Psychiatry@YaleHeader08192011

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Elyn R. Saks, PhD, JD, Orrin B. Evans Professor of Law, Psychology, and Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Southern California Gould School of Law, spoke October 17 with Yale Department of Psychiatry trainees about her research and remarkable life journey as a person living with mental illness. Saks, who received her JD from Yale Law School, founded the Saks Institute for Mental Health Law, Policy, and Ethics at USC. The organization fosters interdisciplinary research among scholars and policymakers around the intersection of law, mental health, and ethics. Listening to her presentation at the Connecticut Mental Health Center is Albert Higgins-Chen, MD, PhD, left, a first-year resident, and Chadrick Lane, MD, center, Program-Wide Chief Resident.

Yale study: Depression and alcoholism linked to one gene in African Americans

Joel Gelernter, MD, Foundations Fund Professor of Psychiatry and Professor of Genetics and of Neuroscience, is the corresponding author of a study published in the journal JAMA Psychiatry that found a genetic link between depression and alcoholism in African Americans. The study revealed a gene variant involved in brain development that is strongly associated with the risk of developing both major depression and alcoholism in African Americans. The study is one of the first to look for genetic basis of this co-morbidity. Read more  

Forray study reveals potential new treatment for postpartum smokers

Women who took replacement progesterone after giving birth had decreased cravings to smoke and were more likely to stay off cigarettes, according to a Yale study led by Ariadna Forray, MD, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry. The study, published in the journal Psychoneuroendocrinology, found that progesterone treatment reduced smoking craving and slowed the rate of cigarette relapse in postpartum women. Women who smoke often quit in pregnancy, when progesterone levels are high. Many relapse soon after delivery. Read more 

Budde and Feuerstein: Integrating behavioral health and primary care in two New Jersey health centers

Kristin S. Budde, MD, MPH, a fourth-year resident in the Yale Department of Psychiatry, and Seth Feuerstein, MD, JD, Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, are authors of a paper published in the journal Psychiatric Services that describes a model for integrating behavioral health services into two New Jersey federally qualified health centers. The paper describes the challenges and opportunities faced by federally qualified health centers that serve diverse populations. Read more 

Yale study: Self-care interventions promote improved health behaviors among postgraduate students

Marney A. White, PhD, MS, Associate Professor of Public Health (Social and Behavioral Sciences) and Associate Professor of Epidemiology (Chronic Diseases) and of Psychiatry, is the first author of a study that found self-care interventions like improved nutrition, physical activity, mental health exercises, and social supports improved health behaviors in postgraduates. Ninety-one graduate students in public health participated in the semester-long study, which was published in the American Journal of Health Education. Read more 

Yale data analysis: Ketamine found to reduce suicidal thoughts in depressed patients

Samuel Wilkinson, MD, Clinician in the Yale Department of Psychiatry and Assistant Director of the Yale Depression Research Program, led a review of data that revealed a single infusion of ketamine appears to significantly reduce suicidal thoughts in depressed patients in as little as one day. The data review was published in Psychiatric News. "The present analysis provides evidence drawn from the largest sample to date that ketamine reduces suicidal ideation partially independently of mood symptoms," Wilkinson and colleagues wrote. Read more 

Arnsten elected to National Academy of Medicine

Amy Arnsten, PhD, Professor of Neuroscience and of Psychology, has been elected to the National Academy of Medicine, formerly the Institute of Medicine, the organization announced October 16. Membership in the academy is considered one of the highest honors in the field of health and medicine and recognizes individuals who have demonstrated outstanding professional achievements and commitment to service. Arnsten's lab discovered the molecular mechanisms that govern activity in the brain's highest-order circuits. Read more  

Bhalla appointed to National Clinician Scholars Program at UCLA

Ish Bhalla, MD, a 2017 graduate of the Yale Department of Psychiatry Residency Program and current Yale Forensic Psychiatry Fellow, has matched at the University of California Los Angeles for the National Clinician Scholars Program. Bhalla will work with UCLA, Los Angeles County, and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center on health services research and to study for a master's degree in health policy. The National Clinician Scholars Program is a prestigious interprofessional fellowship program that prepares a select group of future clinician leaders to improve health and health care in the United States.

Blumberg honored with Colvin Prize for Outstanding Achievement in Mood Disorders Research

Hilary P. Blumberg, MD, John and Hope Furth Professor of Psychiatric Neuroscience, Professor of Psychiatry, Radiology and Biomedical Imaging and in the Child Study Center at the Yale School of Medicine, was awarded the Colvin Prize for Outstanding Achievement in Mood Disorders Research by the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation (BBRF) on October 27. The award honors an outstanding scientist carrying out work on the causes, pathophysiology, treatment, or prevention of affective disorders. Read more  

Potenza receives research award from Society for the Advancement of Sexual Health

Marc N. Potenza, MD, PhD, Professor of Psychiatry, in the Child Study Center and of Neuroscience, was honored with a research award October 6 by the Society for the Advancement of Sexual Health (SASH). The award, presented at SASH's annual conference in Salt Lake City, Utah, reflects Potenza's recent research into compulsive sexual behaviors and problematic pornography use. This work has included studies into neurobiological and clinical aspects of these behaviors and disorders. Read more  

Desai, Jordan, Radhakrishnan honored with YCCI Scholar Awards

From left, Miraj Desai, PhD, Associate Research Scientist in Psychiatry; Ayana Jordan, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry; and Rajiv Radhakrishnan, MD, Clinical Instructor in Psychiatry, have received Yale Center for Clinical Investigation (YCCI) Scholar Awards to support their research work. The primary aim of the awards is to prepare grant recipients for succcessful independent research careers. Read more  

Roberto receives Education Outreach Program Award from AACAP

Aaron Roberto, MD, a Yale Addiction Psychiatry Fellow, received an Education Outreach Program Award at the 64th annual meeting of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) October 24-28 in Washington, DC. Child and adolescent psychiatry residents are eligible for the award, which provides some travel expenses to the annual meeting, where residents gain access to mentors and research and networking opportunities. Roberto was also recognized for completing a term as Co-Chair of the Medical Student and Resident Committee. Read more 

Vanderploeg named President and CEO of Child Health and Development Institute of Connecticut

Jeffrey Vanderploeg, PhD, Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, has been appointed President and CEO of the Child Health and Development Institute of Connecticut (CHDI). Vanderploeg joined CHDI in 2009, most recently serving as Vice President for Mental Health Initiatives, where he helped develop the state's mental health plan for children and oversaw initiatives to improve access to high quality, trauma-informed, evidence-based mental health care for children. He did pre- and postdoctoral and research work at Yale before joining CHDI. Read more 

Krystal: My path to psychiatry

John H. Krystal, MD, Robert L. McNeil, Jr. Professor of Neuroscience and Chair of the Yale Department of Psychiatry, wrote about his path to becoming a psychiatrist in a recent edition of the American Psychiatric Association's newspaper Psychiatric News. "I feel lucky to be a psychiatrist," he wrote. "I came to this choice through a path in which I benefitted from incredible role models, mentors, colleagues, trainees, and patients who helped me grow as a person, doctor, and scientist." Read more 

Li shares experience at APA's Components Meeting

Luming Li, MD, a fourth-year resident in the Yale Department of Psychiatry, attended the American Psychiatric Association's September Components Meeting in Arlington, Va. She shared her experience in Psychiatric News, explaining how she participated in a resident/fellow orientation and attended a lecture by a lawyer with the U.S. Department of State's Center of Excellence in Foreign Affairs Resilience. "What I particularly enjoyed at this meeting was the opportunity to meet with other residents and potential mentors," she wrote. Read more  

Arnaout: I've been treating opioid addiction for a decade: This is what we need to do

Bachaar Arnaout, MD, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Director of the Detoxification and Addiction Stabilization Service at the VA Connecticut Healthcare System, wrote about his experience treating opioid addiction in the online publication Cognoscenti. Specifically, Arnaout advocated for the use of medication-assisted treatment in the battle against opioid addiction. "It is imperative that we allocate resources to treatments whose effectiveness is backed by scientific evidence," he wrote. Read more 

Barron: The neuroscience of paid parental leave

The United States ranks behind most industrialized nations for paid parental leave. Having just become a father, Daniel Barron, MD, PhD, a second-year resident in the Yale Department of Psychiatry, wrote in Scientific American about the need for consistent parental leave policies across physician training programs to ensure a secure attachment between newborns and their parents. "As the infant's foundational experience with the world, the relationship with parents predicts later relationships and interactions," he wrote. Read more 

Pollard, Hoge offer recommendations to develop workforce in Coordinated Specialty Care

In an Issue Brief published by the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors, Jessica Pollard, PhD, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, and Michael Hoge, PhD, Professor of Psychiatry, developed a set of workforce competencies and recommendations for workforce development in Coordinated Specialty Care (CSC) for early psychosis. CSC is a recovery-oriented treatment program for people with first episode psychosis, according to the National Institute of Mental Health. Read more  

HAVEN Free Clinic to expand behavioral health program

Michelle Silva, PsyD, left, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Associate Director of the Connecticut Latino Behavioral Health System, and Abigail Greene, right, a student in the MD/PhD program at Yale School of Medicine, created a service to expand the behavioral health program at HAVEN Free Clinic in New Haven. The service, Health Advocacy, Communication, and Teamwork (Health ACT), will help community members and providers understand the relationship between behavioral and physical health with the goal of improving service delivery and care. The program is being funded by an American Psychiatric Association Foundation Helping Hands Grant. Read more  

Malcolm Bowers Residency Award to honor legacy of late residency program director

Dr. Malcolm Bowers' legacy at Yale as a beloved teacher and mentor to trainees will be honored through a gift that will recognize outstanding accomplishments by a second-year resident in the Yale Department of Psychiatry. The Malcolm Bowers Residency Award was established by Dr. Bowers' wife, Dr. Natalie deLeuchtenberg-Bowers, and his family, who say Dr. Bowers' commitment to training new psychiatrists was a cornerstone of his long and richly successful career at Yale. Read more 

Muvvala playing key role in state's efforts to reduce opioid use

Srinivas Muvvala, MD, MPH, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Medical Director of the Substance Abuse Treatment Unit at the Connecticut Mental Health Center, is the Yale Principal Investigator for the Connecticut Medication Assisted Treatment Expansion (MATx) grant. MATx is a three-year, federally funded project intended to make additional treatment resources available to people who suffer from an opioid use disorder. Medication Assisted Treatment combines the use of medication and counseling to treat substance use disorders. Read more  

Smith advises Sesame Street on parent-child trauma

Megan V. Smith, DrPH, MPH, Associate Professor of Psychiatry and in the Child Study Center, and Director of the Mental health Outreach for MotherS (MOMS) Partnership, advised Sesame Street on parent-child trauma when the television series created a website to help families cope with traumatic experiences. Videos, articles, and other related activities on the site offer instruction to parents about helping children cope with and recover from trauma. Several expert advisers, including Smith, worked with Sesame Street on the project. Read more  

Cole speaks at conferences in Kentucky and at Yale

Robert A. Cole, MHSA, Chief Operating Officer of the Connecticut Mental Health Center and Lecturer in Psychiatry at Yale, spoke at two national conferences on October 9 and 12. Cole participated in a roundtable discussion at the second annual National Summit of The Root Cause Coalition (TRCC) in Louisville, KY, and presented a talk titled, "The Connecticut Mental Health Center: A Unique and Vibrant University-State Partnership" at a conference of the National Association of Academic Psychiatry Administrators at Yale. Read more 

Treating depression: Sanacora discusses risks, benefits of ketamine

Hailed as a "miracle drug" and the first major antidepressant breakthrough in three decades, ketamine has improved the lives of many patients whose depression dominated their lives for years. In an interview with Yale Medicine, Gerard Sanacora, MD, PhD, Professor of Psychiatry and Co-Director of the Yale New Haven Hospital Interventional Psychiatry Service, discussed why ketamine may be helpful for people with severe depression, and talked about clinical trials available at Yale. Read more  

Krystal speaks at annual meeting of The National Academy of Medicine

John H. Krystal, MD, Robert L. McNeil, Jr. Professor of Neuroscience and Chair of the Yale Department of Psychiatry, spoke at the 2017 Annual Meeting of The National Academy of Medicine on October 16 in Washington, DC. Krystal spoke with other experts on a panel titled, "Developmental Neurosciences: Do We Know Enough to Prevent or Reverse Major Behavioral Disorders?"

Announcement

The Connecticut Society for Psychoanalytic Psychology (CSPP) announces an annual scholarship program for individuals who have, or are working toward, a graduate degree in one of the mental health professions or in education. Applicants should have a strong interest in learning more about various psychoanalytic theories and practices, and how this knowledge might apply to their own work. The scholarships entitle recipients to register without charge for a full calendar year of clinical conferences. A candidate does not need to be a member of CSPP to apply for this scholarship. The deadline to apply is December 1, 2017. Learn more 

Psychiatry Resident Grand Rounds

Friday, November 10, 2017

No Grand Rounds

Friday, November 17, 2017; 10:15-11:30 am

Making the Tracking of Mental Health as Easy as Tracking Steps

Tanzeem Choudhury, PhD, Associate Professor and Director of Graduate Studies, Cornell University

CMHC Auditorium, 34 Park St.

Friday, November 24, 2017

No Grand Rounds

VA/Psychiatry Grand Rounds Shuttle

Door-to-door shuttle service is provided from the VA to Psychiatry Grand Rounds at CMHC. Take the Yale University Shuttle that leaves the VA beginning at 9:00 am and every 20 minutes thereafter. Tell the driver you are going to CMHC. The shuttle will leave CMHC at 11:45 am for a return to the VA. Riders should meet in front of CMHC.

CME Credits

CMEs are awarded to those who complete an evaluation sheet.

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