September 2013  

Left: Dr. Guillermo Valdés, psychiatry resident, in Chiapas, Mexico. Right: Dr. Ayana Jordan,
psychiatry resident, in Sierra Leone. Valdés photo by Eva Quesada for Shoot4Change.

The Yale Global Mental Health Program (YGMHP) announces its 2013-2014 schedule. The program will host a speaker series on the first Thursday of each month. In addition, the program will bring Dr. Vikram Patel, professor of international mental health at London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, to the department for a Grand Rounds lecture in March 2014.

New this year, YGMHP is offering intensive one-day symposiums for the Yale community to get basic information about global mental health and to develop applicable skills. Read more 

• Visit the YGMHP website / Join the YGMHP listserv 
• View a map of international activity by Yale Department of Psychiatry faculty 

Researchers may have found a key molecular messenger that links the stomach-to-brain reward circuits and signals the brain it has sufficient calories. Ivan E. de Araujo, DPhil, MSc, associate fellow in The John B. Pierce Laboratory and associate professor of psychiatry, is senior author of the study which appears in Science. Read more / View the study 

As many as three-quarters of chronically homeless people will be eligible for additional medical benefits under provisions of the Affordable Care Act, according to a new study in the journal Health Affairs. Jack Tsai, PhD (pictured), assistant professor of psychiatry, is the study's lead author. Robert Rosenheck, MD, professor of psychiatry and of public health, is also an author. Read more / View the study 

To create a more accurate rank list of residency applicants and to address variability across faculty interviewers, an associate program director of Yale's psychiatry residency program suggests a unique approach based on collegiate sports rankings. David A. Ross, MD, PhD, assistant professor of psychiatry, is corresponding author of the article which appears in Academic Medicine. Read more / View the study 

A review in the Journal of Genetic Syndromes and Gene Therapy considers the importance of the brain's reward system in food intake and examines research developments and current treatments for obesity. Stephanie Yarnell, MD, PhD (left), a psychiatry resident, is first author. Mark Gold, MD (right), chair of psychiatry at University of Florida and a distinguished alumnus of Yale Psychiatry, is senior author. Read the review 

At this year's medical school reunion, Richard Belitsky, MD, the school's deputy dean for education, described the ongoing curriculum rebuild. Implementation of the new curriculum is set to begin in the fall of 2014. Belitsky is the Harold W. Jockers Associate Professor of Medical Education and associate professor of psychiatry. Read more 

Sherry McKee, PhD, associate professor of psychiatry, director of the Yale Behavioral Pharmacology Laboratory, and director of the Forensic Drug Diversion (ForDD) outpatient addiction clinic, has been elected to the Research Society on Alcoholism Board of Directors. Read more 

An article authored by two former postdoctoral fellows in psychiatry and a current member of the department's faculty has been awarded the Psychotherapy with Women Award by the Society for the Psychology of Women. One of the three authors, Allison Ponce, PhD, is an associate professor of psychiatry affiliated with the department's Psychology Section.  Read more 

A new initiative at the Connecticut Mental Health Center will encourage clients to deepen their civic identities and become more involved in their communities. The Citizenship Project, based on years of participatory research led by Michael Rowe, PhD, associate professor of psychiatry, focuses on the "Five R's" of citizenship--rights, responsibilities, roles, resources, and relationships--as important pathways to recovery. Read more 

Seven Yale investigators have received Young Investigator Grants from the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation (formerly NARSAD). The grants are among $11.8 million in new funding intended to lead to breakthroughs in understanding and treating mental illness. Read more 

A major gift will allow Women's Health Research at Yale (WHRY) to offer research grants for investigations that will advance women's health. The gift, from a Yale College '83 couple, Wendy and Thomas Naratil, will support and expand WHRY's highly successful Pilot Project Program. Carolyn M. Mazure, PhD, professor of psychiatry and of psychology, is director of WHRY. Read more 

Peggy Bailey, LCSW, director of clinical services at Connecticut Mental Health Center, has worked at the Center since 1978. Over the years, she's helped to implement many changes in the way clinical services are provided. It is a process she's still deeply involved with today, as the system of mental health care in Connecticut continues to evolve. Bailey is also a clinical instructor in psychiatry. Read more 

An interview with Sally Satel, MD, lecturer in psychiatry, resident scholar at American Enterprise Institute, and alumnus of the Yale psychiatry residency, appears in In-Sight, an independent undergraduate interview-based journal. Satel discusses her latest book and her biggest influences, among other topics. Read more 

Arjune Rama, MD, a third-year psychiatry resident, authors a guest entry for Motherlode, the New York Times parenting blog. He discusses the challenge of compartmentalizing difficult moments with his two-year-old daughter, even as a clinician trained to manage his emotions in the context of doctor-patient relationships. Read more 

The New Haven Mental Health Outreach for MotherS (MOMS) Partnership is a collaboration of agencies across the City of New Haven that work together to support the wellbeing of mothers and families living in the city. Megan V. Smith, MPH, DrPH, assistant professor of psychiatry, in the Child Study Center, and of public health, is the project's principal investigator. Visit the new website 

At Connecticut Mental Health Center (CMHC), mental health isn't just about the mind. It's about the body, too. The Hill Farmers' Market at CMHC, now open through October 26th for its fourth season, is a tangible reminder of CMHC's commitment to the overall health and wellness of clients, staff, neighbors and community members. Read more 

A new community garden in the Hill neighborhoods, a collaboration between neighbors and the nearby Connecticut Mental Health Center (CMHC), had an opening celebration recently. The garden will help feed a neighborhood while helping mental-health patients heal and become part of their community. Read more 

Photo Album

Connecticut Mental Health Center (CMHC) faculty and trainees tour Connecticut Valley Hospital (CVH), the state's principal forensic, general psychiatric and addictions inpatient facility. Back row (left to right): Joseph Cherepon, PhD of CVH; David Howe, LCSW of CVH; Thomas Pisano, MD of CVH; Ranjit Bhagwat, PhD, a former postdoctoral fellow in clinical psychology at Yale, now a postdoctoral resident at the Albany VA Medical Center; Thomas Styron, PhD, associate professor of psychiatry at Yale. Middle row (left to right): Paul Park, PsyD, a former postdoctoral fellow at Yale, currently a staff psychologist at Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences; Brandeis Green, PhD, a former postdoctoral associate at Yale, currently a staff psychologist at the Atlanta VA Medical Center; Jeanne Steiner, DO, associate professor of psychiatry at Yale and medical director of CMHC; Andres Barkil-Oteo, MD, MSc, assistant professor of psychiatry at Yale; Jai Shah, MD, alumnus of the public psychiatry fellowship and currently a research fellow in psychiatry at McGill University. Front row: Frank Appah, MD, PhD, former chief resident in psychiatry at Yale, now a public psychiatry fellow at Yale.    

Psychiatry Grand Rounds

Friday, September 20, 2013; 10:15-11:45 am

Lifestyle Medicine: Your Role in Promoting Healthier Behaviors

Edward M. Phillips, MD, Assistant Professor of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Harvard Medical School, and Assistant Psychiatrist in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Massachusetts General Hospital

CMHC Auditorium, 34 Park St

Details / Download to Your Calendar 

Friday, September 27, 2013; 10:15-11:45 am

The Flynn Lecture: "A Neural Circuitry Basis for Impaired Cortical Network"

David Lewis, MD, of Professor of Psychiatry (Translational Neuroscience), University of Pittsburgh

CMHC Auditorium, 34 Park St

Details / Download to Your Calendar 

Friday, October 4, 2013; 10:15-11:45 am

Biodiversity and Health: Lessons from Sustainable Agriculture

Daphne Miller, MD, associate professor in the Department of Family Medicine at the University of California San Francisco, and author of Farmacology: What Innovative Family Farming Can Teach Us About Health and Healing 

CMHC Auditorium, 34 Park St

Details / Download to Your Calendar 

Friday, October 11, 2013

No Grand Rounds

Grand Rounds video archive

The department's website includes videos of past Grand Rounds presentations. Talks are added as they are digitized.