Speaker: Sarah Merritt Ryan

Sarah Merritt Ryan is an author, speaker, advocate, and support group facilitator for mental illness. She is a survivor of four psychotic breaks who made a full recovery while choosing to remain on antipsychotics for life. She is diagnosed with schizophrenia and has been in complete remission, symptom-free for 13 years. Since her last break, she has married, given birth to a son who is now in kindergarten, and runs her own successful marketing business.

Sarah has a blog on Psychology Today called “Healing Mind.” These posts are training material and required reading for resident psychiatrists at the UNC Schizophrenia Treatment and Evaluation Program (STEP) Clinic at UNC-Chapel Hill. She is a published author. Sarah also has presented webinars for NAMI North Carolina and speaks regularly at NC State University.  She is the Lead Facilitator of the NAMI Wake Connection Support Group (CSG).

Sarah has a degree in Journalism from UNC-Chapel Hill and a Master of Science in Communication from NC State. She is published academically in social sciences.

Topics To Be Discussed:

• Sarah’s personal story
• Excerpt from her upcoming memoir – What is it like to be inside a person’s mind in crisis?
• Early recovery from psychosis.
• How to maintain long-term wellness

Questions will be allowed at the end of the presentation.