An Evening with Dr. Jeff Lieberman and Judge Steven Leifman

***Please note: This event will take place at the Books & Books in Coral Gables at 265 Aragon Ave. Tickets are FREE and books will be available for purchase at the event. Can't make the event?

“The most important book about schizophrenia in decades, and perhaps ever…a total game-changer.” — Sylvia Nasar, author of A Beautiful Mind

A comprehensive, deeply researched, and highly readable portrait of schizophrenia—its history, its various manifestations, and how today’s treatments have promising and often lifesaving potential.

This “incredibly captivating” (Siddhartha Mukherjee, author of The Emperor of All Maladies) portrait of schizophrenia, the most malignant and mysterious mental illness, by renowned psychiatrist Jeffrey Lieberman, interweaves cultural and scientific history with dramatic patient profiles and clinical experiences to impart a revolutionary message of hope. For the first time in history, we can effectively treat schizophrenia, limiting its disabling effects—and we’re on the verge of being able to prevent the disease’s onset entirely.

Drawing on his four-decade career, Dr. Jeffrey Lieberman expertly illuminates the past, present, and future of this historically dreaded and devastating illness. Interweaving history, science, and policy with personal anecdotes and clinical cases, Malady of the Mind is a rich, illuminating experience written in accessible, fluid prose. From Dr. Lieberman’s vantage point at the pinnacle of academic psychiatry, informed by extensive research experience and clinical care of thousands of patients, he explains how the complexity of the brain, the checkered history of psychiatric medicine, and centuries of stigma combined with misguided legislation and health care policies have impeded scientific advances and clinical progress. Despite this, there is reason for optimism: by offering evidence-based treatments that combine Medic*tion with psychosocial services and principles learned from the recovery movement, doctors can now effectively treat schizophrenia by diagnosing patients at a very early stage, achieving a mutually respectful therapeutic alliance, and preventing relapse, thus limiting the progression of the illness. Even more promising, decades of work on diagnosis, detection, and early intervention have pushed scientific progress to the cusp of prevention—meaning that in the near future, doctors may be able to prevent the onset of this disorder.

A must-read for those interested in medical history, psychology, and those whose lives have been affected by schizophrenia, this “penetrating, important” (Andrew Solomon, author of Noonday Demon) work offers a comprehensive scientific portrait, crucial insights, sound advice for families and friends, and most importantly, hope for those sufferers now and future generations.

Over his forty-year career, world-renowned psychiatrist Dr. Jeffrey A. Lieberman’s groundbreaking research has pioneered a transformative strategy for the early detection and prevention of schizophrenia. A member of the National Academy of Medicine and recipient of the Lieber Prize for Schizophrenia Research, the APA’s Adolf Meyer Award, and NAMI Scientific Research Award, Dr. Lieberman served as American Psychiatric Association (APA) president in 2013 and 2014). He has contributed to federal legislation to improve mental health care access and quality while reducing stigma associated with mental illness, and is also the author of Shrinks: The Untold Story of Psychiatry, which became the basis for the four-part PBS series, Mysteries of Mental Illness.

Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Steven Leifman: Judge Steve Leifman is the Associate Administrative Judge of the Miami-Dade County Court Criminal Division, and co-chair of both the American Bar Association Criminal Justice Mental Health Committee and the Judges and Psychiatrists Leadership Initiative. A champion for mental health reform in Miami-Dade’s criminal justice system, Judge Leifman led the creation of the Miami-Dade Courts Criminal Mental Health Project, which aims to improve public safety and end “revolving door incarceration” by facilitating community-based treatment and recovery services for people with serious mental illnesses. He is also leading the creation of the Miami Center for Mental Health and Recovery—a first-of-its-kind facility in the world, opening in 2024, which will provide a comprehensive system of care to individuals with mental illnesses and substance use disorders who frequently cycle through the criminal justice system. Judge Leifman previously served as Special Advisor on Criminal Justice and Mental Health for the Supreme Court of Florida, and was appointed to serve on the Conference of Chief Justices and Conference of State Court Administrators National Judicial Task Force to Examine State Courts' Response to Mental Illness and the Interdepartmental Serious Mental Illness Coordinating Committee (ISMICC) established by the 21st Century Cures Act. In 2015, Judge Leifman received the William H. Rehnquist Award for Judicial Excellence, one of the nation’s highest judicial honors, and also became the first recipient of the Florida Supreme Court Chief Justice Award for Judicial Excellence. Judge Leifman currently serves on the Florida Statewide Task Force on Opioid Abuse and the National Institute on Drug Addiction’s (NIDA) Justice Community Opioid Innovation Network.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Books & Books, 265 Aragon Avenue, Coral Gables, United States