C-L Psychiatry and Passions for Caring: Presentations by past Hackett Award Winners

The Eleanor and Thomas P. Hackett Memorial Award is the Academy's highest honor, presented to an individual for outstanding achievement in consultation-liaison psychiatry. However, both Ellie and Tom are deceased, as are eight of the 32 men and women who are recipients of the award established in their name. Each year the Academy’s membership swells with more physicians who never met Ellie and Tom, and who are unacquainted with the fortunate individuals who received the Academy’s annual award. The workshop is intended to offer an opportunity to introduce a few of us, describe our current passions, and perhaps offer some inspiration for your individual futures.



On account of this year’s virtual format, two awardees who reside in Europe were approached, along with two randomly selected Americans; each agreed to present. As will be apparent, they epitomize the conference theme of advancing knowledge, developing careers, and strengthening community. The target audience is our younger attendees who are seeking models as they chart out a course for themselves in the field.



Dr. Lew Cohen will introduce and moderate the workshop, touching on the legacy of the Hacketts, while the other participants will present for 20 minutes each. Dr. Frits Huyse Is intimately involved in a controversy over the remembrance center at 'Kamp Westerbork,' as his mother was one of 107,000 Dutch Jews to pass through the facility on their way to death camps in the East; he will contextualize the current dispute in a presentation, “Never Forget History.” Dr. Francis Creed will offer a description of the challenges and rewards of health service research in developing countries, entitled, “From Angels Landing to Table Mountain.” During the Cold War years, leaders in the field of psychosomatic research worked with the CIA to develop techniques for brainwashing and to defend against it, including the use of LSD. This is the subject of Dr. Joel Dimsdale’s latest book, “Dark Persuasion.” Lastly, Dr. Michael Bostwick’s presentation title is jolting and self-explanatory, “Staying Alive: How a Brother’s Suicide Has Shaped a Psychiatrist’s Career.”



The ACLP is a vibrant community of clinician-academicians, and this workshop will offer a glimpse at some of the current passions of its past Hackett awardees. We are flexible about using all available options in this virtual meeting to engage with attendees.