April 15 is a symbolic day for me because it was on this afternoon three years ago, I met Ann, my guardian angel on an Amtrak ride from New York to Baltimore.
What a perfect day, then, to attend the Mood Disorders Research/Education Symposium hosted by Johns Hopkins Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences.
Just two years ago, I arrived at the campus of Johns Hopkins a fragile mess: shaking, crying, feeling completely out of control. I remember looking at the students and doctors on the campus and thinking to myself, “Will I ever be able to give anything back to the world, like they do?”
It’s an appropriate day for me to hear my mental health hero, Kay Redfield Jamison, speak, and to hopefully meet her in person before or after her talk.
I’ve posted the schedule below in case you have specific questions about any one of these talks.
Thank you for giving me a reason to chase after my mental health as avidly as I do, for being the supportive community that you are.

12:45-1:00 Welcome and Conference Goals
Karen L. Swartz, M.D.
Director, 22nd Annual Mood Disorders Symposium
Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Director, Mood Disorders Clinical Programs
The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
1:00-1:20 Bipolar Disorder in Children and Adolescents: Understanding the Assessment and Treatment Dilemma
John T. Walkup, M.D.
Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Deputy Director, Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
1:20-1:30 Questions and Answers
1:30-1:50 SSRIs and Suicidality: Cause or Cure?
David A. Brent, M.D.
Professor of Pediatrics, Child Psychiatry and Epidemiology
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
Western Psychiatric Institute Clinic
1:50-2:00 Questions and Answers
2:00-2:20 Edna St. Vincent Millay
Kay Redfield Jamison, Ph.D.
Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Co-Director, Johns Hopkins Mood Disorders Center
The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
2:20-2:30 Questions and Answers
2:30-3:10 A Family Member’s Perspective
Mariette Hartley
Television and Movie Actress
3:10-3:40 Refreshment Break
3:40-3:50 Mood Disorders Center?
J. Raymond DePaulo, Jr., M.D.?Henry Phipps Professor and Director?Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences?Co-Director, Johns Hopkins Mood Disorders Center?The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
3:50-4:10 What Does Adoption Have to Do with Postpartum Depression??
Jennifer L. Payne, M.D.?Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences?Co-Director, Women’s Mood Disorders Clinic?The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
4:10-4:20 Questions and Answers
4:20-4:40 Everything You Need to Know About Sex…Hormones
David R. Rubinow, M.D.
Assad Meymandi Professor and Chair
Department of Psychiatry
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
4:40-4:50 Questions and Answers
4:50-5:30 A Patient’s Perspective
Dorothy Hamill
Olympic Figure Skater
5:30-5:35 Remarks and Summary