Strategies for Optimizing Adherence in Patients with Schizophrenia

For the past 20 years she has been an active member of the American Psychiatric Nurses Association. In 2008 she was elected president-elect and assumed the presidency in October, 2009. Dr. Moller's research interests include schizophrenia, PTSD, and improving patient care and outcomes through psychiatric wellness. She has published and lectured extensively on these topics.

Dr. Joyce M. Shea is an Associate Professor and the Elizabeth DeCamp McInerney Professor of Health Sciences at Fairfield University in Connecticut. She received her bachelor of science in nursing (BSN) from Fairfield University, and a master of science in nursing (MSN) and a doctorate in nursing science (DNSc) from Yale University School of Nursing in West Haven, Connecticut. She is an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN), with board certification as an Adult Psychiatric-Mental Health Clinical Nurse Specialist and more than 30 years' experience working in multiple modalities and diverse settings. In addition, she has completed train-the-trainer courses through both the End-of-Life Nursing Education Consortium and the Geriatric Nursing Education Consortium.  In the summer of 2008, she was one of 12 individuals chosen nationally for the Hartford Institute's Summer Geriatric Nursing Research Scholar Program at New York University.

Dr. Shea's clinical and research areas of interest have focused on individuals with severe and prolonged mental illness, especially those with schizophrenia. An expert in qualitative research, she has focused her studies on issues related to identity, self-recovery, and community living for those with severe mental illness. Her dissertation was a grounded theory study of the process by which individuals with schizophrenia recover their sense of a functional self. She has completed a pilot study of the needs of elderly individuals with schizophrenia, and is currently undertaking a funded study to explore the impact of incarceration on those with schizophrenia. Other areas of research interest involve curricular integration of topics such as palliative care, gerontology best practices, simulation pedagogy, and spirituality. She has published and lectured extensively on these topics.

Dr. Peter J. Weiden is Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Illinois Medical Center in Chicago. Known for his work on patient and family education addressing the treatment of psychosis, much of Dr. Weiden's career has focused on improving clinical outcomes for patients with schizophrenia. His research has focused on bridging psychopharmacology and public health issues in the treatment of schizophrenia, and he has a particular interest in the use of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)–type interventions for individuals with psychotic disorders.

A frequent contributor to the medical literature, Dr. Weiden has authored or coauthored more than 150 journal articles as well as a number of books and practice guidelines. He has published extensively on the problem of nonadherence with antipsychotic medications.

Dr. Weiden has received several awards from advocacy groups and was named an Exemplary Psychiatrist on three separate occasions by the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). Dr. Weiden's book, breakthroughs in Antipsychotic Medications: A Guide for Patients, Families, and Clinicians (WW Norton & Co.), received the Ken Johnson Memorial Book Award in 2000 as one of the most outstanding books in mental health. For his research on relapse prevention, he received NAMI's Judith Silver Young Scientist Award in 1996. He has been listed in the "Best Doctors in New York" issue of New York magazine.

Active in many professional associations, Dr. Weiden is a member of the American Psychiatric Association, the International CBT for Psychosis Working Group, and the Academy of Cognitive Therapy. He also serves on NAMI's Scientific Advisory Board.

Dr. Weiden earned his bachelor's degree in chemistry from Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania and his medical degree from the State University of New York at Stony Brook. He completed his psychiatric residency at the Payne Whitney Clinic–New York Hospital and a psychiatric epidemiology fellowship at the Mailman School of Public Health of Columbia University in New York City.