Terry L. Wise, J.D.
BIO & CREDENTIALS
Widowed at 35 following her spouse's death from Lou Gehrig's Disease (ALS), and after surviving a near-fatal suicide attempt, Terry Wise spent the next several years in treatment. A former Boston trial attorney, Wise has since devoted her life to international public speaking and full-time writing (www.TerryWise.com). She has traveled to hundreds of cities to appear as a keynote speaker, continuing education instructor, and workshop presenter—speaking to both the general public and professionals on topics related to depression, grief, long-term caregiving, suicide prevention, and the process of recovery.
Wise is the author of Waking Up: Climbing Through the Darkness (foreword by Rabbi Harold S. Kushner, best-selling author of When Bad Things Happen to Good People), a highly-acclaimed book that provides a roadmap for the restoration of emotional health. Waking Up is in use at numerous universities nationwide, including Columbia, Rutgers, Simmons College, St. Mary's, and Sacramento State and has been endorsed by prominent experts in related fields (www.TerryWise.com/Endorsements). Waking Up has also been adopted for use in crisis centers and in the training materials for the Core Competency Curriculum developed by the American Association of Suicidology and Suicide Prevention Resource Center (SPRC).
Wise serves on the boards of national organizations, including the American Association of Suicidology, Families for Depression Awareness, Advancing Suicide Prevention, the Musical Hope Foundation, and she is a member of the Speakers’ Bureau for the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance. She is also Co-Chair of the Consumer/Survivor Subcommittee for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (NSPL), 800-273-TALK.
Wise is the recipient of a National Mental Health Award for “distinguished achievement and work that has had a major impact on the depression community.” Chosen by an independent panel of mental health experts, this award is given to “an individual whose noteworthy public efforts have helped promote the understanding of depression and reduce the shame and guilt associated with the illness.”
Terry’s work as a public speaker and author is featured on a nationally distributed educational video. This video was the winner of the 16th Annual National Health Information Awards. It was created and sponsored by the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (NSPL) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services/Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) (www.SuicidePreventionLifeline.org). Wise is also a featured expert on a nationally broadcast Radio Podcast, Diagnosis and Treatment, sponsored by Families for Depression Awareness (www.FamilyAware.org/podcasts).
Expounding upon a rare combination of personal experiences, Wise invites audiences behind the closed doors of a therapy office. Speaking from the rarely-heard perspective of the patient, she reveals powerful insights about the entire process of recovery—for listeners who sit on both sides of the couch. Whether it is to provide an inspirational message, augment the skills of health professionals, or help others navigate the road to emotional health, Wise equips her audiences with coping skills, pragmatic tools, and a gripping story of hope and personal triumph.
In addition to conducting hundreds of full-day continuing education seminars for a diversity of helping professionals, Wise’s previous appearances include Columbia University, Wellesley College, National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), Alaska National Tribe Health Coalition, American Psychiatric Nurses's Assn, MDA of Hawaii, National Center for Death Education, Canadian Assn for Suicide Prevention, Council of Nephrology Social Workers of Maryland, National ALS Assn, Simmons College, University of Wisconsin, American Assn of Suicidology, Harvard Medical School Psychiatric Facility at McLean Hospital, Assn for Death Education and Counseling (ADEC), Foundation for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), Partnership to Prevent Child Sexual Abuse, Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance, The International Alliance of MND Associations, Midwest Neurological Disorders Agencies Coalition (Alzheimer’s, Stroke, Parkinson’s, ALS, MS, Epilepsy, Brain Injury, Essential Tremor), as well as chaplaincy programs, universities and community awareness events.
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