Department of Psychiatry

September 30, 2021

Project seeks to treat Alzheimer’s in people with Down syndrome

A joint project between the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center and the Vanderbilt Center for Cognitive Medicine will help deliver Alzheimer’s disease therapies and treatments to people with Down syndrome (DS). 

By Emily Stembridge
September 20, 2021

Brain circuits in schizophrenia

Vanderbilt psychiatrists are probing brain circuit hyperactivity implicated in schizophrenia, with the idea that normalizing the hyperactivity may improve cognitive processes.

By Leigh MacMillan
The psychosis study team includes, from left, Neil Woodward, PhD, Maureen McHugo, PhD, Stephan Heckers, MD, MSc, Suzanne Avery, PhD, and Kristan Armstrong, PhD.
August 5, 2021

NIMH support bolsters early psychosis research efforts

The Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences has received an additional $4 million from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) to study the evolution of hippocampal dysfunction in the early stage of psychosis.

By Emily Stembridge
July 27, 2021

Pawlikowski named president of Vanderbilt Psychiatric Hospital

Mary Pawlikowski, MA, MEd, interim vice president and chief operating officer for Vanderbilt Psychiatric Hospital (VPH), has been named as the hospital’s new president after having held the position of president on an interim basis since November 2020.

By Kathy Whitney
July 22, 2021

Resident’s opioid-related efforts become TMA priority

Leah Jesse, MD, a Psychiatry resident, successfully brought an anti-stigma resolution to the floor of the Tennessee Medical Association (TMA) House of Delegates meeting in May.

By Emily Stembridge
May 12, 2021

Webinars share strategies for integrating addiction and behavioral health into primary care practices

David Marcovitz, MD, assistant professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and director of the Division of Addiction Psychiatry, shared strategies for integrating addiction and behavioral health into primary care practices during two recent webinars — one for Vanderbilt Health Affiliated Network (VHAN) and one for the TennCare Delivery System Transformation Conference.

By Emily Stembridge
April 29, 2021

Program combines treatment for mental health, substance use disorders

For people with co-occurring mental health disorders and substance use disorders, finding integrated care that treats both conditions can be a difficult task. Vanderbilt Behavioral Health is seeking to simplify care for these patients through the co-occurring disorders intensive outpatient program (IOP).
By Emily Stembridge
April 22, 2021

Study to explore treatment for older adults with depression

Older adults with depression face a unique obstacle — dealing with both a mental illness and the challenges that come along with aging. Currently, there are no treatments on the market targeting depression in this specific group.
By Emily Stembridge
April 2, 2021

Study links ADHD pharmacotherapy and retention rates for substance use disorder treatment

Kristopher Kast, MD, assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and clinical director of Vanderbilt’s Addiction Consult Service, has discovered a strong association between attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) pharmacotherapy and retention rates for substance use disorder (SUD) treatment.
By Emily Stembridge
March 26, 2021

New Clinician Spotlight: Aaron Brinen

Aaron Brinen, PsyD, has joined Vanderbilt University Medical Center from Drexel College of Medicine in Philadelphia. He began seeing patients on Oct. 1, 2020.
By VUMC News and Communications
March 11, 2021

Youth with ASD have higher body mass index: study

Vanderbilt researchers have concluded that children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) tend to have higher body mass index (BMI) percentiles when compared to youth with typical development.
By Emily Stembridge
February 18, 2021

Psychiatry lecture focuses on mental health disparities

On Friday, Feb. 5, the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences hosted the third annual Harold Jordan Diversity and Inclusion Lecture featuring guest speaker Ruth Shim, MD, MPH, professor of Cultural Psychiatry and Clinical Psychiatry at the University of California, Davis.
By Emily Stembridge
October 19, 2020

Depression and the brain-age gap

Older depressed adults show accelerated brain aging, according to a new study from Vanderbilt researchers, who suggest that the effects of depression may speed the decline in cognitive functions in older individuals.
By Sarah E. Glass
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