Additional information
by Sumter M. Carmichael MD (Author)
A personal and professional memoir about what it takes to recover from chronic pain, depression and addiction, and what stands in the way. Ever wonder why Americans take 80% of the world's pain medicines yet continue to suffer from so much pain? Ever wonder why doctors have so much difficulty treating chronic pain in spite of stunning advances in technology and medical interventions? In this inspiring narrative, Dr. Sumter Carmichael explains the important role anxiety and depression play in the chronic pain story. Surviving multiple sclerosis for 45 years, Dr. Carmichael discovered first hand what it takes to manage chronic pain and depression that often accompanies it. She began employing what she had learned from her own experience to treat medical patients. Working with physicians from many specialties to provide a pain clinic for the poor and uninsured, she saw what was possible in the treatment of chronic pain and what stands in the way of getting that treatment. This very pragmatic approach weaves together multiple therapies in order to treat the complex physical, psychological and emotional issues involved. An inspiration to sufferers, a wake-up call to physicians, a reality check for everyone concerned about health care in America, this book is a must-read for everyone who wants to improve life after a serious injury or illness. There is much in this story to instruct the professional medical community as well. In this highly personal tale Dr, Carmichael reveals what derails the best efforts to improve care for those faced with chronic illness and injury where pain and depression are concerned, and offers ways to find real healing. Dr. Carmichael took honors in mathematics at Stanford before going to Cornell Medical School in New York City. On the way to Boston for training in psychiatry, she took an internship with Dr. Tinsley Harrison in Birmingham, Alabama. This was followed by several years of doing research in medicine in Birmingham and at the University of Virginia, before returning to her original path to enter psychiatry. Dr. Carmichael spent over 30 years teaching medical students and young doctors about how psychiatry and medicine overlap in the treatment of pain, depression, anxiety, addiction and organic mental syndromes.
Author Biography
Sumter M. Carmichael, MD is a board-certified psychiatrist living in Birmingham, Alabama. Before pursuing her psychiatric career, Dr. Carmichael graduated from Stanford University with honors in mathematics and attended Cornell University Medical College in New York City. Following a medical internship with Tinsley Harrison in Birmingham, Alabama, she did research at the Cardiovascular Research Center in Birmingham and the Virginia Heart Lab in Charlottesville, Virginia. Following a residency in psychiatry in Birmingham, she studied for seven years with a Freudian analyst and seven years with a Jungian analyst, both in Alabama. Following a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis, she went into private practice, where she worked closely with a pastoral counseling center. There she did individual, family, and group therapy while continuing to teach medical students. In 1990 she began working with medical patients at the local county hospital, teaching medical students and young doctors about pain, depression, anxiety, and addiction. Work with medical patients suffering from depression and chronic pain culminated in establishing a multidisciplinary pain clinic for the poor called the Endorphin Clinic to teach the importance of the healing that comes from within. Observing the disconnect between what is known about pain, depression, anxiety, opiates, and addiction and what patients expect and doctors mete out, she retired in 2006 to work on this book. Dr. Carmichael grew up in the Episcopal Church and worked for many years with ministers from different religious traditions. This gave her a unique perspective on the wisdom of Jesus and the role of anxiety in the distortion of religious and other beliefs. Dr. Carmichael is married and known socially as Belle Sumter Coleman
