Lives Reimagined: Changing the Course of Psychotic Illness

Lives Reimagined: Changing the Course of Psychotic Illness offers a powerful window into a transformative approach to psychotic illness developed by Dr. Rocco Marotta-a psychiatrist known for his successful treatment of "hopeless" cases-and practiced with remarkable success by the team he led at The Lodge program at Silver Hill Hospital in New Canaan, Connecticut.

Written for families struggling to navigate the world of neuropsychiatric illness and useful for providers looking for a different approach to the treatment of neuropsychiatric disorders, Lives Reimagined is filled with practical information interspersed with personal stories from patients, parents, and the treatment team, inspiring readers not to give up hope. It is an essential guidebook illustrating how sustained collaboration between clinicians, patients, and families can help individuals, once defined by their illness, change the narrative of their lives and develop hope for their future.

Lisa Mann, PhD, is a clinical psychologist, educated at Harvard University, New York University, and St. Luke's/Roosevelt Hospital Center in New York City. Licensed in both New York and Connecticut, during the past four decades, Dr. Mann has been involved in both teaching and clinical practice, directing the Training and Psychological Services, Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at St. Luke's/Roosevelt Hospital Center from 1992-1996, working as a lower school division psychologist at the Trinity School in New York City from 1996-2000, and seeing children and adults in her personal clinical practice. Her interest in the world of neuropsychiatric brain disease comes from both personal and professional experiences, and she is a passionate advocate of parent education in the field of mental health. Dr. Mann has always enjoyed writing. Her first book project was the posthumous compilation and editing of writings of her father, Robert Mann, the founder of the Juilliard String Quartet (A Passionate Journey: a Memoir). Collaborating with Katharine Cutts Dougherty, PhD, on Lives Reimagined: Changing the Course of Psychotic Illness, and working closely with the courageous patients, families, and staff who have dedicated their lives to this issue, has been an exciting and inspiring experience. Married to Rocco F. Marotta, MD, PhD, the director of The Center for the Treatment and Study of Serious Neuropsychiatric Disorders, the topic is never far from her mind. In her free time, however, Dr. Mann enjoys her three children and their spouses, and her two grandchildren, who light up her life. Dr. Mann is also an avid ballet dancer and knitter. She resides in both Ridgefield, CT, and Charleston, SC.

Katharine Cutts Dougherty, PhD, worked as the Senior Research Associate to Dr. Rocco Marotta at the Center for the Study and Treatment of Neuropsychiatric Disorders at Silver Hill Hospital in New Canaan, Connecticut from 2019-2024. With a strong personal and professional interest in education and mental health, and as a "trailing spouse," she has woven a career across states and continents over the past three decades. Educated in South Africa, Argentina, England, and the US, she earned a First-Class BA degree in Psychology from Exeter University, UK, a MS in Human Development and Family Studies from Cornell University, US, and a PhD in Education from the University of Colorado at Boulder, US. Among many roles, she has worked as an ethnographer on a National Child Development Program, an examiner for the psychology portion of the International Baccalaureate Program, a Visiting Professor in the Department of Education at Dartmouth College, and the Director of Community and Global Citizenship at Albuquerque Academy. She currently has a private practice as a certified life coach. Along with many of those who will read this book, her "professional" career has most often taken a second seat to a primary role as a caregiver providing stability and support for family and loved ones.

Rocco F. Marotta, MD, PhD, Director, Center for the Treatment and Study of Neuropsychiatric Disorders and founder of The Lodge Program, Silver Hill Hospital, in New Canaan, CT, began his interest in psychiatric treatment as a young man, working as a psychiatric aide in a big city hospital during the years of the early lithium trials. Fascinated by the remarkable positive change lithium made in patients' psychiatric states, he decided to pursue his PhD in Biology and Neuropsychology at City University of New York, with a specialized interest in the biology behind brain behavior. An avid teacher, he worked as an assistant professor at both Mount Saint Vincent and Hunter College, also teaching medical students about the biology of the brain. His research, focused on facilitating recovery from brain trauma using psychopharmacologic agents, eventually won him a fellowship at Montefiore Hospital in the Bronx, NY, under the leadership of the inspiring physician Herbert Weiner, MD. Encouraged by his wife and supported by Dr. Weiner's belief in his candidacy, Dr. Marotta applied to medical school at the ripe old age of 33 years, a decade older than most of the medical students who would be his peers. He attended Cornell Medical School, doing his residency in psychiatry at Payne Whitney Clinic at New York Hospital and continuing his interest in both medication management and clinical treatment of psychotic illness. Dr. Marotta's professional life has included roles as Director of Danbury Hospital's Inpatient Psychiatric Services, Service Chief of the Medical Psychiatric Unit at Westchester Medical Center, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, and Service Chief of Silver Hill's Transitional Living Program, during which time he started The Lodge Program. While his professional affiliations have shifted during his decades-long practice of psychiatry, his love of teaching and collaboration with colleagues has been steadfast. Dr. Marotta's belief in the power of relationship in treatment is present in all that he does. Dr. Marotta, or Rocky, as he is known to all, has been married for forty-four years to Lisa Mann, PhD, coauthor of this book. They have three children and two grandchildren, and split their time between Ridgefield, Connecticut, and Charleston, South Carolina.