Columbia Psychiatry

"The number one goal of health tech, unlike other tech, is not to engage and immerse patients in their phones but to support and embolden them in their real lives," writes Dr. Ravi Shah. Inspired by Netflix's The Social Dilemma, Dr. Shah & Payal Marathe address the role of #tech in the #mentalhealth dilemma

If circumstances are such that you have to grieve alone you can’t get the support that you may really need, says Dr. Katherine Shear, director of Columbia's Center for Complicated Grief. Read more about #grief in the era of #COVID19

You Ask? We answer. We've partnered with Psych Hub to bring you #AsktheExpert, a podcast featuring world-renowned leaders in mental health, covering all things #LGBTQ+, #addiction, food and mood, and more. Listen, rate, review, and subscribe on Apple Music, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts.

"We’re fighting a war on two fronts: One is the virus AND the consequences, which aren’t just getting sick, but it’s losing loved ones; it’s social disruption... The other one is a division with how to cope." Listen to Dr. Jeffrey Lieberman's latest interview on SiriusXM

When Dr. Jeff Thompson took Community Affairs training as a NYPD officer, it did more than give him the skills to serve and protect, it gave him the foundation for a different kind of career, one that used academia to become a better police officer. https://www.columbiapsychiatry.org//police-beat-halls-acad

Join us on Dec 7th at 4:30PM for a virtual #globalmentalhealth seminar, "Adversity, Resilience and Protective Processes in Child and Adolescent Mental health: Examples from Sierra Leone and Rwanda." All are welcome! To register and learn more, visit:

"Even though there are significant sources of vulnerability in older adults, we shouldn’t overlook the fact that older adults are resilient and able to cope with a lot of things." Bret Rutherford Reports of growing anxiety, depression and suicide among young people demand our attention. Less discussed and covered in the media is the mental health of the aging baby boomer generation. Boomers already dealing with life changes resulting from retirement, the specter of physical... and cognitive decline and loss of loved ones are now faced with heightened vulnerability to COVID. Presented in partnership with the Columbia Journalism School, "Lost in the Shuffle: Boomers and Mental Health" is a discussion of the mental health issues affecting boomers today. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7PSV1dEfGc

I have, nonetheless, a sense of personal loss, as though a member of my family has died. There are very few people who stand for everything that I believe is important, and who are voices for the fundamental humanity of every living person. Dr. Andrew Solomon In the wake of the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, Dr. Jeffrey Lieberman speaks with Dr. Andrew Solomon, Professor of Clinical Medical Psychology at Columbia Psychiatry, and Dr. Kay Jamison, Co-Director of the ...Mood Disorders Center at the Johns Hopkins Hospital, about grief and loss in America. With the emotional toll already taken by the COVID-19 pandemic, how does the loss of such an iconic figure who meant so much to so many people impact us? And how to do we cope with the loss of so many all around us? Listen for more on the latest episode of Shrink Speaks. https://shrinkspeak.podbean.com/e/a-grieving-nation-coping/

"This year’s election is occurring in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, a struggling economy, ongoing police brutality and racial inequities, and natural disasters which all compound the election stress." writes Columbia Psychiatry's Dr. Jeffrey Cohen. https://www.verywellmind.com/amidst-pandemic-election-stres

#Boomers are already dealing with life changes resulting from retirement, physical and cognitive decline, and the loss of loved ones. Now, they're also faced with heightened vulnerability to #COVID19. Join us next Tuesday at 6PM for a virtual panel on the #mentalhealth of boomers. To learn more and register, visit: https://columbiacuimc.zoom.us//r/WN_3sPzCkJ8QBKb2_laGrt1Yg

It is not enough that we create a workplace environment of respect, fairness, honesty and safety at Columbia and NYSPI, said Jeffrey A. Lieberman, MD, Lawrence C. Kolb Professor and Chairman of Columbia Psychiatry. We must do all we can to extend our values and principles to the society we live in beginning with our communities, city, state and country. Columbia Psychiatry appoints Dr. Jean-Marie Alves-Bradford Director of the new Office of Equity, Diversity & Inclusion. https://www.columbiapsychiatry.org//columbia-psychiatry-ap

"We need to balance measures to minimize COVID-19 spread with strategies to support our children’s socioemotional health," says Columbia Psychiatry's Dr. Anthony Puliafico about dealing with the long term mental health effects from COVID-19 for children. https://www.verywellmind.com/childhood-loneliness-and-menta

"This crisis quickly illuminated the deep inequities in obtaining access to the necessary building blocks of health. This is especially true for the Transgender and Non-Binary (TGNB) community, who have been uniquely affected by the pandemic..." write Columbia Psychiatry's Drs. Julia Woulfe and Melina Wald in their examination of how COVID-19 has exacerbated several issues that make it difficult for this community to get the mental health support they need. https://www.columbiapsychiatry.org//impact-covid-19-pandem

"Resilience is the ability to return to its original form after being bent or stretched. ... We need to develop this capacity to respond to the burden that society is placing on us. ... In public service we need to be able to provide what's needed. In helping professions, such as medicine and law enforcement, this is what we do. And this is what the people we serve need us to do." Dr. Jeffrey Lieberman joined the Police Resilience Symposium for opening remarks to discuss the importance of resilience for police officers and public servants everywhere. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7EEMszfeNO8

"The criterion, reflected in the law, of when you can override someone’s individual rights to provide treatment to them it vacillates and its always a step behind. It’s behind the state of knowledge and the ability of healthcare to provide care." Dr. Jeffrey Lieberman joins the Treatment Advocacy Center for a discussion of state psychiatric treatment laws after the publication of their new report which examines the state laws that provide for involuntary treatment for psychiatric illness. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXAF_0stvEc

In partnership with the Columbia School of Journalism, Columbia Psychiatry presents Unequal Care: Mental Health and Black Americans. The problem is the mental health infrastructure, particularly for people of color, is wholly inadequate. We have not invested in the resources necessary for public health care, behavioral health care, and of course that compounds the challenges that black and brown communities face in trying to access needed services. We are unfortunately goi...ng to reap the consequences of that lack of investment, but we got to start planning now to mitigate the challenge. Dr. Angela Coombs This wide-ranging conversation with Dr. Brian Smedley, from the American Psychological Association, and Drs. Sidney Hankerson and Angela Coombs, from the Columbia University Department of Psychiatry, discusses how structural inequalities in the field of mental healthcare have had a tangible impact on Black Americans for generations. The wide ranging, discussion touches on how those inequalities have affected the Black community throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the increased focus on police brutality in the wake of the murder of George Floyd, as well as on a host of other issues, ranging from addiction to the lack of representation in mental healthcare. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ho1SSTFa7Aw

What was it about people that makes them #resilient? Dr. Martin Seligman is live NOW, discussing #resilience, #positivepsychology, and #optimism The #PoliceResilience Symposium is open to EVERYONE! Join us now: www.resiliencesymposium.org/