An Interview with James & Melissa Griffith. The Griffiths discuss how they work with somatic illness and through a case description give a detailed example of this work. Their sensitivity to class, race, ethnicity, spirituality and humanity are made transparent through their sharing a case. They tell a story of the treatment of a young man with severe mental illness, who was brought to this country by his mother. She believed he could be helped, even though she had repeatedly been told that he was hopeless. The Griffiths mix spirituality and political beliefs with medication and caring to assist this family to re-write their story of a possible future.
Running Time: 54 minutes.

James Griffith, M.D. and Melissa Griffith, M.S.N. are the co-authors of “The Body Speaks,” a book of therapeutic dialogues for mind-body problems. They specialize in working with somatic illnesses and working with spiritual experiences in therapy. James is Professor of Psychiatry and Director of Residency at George Washington University.

Melissa is Assistant Clinical Professor at the University and maintains a private practice at the Church Street Center. They work and live in the suburbs of Washington, D.C.