IBF Has New Scientific Advisory Board Member
Rob Friedman M.D. Joins Prominent Scientific Advisory Board
International Bipolar Foundation (IBF) is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Robert Friedman to their Scientific Advisory Board (SAB). Dr. Friedman joins a board of twelve other highly esteemed clinicians and researchers from Yale, Harvard, Stanford, Johns Hopkins, UCSD, Mt. Sinai, U. Wisconsin, Johnson & Johnson, and U. Colorado.
Rob Friedman, M.D., is Board Certified in Child and Adolescent, as well as Adult Psychiatry. After graduating Magna Cum Laude with Distinction in Psychology from Duke University, Dr. Friedman received his medical degree from The New York State Program at the Sackler School of Medicine in Tel Aviv, Israel, in 1985. He completed his Residency in General Psychiatry at Long Island Jewish/Hillside Medical Center in Great Neck, New York, followed by the completion of a fellowship in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the UCSD Medical Center in 1990. Since then, Dr. Friedman has been in private practice in San Diego. He is a founding partner, President and CEO of PsyCare, Inc., a behavioral healthcare provider group with seven offices throughout San Diego. Dr Friedman is an Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the UCSD Department of Psychiatry, San Diego, providing clinical supervision to training child and adolescent psychiatrists. Dr. Friedman is a member of the American Psychiatric Association and the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatrists.
Dr. Friedman lives in Carmel Valley with his wife Karen Freeman, a registered dietitian with a nutrition consulting practice in Carmel Valley, specializing in weight management and sports nutrition. Together, they have four children; Adam, a second year law student at UC Hastings, in San Francisco, Keren, a junior at University of Denver, currently spending a semester abroad studying Health Care Policy in Denmark and Scandinavia, Elana, a sophomore at Occidental College near L.A., and Sam, a senior in high school. His hobbies include yoga, hiking, biking, traveling and scuba diving.
Friedman is no stranger to California Bipolar Foundation. He is the treating psychiatrist for many patients with bipolar disorder (BPD) and refers most of them to CBF for their free support services including caregiver and sibling support groups. Dr. Friedman has generously donates his time as a speaker at IBF’s annual mental health fair and attends many of their speaker events.
When asked why he went into psychiatry, Dr. Friedman replied,” because the field offered an opportunity for a physician to combine the exciting developments in brain science, and its increasingly effective psychopharmacological treatment strategies, with the humanistic approach of psychotherapeutic interactions with patients. It is very gratifying to know that the work one does results in a direct positive outcome in peoples' lives.”
According to Friedman, “until very recently, BPD has been significantly under-diagnosed in adults, and continues to be under-diagnosed in children and adolescents. The failure to recognize and treat BPD early on can result in years of unnecessary suffering and life devastation. Although challenging, an early and correct diagnosis, with effective treatment, can have a profoundly positive impact on the outcome of one's life.”
His dream for children and adults suffering from mental illness is “for them to live their lives to their fullest potential, unimpaired by the symptoms of mental health disorders, and for one day, future generations to be free of the suffering caused by mental illnesses”.
For more information about International Bipolar Foundation, please visit www.InternationalBipolarFoundation.org or call 858.342.0327.
