Xavier F. Amador, Ph.D.
Dr. Xavier Amador is an adjunct professor in Clinical Psychology at Columbia University in New York City and is on the Board of Directors of the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI). Previously, he was a professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Columbia University, College of Physicians & Surgeons; Director of Research at NAMI; and the Director of Psychology at the New York State Psychiatric Institute. He has a brother, Henry, who suffers from schizophrenia. Dr. Amador has appeared regularly on numerous television programs as an

expert on mental illness: e.g., NBC's Today Show, Good Morning America, CBS This Morning, NBC Nightly News, CBS 60 Minutes, CNN, NBC Dateline NBC, Fox News Channel, Court TV, A&E Network, Discovery Channel, BBC, and PBS among others. Also, he was an “NBC News Consultant” and “Today Show Contributor.” He has been interviewed by the New York Times, USA Today, Reader’s Digest, the New Yorker, and other national print media. In addition to national media, he is frequently called upon for local TV, radio and newspaper interviews, both in the USA, and overseas.

       Dr Xavier and Brother Henry

He has consulted to the National Institute of Mental Health, Veteran's Administration, the U.S. Justice Department and other U.S. and foreign government agencies involved in mental health research and education.

Dr. Amador served as a mental health expert in the Theodore Kaczynski case (a.k.a. the “Unabomber”), the Russell Weston case (a.k.a. the” Capitol Shooter”), and the Zacarias Moussaoui case (a.k.a. the “Twentieth Hijacker”) as well as other less highly publicized death penalty cases involving persons with serious mental illness..

Dr. Amador was co-chair of the last text revision of the Schizophrenia and related disorders section of the DSM IV-TR (often referred to as the “Psychiatrists’ Bible”). However, he is probably best known for his work on the problem of poor insight into illness in persons with mental illness

He has published over 100 peer-reviewed scientific papers, and many other publications that include seven books; among them: ‘I am Not Sick, I Don’t Need Help!’ Helping Persons with Serious Mental Illness Accept Treatment; When Someone You Love is Depressed: How to Help Without Losing Yourself; and Insight and Psychosis. His books and his work on the problem of poor insight have been translated into many languages and are frequently cited by scientists and policy-makers worldwide.

 
For more information and Dr. Amador's schedule of appearances go to: www.XavierAmador.org