Denver Psychoanalytic Society

This event addresses: Trauma

The program is targeted at all levels of practitioners of mental health services and will discuss the effects of relational trauma, misdiagnosis and misunderstanding of the effects on development and the necessity of genuine relationship in the healing process. We will look at progress and the ongoing struggle to understand experiences of early trauma on development and implications for treatment.

Dr. Annita Sawyer will trace her journey as a suicidal adolescent in 1960, mistakenly diagnosed with schizophrenia and treated with ECT and lengthy hospitalizations over nearly 6 years. Using herself as a case study, Annita speaks to lifetime consequences of childhood trauma, harmful effects of fads in psychiatric diagnosis and treatment, the enduring impact of stigma and shame, and the power of human connection to heal.