International Society for Ethical Psychology and Psychiatry (ISEPP) Presents Wendy Dolin with Special Achievement Award

“The ISEPP Special Achievement award is intended for a professional or non-professional who has made a significant specific contribution to challenging the conventional mental health system,” said Dr. Chuck Ruby, ISEPP Executive Director. “Dolin’s advocacy and devotion to her husband’s memory is inspiring and warrants the receipt of ISEPP’s Special Achievement Award.”

2018 ISEPP Citation

Wendy Dolin is a therapist and activist who founded MISSD, which is an acronym for Medication Induced Suicide in Memory of Stewart Dolin. Stewart was Wendy’s husband of 36 years and a successful senior member of the international defense firm, Reed Smith in Chicago. In July 2010, one week after being prescribed paroxetine for work stress, Stewart’s life ended when he jumped in front of an oncoming train. This started Wendy’s painful search for an answer and her mission to educate the community about medication-induced suicide.

She discovered that the drug company, GlaxoSmithKline, had been concealing the suicide risks associated with paroxetine and so launched a lawsuit. In March 2017, a jury concluded that the drug manufacturer failed to warn about the suicide risk and awarded Wendy $3 million in damages. However, an appeals court recently overturned the ruling. Wendy will be petitioning the Supreme Court of the United States to review the case.

Board members Wendy Dolin, Lena Dolin and Nikki Carvelli presented the MISSD akathisia presentation to first responders at the Wheaton Police Department. MISSD was present at the 6:40 am and 2:40 pm roll call. We are so grateful to the first responders who attended our program; they are on the front lines dealing with many crisis interventions. We were excited by the engaging conversations that will no doubt lead to spreading the word about akathisia and alerting professionals on what to look for and how to react. It was a true honor to be among such dedicated men and women. A special thanks goes to Sergeant Ryan Conway for facilitating this training session.