was a medical director of a community mental health center, a professor at the University of Massachusetts Department of Psychiatry and a member of the White House New Freedom Commission on Mental Health. He reclaimed his life by connecting with other humans and following his dreams.

Web page: https://power2u.org/tag/daniel-b-fisher/‍ ‍

Book: https://power2u.org/store/heartbeats-of-hope/‍ ‍

YouTube videos:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrdl0HdqJbA

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