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Mural adds brilliant color to retaining wall at Yale New Haven Psychiatric Hospital; outdoor waiting area planned for Spring

 

A drab retaining wall behind Yale New Haven Psychiatric Hospital (YPH) is being infused with new life by artists from Vista Life Innovations in Westbrook who have brought vivid color and limitless imagination to the cement canvas. Vista provides programs and services to people with disabilities. The artists were commissioned by Robert Ostroff, MD, Co-Medical Director of the hospital's Interventional Psychiatry Service (IPS) and past chairman of the board of Vista. He said the mural will anchor a new outdoor waiting area for IPS patients and families. Read more  

Yale Psychiatry residents participate in Point-in-Time count of homeless in New Haven

 

Four Yale Department of Psychiatry residents -- Nora Proops, MD, (first row, left), and Frances Adachi, MD, MPH; Lilanthi Balasuriya, MD, MMS; and Emma Lo, MD; (middle row, left to right) -- participated in the Point-in-Time count of sheltered and unsheltered homeless people in New Haven on January 23. The residents were among a contingent of groups that spread out across the city to count people, including children, experiencing homelessness. The 2018 census is still being tabulated, but in 2017 volunteers counted 543 sheltered and unsheltered people experiencing homelessness in New Haven, including 142 children. That was down 13 percent from the count in 2016.

Research suggests ways to help mentally ill in Ghana's prayer camps

Many people with mental illness in Ghana spend their days chained to walls in prayer camps where they are ministered to by spiritual healers and forced to fast and pray. A new study, based on a partnership between researchers at the University of Ghana and Yale Department of Psychiatry, shows that modern medications can improve symptoms of camp residents. Robert Rosenheck, MD, Professor of Psychiatry, was the senior author of the study, published in the British Journal of Psychiatry. Read The New York Times coverage of the study  

Yale study: Adolescents more likely to smoke when they like the taste

Suchitra Krishnan-Sarin, PhD, Professor of Psychiatry and the Co-PI on the Yale Tobacco Center of Regulatory Science, was the senior author of a study published in the journal PLOS One that revealed a correlaton between frequency of e-cigaratte use among adolescents and flavor. Specifically, the study revealed that adolescents preferred sweet flavors like fruit, dessert, and vanilla, while adults enjoyed flavors that would not be classified as sweet, including flavors associated with traditional cigarettes like tobacco and menthol. Read more  

Yale study: Methadone treatment in prison improves inmates' behavior, likelihood of staying clean post-release

Connecticut inmates who were given methadone to treat their opioid dependence while in jail were less likely to be disciplined for bad behavior and more apt to continue their treatment after release, according to a state-funded evaluation of data by Yale School of Medicine researchers published online in the Journal of Addiction Medicine. Sherry McKee, PhD, Professor of Psychiatry, was the paper's senior author. Despite its effectiveness in treatment, methadone is available in fewer than half of U.S. prisons and jails largely due to bureaucratic reasons. Read more 

Ranganathan, Ross to represent department on Faculty Advisory Council

Mohini Ranganathan, MBBS, Associate Professor of Psychiatry, and David Ross, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Psychiatry, have been selected to represent the Yale Department of Psychiatry on the Faculty Advisory Council (FAC). Ross will represent VA faculty, and Ranganathan will represent clinician-scholar faculty. The FAC was convened by the Dean to "provide a forum for a diverse group of representatives to bring new ideas and concerns from a broad range of faculty to the Dean's office." The FAC has been meeting regularly since it convened in late September 2015. Among the topics that have been discussed are transparency/communication, equity, and climate at the medical school. FAC members are responsible for engaging with members of their departments to learn about concerns and issues, and to relay information from the FAC to faculty. The Department of Psychiatry has five faculty representatives on the FAC. The other members are Paula Zimbrean, MD, Associate Professor of Psychiatry (YNHPH representative); Allison Ponce, PhD, Associate Professor of Psychiatry (clinician-educator faculty representative); and Christopher Pittenger, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Psychiatry (faculty primarily engaged in research representative).

Martin completes second 5-year term as editor-in-chief of Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

Andrés Martin, MD, MPH, Riva Ariella Ritvo Professor in the Child Study Center and Professor of Psychiatry, was the youngest ever to take the helm of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry when he became editor-in-chief a decade ago. Martin recently completed his second five-year term as editor-in-chief of the publication, during which time his leadership was associated with increased publication of seminal and cutting-edge research studies and a more robust citation performance. Read more 

McKee serves as expert on medication-assisted treatment panel

Sherry McKee, PhD, Professor of Psychiatry, served as an expert panelist when two federal agencies convened January 29 and 30 in Maryland to discuss the implementation of a medication-assisted treatment (MAT) program for individuals involved in the criminal justice system. McKee and other experts offered guidance to representatives from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and Bureau of Justice Assistance. McKee was recommended to serve on the panel based on her knowledge of MAT and related programs. Read more  

De Aquino to participate in 2018 Career Development Institute for Psychiatry

João P. De Aquino, MD, a fourth-year resident in the Yale Department of Psychiatry, has been selected to participate in the 2018 Career Development Institute (CDI) for Psychiatry. The program aims to enhance the careers of junior researchers in academic psychiatry through training related to both the direct and indirect aspects of an academic career. Participants complete online activities to prepare for a four-day seminar workshop at the University of Pittsburgh. That will be followed by two years of long-distance career mentoring and webinars. Read more  

Gordon member of state panel that recommends youth be removed from custody of prison system

The state's Juvenile Justice Policy and Oversight Committee has urged Connecticut's Legislature to transfer custody of all youths prosecuted for serious crimes in adult court from the state Department of Correction (DOC) to the Judicial Branch. The committee includes experts in juvenile justice, including Derrick M. Gordon, PhD, Associate Professor of Psychiatry, who told legislators that the prison system is not an appropriate placement for youths. "We need to do something different, period," he said at a recent hearing. Read more  

Davidson honored with teaching and mentoring award from American Psychological Association

Larry Davidson, PhD, Professor of Psychiatry and Director of the Yale Program for Recovery and Community Health, has been chosen to receive the 2018 Teaching and Mentoring in Qualitative Inquiry Award from Division 5 of the American Psychological Association. The award honors an individual who has demonstrated excellence in teaching and mentoring within the field of qualitative inquiry. Davidson has mentored numerous faculty members in the Yale Department of Psychiatry during his career. Read more 

Kirwin honored with APA's Jack Weinberg Memorial Award in Geriatric Psychiatry

Paul D. Kirwin, MD, Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Program Director of the Geriatric Fellowship at Yale, has been chosen to receive the Jack Weinberg Memorial Award in Geriatric Psychiatry from the American Psychiatric Association. The award, established in 1983, honors a psychiatrist who over the course of his or her career has demonstrated special leadership or has done outstanding work in clinical practice, training, or research into geriatric psychiatry. Kirwin has trained hundreds of psychiatry residents, including over 50 geriatric psychiatrists. Read more  

Annamalai, Fuehrlein, Mandelkern, Fickes honored by APA for excellence in resident, medical student teaching

Four Yale Department of Psychiatry faculty, clockwise from top left, Aniyizhai Annamalai, MD; Brian Fuehrlein, MD, PhD; Joseph Fickes, MD; and Marshal Mandelkern, MD, PhD, have been honored by the American Psychiatric Association with awards for outstanding and sustained contributions to resident and medical student education. Fuehrlein and Mandelkern were awarded the Irma Bland Award for their work teaching residents. The Nancy C.A. Roeske Teaching Award was presented to Annamalai and Fickes for their contributions to teaching medical students. Both awards recognize APA members who have taught at their nominating institution for at least three years. The awards are competitive; in 2016, seven physicians were honored nationally with the Bland award, and eight received the Roeske award. Read more  

Adachi, DeSouza awarded grants by Yale Global Mental Health Program

Frances Adachi, MD, MPH, left, and Flavia DeSouza, MD, MHS, right, second-year residents in the Yale Department of Psychiatry, were awarded 2017-18 Scholar Awards by the Yale Global Mental Health Program. (YGMHP). The awards are presented to young investigators committed to advancing mental health locally and globally. Adachi is creating a mental health training program for community health workers and nurses in Nigeria, and DeSouza's project title is, "Duration of Untreated Psychosis and Pathways to Care in Jamaica." Read more 

From cultural to structural competency -- Training psychiatry residents to act on social determinants of health and institutional racism

Robert Rohrbaugh, MD, Professor of Psychiatry and Residency Program Director, and Helena Hansen, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at NYU, wrote a viewpoint published in JAMA Psychiatry that argues all residents need training in structural competency. "Regardless of whether one plans to become a psychotherapist or a laboratory scientist, rigorous training in structural competency is as central to psychiatric training as psychopharmacology or neurobiology," they wrote. Read more 

Cyrus, Wilkins: When patients hurt us

Kali D. Cyrus, MD, MPH, left, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, and Kirsten M. Wilkins, MD, right, Associate Professor of Psychiatry, are the first and senior authors, respectively, of a viewpoint published in the journal Medical Teacher that reflects upon the increasing number of reports of harassment and mistreatment of trainees by patients. The authors explored the universal difficulty that educators face regarding how to best address this mistreatment and to support both faculty and trainees. Read more 

Desai: Why resilience is important for withstanding climate change

Miraj Desai, PhD, Associate Research Scientist at the Yale Program for Recovery and Community Health, spoke to the website Thrive Global about why resilience is important for withstanding climate change, and what being displaced by climate change can do to a person's well-being. "Resilience is absolutely important," Desai said. "The extent to which we are able to come together as communities will be crucial moving forward. At the same time, I have often cautioned against the tendency to over-individualize this notion of resilience." Read more 

Doctor-writer Sobowale participates in Yale Internal Medicine Residency Writers' Workshop

Kunmi Sobowale, MD, a third-year resident in the Yale Department of Psychiatry, is a published op-ed writer, whose pieces have recently appeared online in Scientific American and STAT. In November, he tried his hand at narrative writing when he participated in the immersive Yale Internal Medicine Residency Writers' Workshop. The program, in its 14th year, gathers a dozen residents from across Yale School of Medicine for two days of group critique and constructive feedback on their stories and essays. Read more 

Yale Psychiatry trainees use telepsychiatry to treat patients in faraway places

Through the use of remote video technology, three Yale Department of Psychiatry trainees are providing diagnostic care and supportive therapy to patients located miles away in Connecticut. The trainees are the first participants in a new clinic based at the VA Connecticut Healthcare System in West Haven that is using telepsychiatry -- the delivery of psychiatric assessment and care through a live video feed -- to reach patients. Judah Weathers, MD, pictured, is participating with fellow trainees Lauren Schmidt, MD, and Nikhil Gupta, MBBS. Telehealth technician Loretta Braziel is on the video screen. Read more 

Alumni Spotlight

Bruce inducted into Gold Humanism Honor Society at NYU

Neil Bruce, MD, who completed his general psychiatry residency at Yale, has been inducted into the Gold Humanism Honor Society (GHHS) Resident/Fellow Chapter at NYU, where he is Chief Resident Physician for the NYU Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Training Program. GHHS recognizes students, residents, and faculty who exemplify compassionate patient care and who serve as role models, mentors, and leaders in medicine. Members are peer nominated. Bruce matched into NYU's competitive fellowship program from Yale in 2016. Read more 

Karasu publishes "Live: 8 Brief Lessons on Life," his 24th book

T. Byram Karasu, MD, a 1969 graduate of the Yale Department of Psychiatry, has published "Live: 8 Brief Lessons on Life," his 24th book. From the publisher: "(The book's) lessons evolve from a highly condensed distillation of thousands of years of widsom - uncommon common sense. It provides a template for the essence of being, becoming a grown-up, and living a joyful and successful life." Karasu is Distinguished Professor Emeritus at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, University Chairman Emeritus and Dorothy and Marty Silverman Professor Emeritus, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. Read more 

Alumni, please submit your news and updates to psychiatry@yale.edu

Special Events

Moser to deliver The Gordon M. Shepherd Lecture in Integrative Neuroscience

May-Britt Moser, PhD, Professor and Director for the Center for Neural Computation at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, will deliver The Gordon M. Shepherd Lecture in Integrative Neuroscience on February 1, 2018. The title of the lecture, which begins at 4:00 pm, is "Grid Cells and the Beauty of Entorhinal Cortex Cells." The lecture will be in The Anlyan Center Auditorium, and a reception with Moser will follow in the lobby. Moser shared the 2014 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for her work on how the hippocampus/entorhinal cortex map spatial information.

Three Yale Psychiatry faculty on symposium panel for Long Wharf Theatre production

Three Yale Department of Psychiatry faculty - Madelon Baranoski, PhD; Matthew Goldenberg, MD; and Frank Fortunati, MD, JD - will be panelists for a symposium that will follow the February 4, 2018, production of the play "Office Hour" at Long Wharf Theatre in New Haven. The drama by Obie Award-winning playwright Julia Cho follows a meeting between a teacher and troubled teen, and examines the issue of gun violence in the United States. It debuted Off-Broadway in November. The three faculty will be joined on the panel by Camille Lizarribar, PhD, JD, Dean of Student Affairs at Yale. Learn more and purchase tickets 

Psychiatry Grand Rounds

Friday, February 2, 2018; 10:15-11:30 am

Dr. Sidney J. Blatt Lecture: "Revisiting the Dynamics of Personality: Beyond Diagnostic Categories, Developmental Levels, and Linear Formulations"

Paul L. Wachtel, PhD, Distinguished Professor, City College of New York and CUNY Graduate Center

CMHC Auditorium, 34 Park St.

Friday, February 9, 2018; 10:15-11:30 am

Transforming Pain Care in America: Promoting Adaptive Pain Self-Management

Robert D. Kerns, PhD, Professor of Psychiatry, Neurology and Psychology; Pain Research, Informatics, Multi-Morbidities, and Education Center (PRIME), Yale School of Medicine

CMHC Auditorium, 34 Park St.

Friday, February 16, 2018; 10:15-11:30 am

Everyday Bias for Healthcare Professionals

Darin Latimore, MD, Deputy Dean for Diversity and Inclusion, Chief Diversity Officer, Yale School of Medicine

CMHC Auditorium, 34 Park St.

Friday, February 23, 2018; 10:15-11:45 am

State of the Medical School

Robert J. Alpern, MD, Ensign Professor of Medicine (Nephrology); Dean, Yale School of Medicine

CMHC Auditorium, 34 Park St.

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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