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Kay Redfield Jamison, PhD – MacArthur Fellow, Psychologist, and Author

By Admin | September 9, 2008

Dr. Kay Redfield Jamison is a psychologist, MacArthur Fellow, and world-renowned specialist in bipolar disease. She has also been diagnosed with this condition. We recently had a chance to speak with her by phone about her life and her unique perspective on the disease.

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Have you read your Wikipedia biography?

Some time ago, yes.

What did you think of it? Was it accurate?

As I remember it was quite accurate. You know, I don’t remember all the details but I remember it being pretty accurate.

Do you google yourself periodically?

I have a couple of times but not very much, no.

Where are you from?

It’s hard to say. My father was in the air force, so we were posted many different places.

I was basically brought up in Washington and then I moved to California when I was in high school. But, I lived alot of places.

I googled you and it looked like you were at UCLA for a lot of years and I wondered if you were a West Coast person.

No, not at all. I mean to say not all. My upbringing for the first sixteen years of my life was mostly in Washington, DC.

Did you ever think about the military as a career?

Not very seriously.

I am interested in how you got into psychology. Why not psychiatry? Why not medical school?

Well, I did premed. I started off in premed and I loved medicine. Actually, I was very interested in becoming a veterinarian for quite awhile.

I read some things. Basically I read William James’ The Varieties of Religious Experiences and it’s questions of psychology seemed very interesting.

So, you just let medicine go based on that one book?

I wouldn’t say I let it go. I have been practicing and teaching in a medical school for thirty years.

So, I haven’t exactly let medicine go. I don’t believe there are these territorial divides.

I think alot of psychology is extremely biological because of neuroscience. Alot of psychiatry is quite psychological in nature.

I wouldn’t draw those distinctions. I maintain an enormous respect for my colleagues in psychiatry. But, I just went a different way.

How do you like Hopkins?

I love Hopkins. I adore Hopkins. I think it is a great honor and a great privilege to teach there. I enjoy it every time I go to Hopkins. I love it.

What is the downside about Hopkins? What don’t you like about it?

I don’t have a downside. I really don’t. I love it.

Do you think you will finish your career there?

It depends on what you mean finish your career. I don’t have any plans on retiring.

I write and I assume I will be active until I die. I plan on maintaining an affiliation with Hopkins. I can’t imagine otherwise.

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Topics: MacArthur Fellows (The "Genius Grants"), Psychologists | No Comments »

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