Nationality American Education Hofstra University Role Author | Name Deborah Serani Occupation Author / Psychologist | |
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Born January 31, 1961 (age 63) ( 1961-01-31 ) New York Website www.drdeborahserani.com Books Living with Depression: Why Biology and Biography Matter Along the Path to Hope and Healing | ||
What If You Knew Depression as a Doctor + as a Patient | Dr. Deborah Serani | TEDxAdelphiUniversity
Deborah Serani (born January 31, 1961) is an American psychologist and an award-winning author whose clinical specialty is depression. She is an adjunct professor at Adelphi University. Serani has published academic articles on the subject of depression and trauma as well as the award-winning books Living with Depression, Depression and Your Child: A Guide for Parents and Caregivers and Depression in Later Life: An Essential Guide (Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group). She is a columnist at Psychology Today and Esperanza Magazine.
Contents
- What If You Knew Depression as a Doctor as a Patient Dr Deborah Serani TEDxAdelphiUniversity
- Early life and education
- Career
- Books
- Personal life
- References
Early life and education
Serani was born in Bethpage, a suburb of Long Island in New York. The oldest of three children, she experienced a debilitating depression as a teenager, attempting suicide at age nineteen. Serani took a medical leave of absence from college in order to recover. Upon her return, she directed her focus to the field of psychology and graduated with a B.A. in psychology from Hofstra University in 1982. Crediting psychotherapy as a life-saving experience for her, Serani obtained a Doctorate in Psychology from the Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in 1989, and a postdoctoral certificate in psychoanalysis and psychotherapy from the Derner Institute at Adelphi University in 2002.
Career
Serani has spent her career using her personal experiences with depression to inform her clinical work and research. Serani has been an invited speaker at national and international venues of the American Psychological Association and the National Alliance on Mental Illness and The International Forum on Mood and Anxiety Disorders and [1] Serani is a go-to media expert and has worked as a technical advisor for the NBC Television show Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.
Books
In her debut book Living with Depression, Serani talks about her lifetime struggles with unipolar depression and suicidal thinking, and how finding the right combination of treatments can lead to health and healing. Serani comments on the roadblocks of stigma and reminds us that the pain of depression and most mental illness arise not solely from the illness, but from the harsh response society has to people with these disorders. “One of the greatest things I’ve been able to do,” Serani says, “Is to let others know that there’s no shame in living with a mental illness. Help is out there – and you don’t have to suffer quietly or alone.”
Personal life
As a teenager, Serani was treated for depression and cites it as the inspiration for her education and profession.