Contacts:
Sarah Goodwin
Kathi Ovnic
Holly Korschun

June 1, 1998

LEWINE NAMED MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONAL OF THE YEAR BY GEORGIA AFFILIATE OF NATIONAL ALLIANCE FOR THE MENTALLY ILL

The Georgia affiliate of the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI Georgia) has chosen Richard R. J. Lewine, Ph.D., to receive its Mental Health Professional Award. Dr. Lewine is a clinical psychologist and professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Emory University School of Medicine.

"We are honoring you for your compassionate service to (mental health) consumers and their families," says the NAMI Georgia Awards Committee.

"As clinical director at the S.D.P. (Schizophrenia Disorders Program) at Emory, and at Skyland Trail, you have always treated the needs of the whole family.

"You have been a friend to our NAMI movement... You have made partners of family members in treatment programs, thereby contributing to the understanding of brain disorders and the ability of families to help in constructive ways."

Dr. Lewine has devoted his life's work to schizophrenia -- from treating and providing hope to hundreds of patients and their families, to conducting groundbreaking brain imaging studies and other research that has contributed to the current body of knowledge of schizophrenia and related disorders. Dr. Lewine has always encouraged patients to express themselves through artwork, and for the past few years he has encouraged them to show their work. He has helped organize patient art exhibits at both Emory University and Skyland Trail.

Dr. Lewine is recognized nationally for his work in elucidating gender differences in schizophrenia. He was among the first to use brain scans to illustrate actual anatomic differences in the brains of male patients compared to female patients. He also has collaborated with Emory psychology professor Elaine Walker in her studies employing home movies to evaluate childhood behaviors of persons who have since been diagnosed with schizophrenia.

His Emory group has been involved in numerous drug studies as well as evaluations of, for instance, the benefits of group therapy on homeless persons with schizophrenia.

Dr. Lewine received a bachelor's of arts in psychology cum laude from Harvard University and a doctorate in psychology from the University of Pennsylvania.

He completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the National Institute of Mental Health.

Prior to joining Emory's faculty in 1986, Dr. Lewine held various positions, including associate professor, at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine, director of training in psychology at Illinois State Psychiatric Institute, adjunct associate professor at Northwestern University and assistant professor of Psychology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Dr. Lewine has been either the sole author or co-author of three psychology texts, including "The Caring Family: Living with Chronic Mental Illness" (1982, New York, Random House). He has published more than 100 papers in scientific journals and presented more than 100 lectures at medical conferences.

He is a member of several mental health associations and has served on the executive board of the Society for Research in Psychopathology, on the editorial board of the Journal of Clinical and Social Psychology and a reviewer for a number of medical journals, including the American Journal of Psychiatry and Archives of General Psychiatry.

From 1995-97 he chaired the National Institute of Mental Health's Clinical Psychopathology Review Committee.

Training medical students, psychology doctoral candidates, psychiatrists-in-training and other Emory students is another part of his faculty responsibilities.

"Dr. Lewine is the consummate clinician-scientist -- an individual with excellence not only on research and clinical care but in teaching as well," says Charles Nemeroff, M.D., Ph.D., chairman, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine. "So-called triple threatsin academic circles are a rarity in these days of managed care. Dr. Lewine has pioneered the area of gender differences in schizophrenia. Both Emory and Skyland Trail are fortunate to have such a talented individual and we congratulate him on this honor."

Dr. Lewine is a Tucker resident.

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