Dr. Davidson, is a Professor of Psychology in the Department of Psychiatry at Yale, and has served as as the Senior Clinical Officer and Mental Health Policy Director for the Connecticut Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services. His training, research, and policy interests focus on the interface of recovery in psychiatric and substance use disorders with membership in society. He has investigated processes of recovery in psychosis, using peer support and other social engagement strategies in engaging people with co-occurring disorders and/or who are homeless into care, the development of qualitative and participatory research methods, the development and evaluation of innovative, community-based psychosocial interventions, and the promotion of collaborative relationships between people with behavioral health disorders and their healthcare providers. Much of this work has been oriented toward articulating a disability and civil rights perspective on psychiatric disorders, attempting to create an array of pathways into community life for people with psychiatric disabilities. Throughout this work, Dr. Davidson and his colleagues have attempted to identify and redress social, political, and economic disparities as they relate to healthcare, opportunities for recovery, and the participation of persons with disabilities in the activities, and communities, of their choice.

Dr. Harding was professor of psychiatry at the Boston University School of Medicine. She also was the Senior Director of BU’s Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation under William Anthony. Dr. Harding participated in two three-decade studies of schizophrenia and other serious illnesses and found that many once profoundly disabled persons could and did significantly improve and/or even fully recover. She has been the recipient of over 40 awards and honors including the Alexander Gralnick Research Investigator Award from the American Psychological Association’s foundation for “exceptional contributions to the study of schizophrenia and other serious mental illness and for mentoring a new generation of researchers.” Dr. Harding has published extensively about rehabilitation and recovery and has presented findings from her studies and clinical work in over 500 state, national, and international meetings.

Dr. Spaniol retired in 2004 as Senior Director at the Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation. He holds a doctoral degree in Rehabilitation Counseling from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and has over 40 years of experience in the mental health field as counselor, advocate, program developer, administrator, and educator.  Dr. Spaniol was the Founder and Executive Publisher of the Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal. He taught as an Adjunct Full Professor in the Department of Rehabilitation Counseling at Boston University. He also founded and taught in the Recovery Center, a rehabilitation program for people with psychiatric disabilities at the Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation. He was President of NAMI of Cape Cod and served on the Affordable Housing Committee for the Town of Wellfleet, MA. Dr. Spaniol has published 18 books and many book chapters and articles about psychiatric rehabilitation, recovery, and families.