Xavier Amador, Ph.D.

Dr. Amador is an internationally renowned clinical psychologist and leader in his field. His books, published clinical research, worldwide speaking tours, and extensive work in schizophrenia, bipolar and other disorders have been translated into 30 languages. He is the founder of the LEAP Institute, the CEO of the Henry Amador Center on Anosognosia , and a family caregiver of two close relatives with serious mental illness.

Over the course of two decades, Dr. Amador was Professor of Psychiatry and Clinical Psychology at Columbia University and Director of Psychology at the New York State Psychiatric Institute. Currently, he is a Visiting Professor of Psychology at the State University of New York.

Previously, he served as Director of the Center for Research Education and Practice at the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), where he founded NAMI’s Scientific Council, nationally launched Family to Family, Peer to Peer and In Our Own Voices as well as NAMI’s national initiative on Assertive Community Treatment. He also served as co-chair of the Schizophrenia and Psychotic Disorders section of the DSM-IV-TR.