Grand Rounds Session Explores Psychiatric Case of Artist Known as Sybil
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Feb. 26, 2015) — The body of artwork left behind by Shirley Mason offers visual clues into the famous psychiatric patient's creative mind and her struggle with dissociative identity disorder.
Today the topics of creative expression and psychiatric medicine will converge during a special grand rounds session titled "Creative and Madness: The Art of Sybil." Presented by the UK Arts in HealthCare program and the UK College of Medicine, the grand rounds session will explore the psychiatric case of Shirley Mason, or "Sybil," whose diagnosis of dissociative identity disorder (formerly known as multiple personality disorder) was made famous by the 1973 book "Sybil" and made-for-television movie starring Sally Field. The session will also address the value of art therapy in the clinical setting.
The presentation on dissociative identity disorder will be led by Dr. Daniel Nahum, professor emeritus in the University of Kentucky Department of Psychiatry and chair of the psychotherapy scientific section for the World Psychiatric Association. Fran Belvin, a certified art therapist, will also give an overview of how art therapy is employed in many clinical areas at UK HealthCare.
The grand rounds session, which begins at 5:30 p.m. in the Pavilion A Auditorium, will be held in conjunction with the official opening of an art exhibit featuring 40 original works by Shirley Mason. The artwork was donated for exhibition by art collector and former Lexington resident Jim Ballard. The exhibit opening will run from 5 to 7 p.m. in the West Gallery, which is the hallway leading to the Emergency Department located on the ground level of the hospital. Refreshments will be provided.
Dr. Cornelia Wilbur, the psychiatrist who was deeply involved in Sybil's treatment and co-authored the book about her life, served as a faculty member for the University of Kentucky Department of Psychiatry in the 1970s. Many long-time faculty members in the Department of Psychiatry remember Wilbur's unorthodox methods and passion for treating patients whose psychiatric diagnoses were attributed to traumatic experiences.
The grand rounds session is open to all UK faculty members and other interested individuals. Participation qualifies physicians for continuing education credits through UK HealthCare CECentral. For more information about obtaining CE credits, contact Vanessa Webb at vlwe222@uky.edu.
MEDIA CONTACT: Elizabeth Adams, elizabethadams@uky.edu