MARCIA NAOMI BERGER: THE BIPOLAR THERAPIST: EP. 229

When a sudden onset of manic episodes lands her in a psychiatric ward, what is an established, respected psychotherapist to do? MARCIA NAOMI BERGER, single and twenty-nine, has her first psychiatric hospitalization and then two more in the next year and a half. A series of close friends and mentors stand by her through challenges with abusive colleagues, conflicted relationships with men, estrangement from her mother, and confusion about what truly matters. Marcia Berger taks about her new memoir, The Bipolar Therapist: A Journey From Madness to Love and Meaning which reveals her personal journey of being the professional and the patient, of living with and overcoming Bipolar Disorder, a secret she kept hidden until now. It's a story not just about battling mental illness, but also about resilience, healing, and finding hope in the face of adversity. We discuss the stigma of mental illness and what we can do about it.  How some people recover from a severe mental illness and the way some people react to a person with mental health issues. Marcia offers insights into the challenges of bipolar disorder while challenging societal stigmas surrounding mental illness. Her story is not just about survival but about transformation and the power of love and meaning to overcome even the most daunting obstacles. Marcia Naomi Berger, LCSW, is a psychotherapist in private practice in San Rafael, California. She held senior-level positions in child welfare, alcoholism treatment, and psychiatry with the city and county of San Francisco. She also served as a lecturer on the clinical faculty at the University of California School of Medicine and as executive director of Jewish Family and Children's Services of the East Bay.  www.marriagemeetings.com