Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Archive — Page 2 of 12

Four-panel diagram comparing rTMS with and without symptom provocation for nicotine dependence and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Provoking tobacco imagery or obsessive thoughts produces craving or OCD symptoms that decline with treatment, while neutral images or thoughts produce little symptom change.
June 6, 2025

New study highlights potential boost to brain stimulation therapy through targeted symptom provocation

This is the first large-scale meta-analysis to examine whether deliberately triggering symptoms immediately before administering rTMS enhances treatment outcomes.

Stephan Heckers sits in a leather chair in an office, wearing a white shirt and patterned tie, with bookshelves behind him.
June 2, 2025

Landmark bequest from Charlotte and Donald Test Jr. to advance psychiatry research

Named for Donald Test’s late sons, and Charlotte’s stepsons, the Henry and William Test Endowment Fund will bolster the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences’ expansive research portfolio, promising a secure funding source for pathbreaking discoveries in areas such as schizophrenia, coordinated care models, brain imaging and neuromodulation.

Patient Sekou Toure works on a painting during a Recovery Art Workshop at Vanderbilt Psychiatric Hospital. (photo by Erin O. Smith)
May 16, 2025

Healing Through Expression: Young Adults’ Journey in Recovery Art Workshop (slideshow)

The class was created by a specialty team that works with young adults who have experienced their first hospitalization or episode of psychosis within the past two years.

George Bolian, MD
February 13, 2025

VUMC mourns loss of George Bolian, professor emeritus of Psychiatry

He served in many capacities in the department, including residency training director, medical director of the Psychiatric Hospital, division director, vice chair and interim chair.

Black silhouette of a person standing against a textured grayscale watercolor background.
January 3, 2025

AI tested for alerting clinicians of suicide risk at three VUMC clinics

At neurology clinics the system was used to flag 8% of arriving patients as having relatively high risk for suicide attempt in the next 30 days.

Black-and-white group photograph of Vanderbilt Department of Psychiatry staff in white medical coats standing outside an ornate arched building entrance in 1967. One Black staff member stands among the predominantly white group.
December 31, 2024

Harold Jordan, VUMC’s first African American resident, who forged a career in academia and public service, dies at 87

Dr. Jordan was “a Vanderbilt and a civil rights legend.”