2021, Issue 6, October 20
The diversity of need across a clinic of psychiatric patients is far-ranging. Fortunately, the diversity of professional functions across occupations which are advantageous to psychiatric care is equally broad. It is no wonder why team-based care is sought after in psychiatry. National Physician Assistant Week is celebrated every year from October 6-12. In this month’s newsletter we emphasize Team-Based Psychiatric Care within the Department of Psychiatry’s clinical programs and call attention to the Physician Assistants who work in our department.
--Carol A. Tamminga, M.D.
Department Chair
Meet Our Physician Assistants
Snoben Kuruvila, M.P.A.S., PA-C
Addiction
Michelle Leslie,
M.P.A.S., PA-C
Geripsych 
Claudia Lujan-Erceg, M.P.A.S., PA-C
Interventional Psych
General Psych
Shalini Maharaj,
M.P.A.S., PA-C
ECT Service 
Zena Patel,
M.P.A.S., PA-C
General Psych Richardson 
Spotlight On... C. Munro Cullum, Ph.D.
C. Munro Cullum, Ph.D., Professor of Psychiatry, Neurology, and Neurological Surgery, serves as Vice Chair and Chief of the Division of Psychology in the Department of Psychiatry. The Division serves as an academic “home” for all psychologists across UT Southwestern, Children’s Health, Parkland, and the VA and includes a variety of clinical, educational, and research programs. Dr. Cullum is a board-certified Clinical Neuropsychologist who sees a wide array of patients with known and suspected cognitive disorders, though most of his research focuses on concussion as well as aging and neurodegenerative conditions, and telehealth applications of neuropsychology.
What motivated you to get into medicine?

“I have long been fascinated by brain function and dysfunction, and the field of neuropsychology focuses on the understanding, assessment, and treatment of neurobehavioral, neuropsychiatric, and cognitive disorders. This field is a perfect fit for me, as it allows for the integration of clinical and teaching interests coupled with scientific discovery, as research informs practice and vice-versa. There is so much yet to be learned about the brain that this remains an exciting and vibrant field which allows for the natural collaboration with other disciplines who share interests in the interface between brain and behavior.”

What do you love about your job?

“I have ‘only’ been at UT Southwestern for 27 years, and no two days (or years) are ever the same! The multidisciplinary collaborations with impressive colleagues, staff, and trainees at this world-class institution are endless, and new opportunities are always coming up that make for a stimulating and rewarding career.”
Join Our Faculty
We have many opportunities!
for openings.
Psychiatry Retreat a Virtual Success!
The Psychiatry Faculty, Advanced Practice Provider, and Clinical Therapist Retreat was held via Zoom on October 1 with over 200 people in attendance. The retreat met its goals to inform, stimulate thought, foster career development, interact, and make connections. Presentations were informative, and discussions were enlightening. A major BRAVO goes to the winning team of the trivia contest: Carrie McAdams, Adriane de la Cruz, Rachel Russo, Rita Ghai, Stephen Elliott, and Fawn Palmer. Feedback via the survey was highly positive, with a 4.33 approval rating (5=outstanding), but included criticism and the wish to have the retreat return to in-person if possible.
Further comments and ideas for future retreats are welcomed by the retreat committee:
Sherwood Brown, M.D., Ph.D., and Adriana Miu, Ph.D., have formed a Writing Group for faculty, following from a retreat discussion for a supportive community to work toward individual writing goals.
  • Format: 10 minutes check-in on goals, 45 minutes individual writing, 5 minutes review of goals
  • Frequency: Meet 1 hour weekly for 10 total writing sessions, excluding holidays
  • Expectations: Attend at least 70% of the weekly writing sessions. Have your own topic/writing to work on. 
  • Support: Senior faculty (e.g., Dr. Brown) will offer support individually during the 45-minute writing time if participants have questions
Outpatient psych clinic and neuropsych staff enjoyed clinic-related team-building activities and crafts while providers were at the retreat
Welcome!
New Faculty
  • Rabia Ayvaci – Trivedi Lab/Children’s
  • Latoya Frolov – Children’s
  • Manish Jha – Trivedi Lab
  • Jasmine Stephens – BL7 Women’s Health
New Staff
  • Cassandra Acevedo – Neuropsych clinic – Psychometrist 
  • Beatriz Bueno – Financial Affairs – Accounting Clerk
  • Jane Hensley – Emslie Lab – Psych Associate 
  • Ashley Danielle Lowery – Mood Disorders – Clinical Research Coordinator
  • Isabela Magana – Mood Disorders – Clinical Data Specialist
  • Carrie Ratliff-Yahyavi – BL7 clinic – Advanced Practice RN
  • Samona Ross – Mood Disorders – Research Study Coordinator
  • Khameka Webb- Faculty Affairs – Admin Associate 
September 30
Outpatient Clinic
Providers and Staff
Mingling Event
Publication Highlights
With 68 chapters from an international panel of contributors, The Oxford Handbook of Psychotherapy Ethics is a valuable resource. It includes clinical case examples for researchers, clinical ethicists, clinical psychiatrist, and psychotherapists. UT Southwestern faculty and trainee contributors include Josh Becker, Adam Brenner, Audrey Cecil, Michael Gottlieb, Susana Lampley, Michael Laney, and John Z. Sadler.
Podcasts
Heidi Rossetti, Ph.D., interviews Daniel Schacter of Harvard University in the Brain Beat Podcast "The Seven Sins of Memory." Learn about the imaginative nature of recollection, implicit bias, photographic recall, the connection between creativity and memory, how to keep memory functioning sharp.
Nicholas Westers, Psy.D., has launched a new podcast called The Psychology of Self-Injury, a resource for parents, professionals, and people with lived experience of self-injury. 
Inspiring Careers in Mental Health
Applications for the 2022 High School Student Internship Inspiring Careers in Mental Health have opened!
Honors and Achievements
The American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine poster award committee chose Clinical Psychology Doctoral Student Karie Meltzer’s poster, "Differences in coping strategies between women and men based on experience of frequent pain/headaches in chronic traumatic brain injury," as winner of this year’s Brain Injury Interdisciplinary Special Interest Group Deborah Lee Price Girls and Women with ABI Taskforce Poster Award
Fall Female Faculty Reception to Address Burnout
This year’s Fall Female Faculty Reception will focus on how our faculty has been impacted by burnout and how UT Southwestern is responding.

“The Impact of the Pandemic on Our Lives: Insights from UTSW Faculty” is cohosted by the Women in Science and Medicine Advisory Committee and the Office of Women’s Careers.

The program includes a talk by Kala Bailey, M.D., Chief of Service, Psychiatry, on the impact that COVID-19 has had on the individual and ways to cope, as well as a talk by Susan Matulevicius, M.D., Assistant Dean of Faculty Wellness, on the results of the COVID-19 survey and resources UT Southwestern has created in response. A panel discussion will follow.

This virtual event will be held 5–6:30 p.m., October 21.
Other Upcoming Events
This monthly discussion forum intends to build a community of support and connection and foster anti-racism, mutual growth, empowerment, respect, and empathy through facilitated dialogue about diversity, equity, and inclusion within our department and the communities we serve. The next Brave Space session will take place on Thursday, October 21, at 2pm.

Psychiatry Department Grand Rounds (select Wednesdays at 12pm via Zoom)
October 27, Developing Symptom-Circuit Therapeutics in Psychotic Disorders, presented by Roscoe Brady, M.D., Ph.D.
November 3 Town Hall
Our next Psychiatry Department
Town Hall will be held via Zoom at
12pm Wednesday, November 3. Reach out with your ideas for topics to cover or questions to be addressed!
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Daniel W. Foster, M.D., Visiting Lectureship in Medical Ethics (in conjunction with Ethics Grand Rounds) on Tuesday, November 9, Noon - 1:00 PM. Register
OBI New Faculty Workshop Meeting

Topics in this monthly meeting will be member-led, but the agenda will be primarily focused on onboarding research faculty and accompanying labs. Any OBI faculty hired in 2019, 2020, or 2021 is welcome to attend. Next meeting: November 5, 2021 at 12-1pm via Zoom.