October 2026

October has been a beautiful month, filled with opportunities to connect with our community. On October 3rd, many of us participated in the NAMI Walk, the Alzheimer’s Walk, or the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention’s Out of the Darkness Walk. These events reflect our department’s clinical and research values, our commitment to our community partners, and the importance of coming together as a department. In the coming months, I look forward to visiting each of Psychiatry’s divisions to connect, hear questions, and create more opportunities for conversation and collaboration.

Ben Lee, MD

John Romano Professor, Chair

Department of Psychiatry

Stepping Out to Support Local Organizations

We raised almost $6,000 (not including sponsorships) at NAMIWalks Rochester, the Rochester Out of Darkness Walk, and the Walk to End Alzheimer's to support local organizations focused on mental health, suicide prevention, and Alzheimer's disease.

Representing URMC Psychiatry Around the World

Our team members continue to present and learn at conferences around the world. Check out a few of the places they have been recently! 

Chennel Anderson, Kenya Malcolm, PhD, Arielle Sheftall, PhD, and Joanna Slater represented Psychiatry at Partners in Community Development's ROC Family Feud event supporting local Economic & Upward Mobility Initiatives and Mental Peer Health Workforce Training programs. The team came in second out of 14 teams!

Welcome to Courtney Shepard, PsyD as she joins our latest cohort of new faculty. She will help train and educate psychology residents in the addiction field. 

Courtney Blackwood Awarded George Spencer Terry Jr. Endowed Fund

Courtney Blackwood, MS, RN, NE-BC, Director of Nursing in Psychiatry, was recently recognized for her work developing innovative solutions to challenges facing nurses, health care providers, and students.

Larry Guttmacher, MD, Anton Porsteinsson, MD, and EJ Santos, MD spoke at the George Eastman Circle Impact in Focus Reception, sharing the latest work from the Geriatric Mental Health and Memory Care Division on Alzheimer’s research and aging. 

Suicide Prevention Starts Before a Crisis

Kim van Orden, PhD and Peter Wyman, PhD discussed "upstream" suicide prevention, strategies that can help keep people from ever reaching a suicidal crisis. 

Check out our events calendar for Psychiatry events happening in the month of November!