Tagged: Stanford

What makes us want to be good?

“Compassion is complex,” says Emiliana Simon Thomas, the former associate director of CCARE, the Center for Compassion And Altruism Research and Education at Stanford University.

Brian Knutson, associate professor of psychology and neuroscience at Stanford University, adds: “It’s not quite an emotion, is it? It’s more sophisticated.”

Emerging science is exploring how our minds feel for others.

“Can we see it?” asks Knutson. “Does it help people to extend compassion? That would be very exciting.”

On June 18th, City Visions explored new research on and interventions for mental illness. Questions discussed included: how are health professionals in the Bay Area identifying and treating people with mental illness? What is the role of family members and family history in the treatment process? And how does the stigma of mental illness impact patients who seek diagnosis and treatment? Guests were:

Dr. Terence Ketter of the Bipolar Disorders Clinic at Stanford University