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John Sadler, M.D.

John Sadler, M.D.

Professor

Endowed Title
Daniel W. Foster, M.D., Professorship in Medical Ethics; Distinguished Teaching Professor
School
Medical School
Department
Psychiatry

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For more information on the doctor and patient care, please visit the clinical profile.

  • Biography

    John Z. Sadler, M.D., Director of the Program in Ethics in Science & Medicine and Chief of the Division of Ethics in the Department of Psychiatry is internationally acclaimed for his work in the fields of Philosophy and Ethics of Psychiatry. He is co-founder and treasurer of the Association for the Advancement of Philosophy & Psychiatry, an organization dedicated to exploring conceptual issues at the interface of psychiatry and philosophy, and is one of three Executive Secretaries of the International Network of Philosophy and Psychiatry.

    For 30 years, until 2024, Dr. Sadler edited the international journal Philosophy, Psychiatry, & Psychology, along with its founding editor, K. W. M. Fulford. Dr. Sadler continues to co-edit the Oxford University Press book series International Perspectives on Philosophy and Psychiatry, which has published over 50 monographs, and Oxford Handbooks reference texts. Dr. Sadler’s work prompted the Texas Society of Psychiatric Physicians to award their Psychiatric Excellence Award to him in 2001.

    Dr. Sadler’s ongoing work in the education of medical students, residents, and practitioners has earned him several teaching awards, including the Nancy C.A. Roeske Certificate of Excellence in Medical Education from the American Psychiatric Association, appointment as a UT System and UT Southwestern Distinguished Teaching Professor, election to membership in the Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society anno domini, and an inaugural recipient of the UT Health Science System Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Award in 2012. In 2014 he was awarded the Distinguished Clinical Science Educator Award from the UT Southwestern Academy of Teachers, and in 2014 he was designated a Distinguished Life Fellow from the American Psychiatric Association.

    Dr. Sadler has edited or co-edited several books and several special issues of professional journals, and he authored Values and Psychiatric Diagnosis (Oxford University Press, 2005) and Vice and Psychiatric Diagnosis (Oxford University Press, 2024). In collaboration with philosopher Jennifer Radden, he co-authored The Virtuous Psychiatrist: Character Ethics in Clinical Practice. In 2013 Dr. Sadler was a co-editor of the Oxford Handbook of Philosophy and Psychiatry, and in 2015 he was the lead editor of the 2-volume, 1700-page Oxford Handbook of Psychiatric Ethics and, in 2021, a co-editor of the Oxford Handbook of Psychotherapy Ethics, all definitive reference works in their fields. Dr. Sadler has published dozens of articles and chapters in the area of clinical psychiatry, psychiatric education, bioethics, and the philosophy of psychiatry. Since 1985, he has served on the Parkland Hospital & Health System Institutional Ethics Committee and, from 1989-2019, served as its co-chair and the clinical ethics consultant to the hospital. Dr. Sadler received his medical degree from Indiana University School of Medicine and trained in psychiatry at UT Southwestern Medical Center before joining the faculty in 1984.

  • Education
    Medical School
    Indiana University School of Medicine (1980)
    Internship
    UT Southwestern Medical Center (1981), Psychiatry
    Residency
    UT Southwestern Medical Center (1984), Psychiatry
  • Research Interest
    • Clinical Research Ethics
    • Medical Ethics
    • Philosophy and Ethics of Psychiatry
    • Psychiatric Education
  • Publications

    Star Featured Publications

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  • Books

    Featured 

    Nature and Narrative: An Introduction to the New Philosophy of Psychiatry

    Fulford, K.W.M., Morris, K., Sadler, J.Z., and Stanghellini, G. (Ed.) (2003). Oxford, UK, Oxford University Press

    Conceptual models of normative content in mental disorders. In Thomas Szasz: An appraisal of his legacy

    Sadler JZ (2019). Oxford, Oxford University Press

    Legitimate and illegitimate imposition of therapists? values on patients. In The Oxford Handbook of Psychotherapy Ethics

    Lampley S, Sadler JZ (2020). Oxford, Oxford University Press

    Evidence, science, and ethics in talk-based healing practices. In The Oxford Handbook of Psychotherapy Ethics

    Phillips J, Sadler JZ (2019). Oxford, Oxford University Press

    Psychiatric Ethics. In Landmark Papers in Psychiatry

    Zettl R, Sadler JZ (2020). New York, NY USA, Oxford University Press

    Embedded ethics in medical education. In Ethics at the Heart of Higher Education

    Camp M.E., Cole A.G., Sadler J.Z (2020). Eugene, Oregon, USA, Pickwick Publications

    Philosophical Aesthetics in Psychiatric Practice and Education. In The Oxford Handbook of Mental Health and Contemporary Western Aesthetics

    Laney M, Sadler JZ (2023). Oxford Academic

    Values Literacy and Citizenship. In Philosophy and Human Flourishing

    Sadler JZ (2022). New York, Oxford Academic

    Psychiatric diagnosis. In Psychiatric Ethics (5th Edition)

    Laney M, Sadler JZ (2021). Oxford University Press

  • Honors & Awards
    • Gold Humanism Honor Society
      Elected by UT Southwestern Medical Students (2023)
    • Outstanding Reviewer
      Milbank Quarterly Journal (2021)
    • Texas Monthly Super Doctors Hall of Fame
      (2021)
    • Distinguished Life Fellow, American Psychiatric Association
      (2015)
    • Distinguished Clinical Science Educator Award, UT Southwestern Medical Center
      (2013-2014)
    • UT System Regents' Outstanding Teaching Award
      Recipient (2012)
    • Alpha Omega Alpha
      Medical honorary fraternity (2008)
    • Charter Member
      The UT Southwestern Academy of Teachers (SWAT) (2006)
    • Member
      The University of Texas Academy of Health Science Education (2006)
    • Psychiatric Excellence Award
      Texas Society of Psychiatric Physicians (2001)
  • Professional Associations/Affiliations
    • American Psychiatric Association
    • American Society for Bioethics and Humanities
    • Association for the Advancement of Philosophy & Psychiatry
    • North Texas Society of Psychiatric Physicians
    • Texas Society of Psychiatric Physicians