Cover Story Photo Credit: Wendi Cross, PhD

We would like to welcome all our new trainees to Rochester! As part of their "Welcome to Rochester" tour, trainees in our Psychology training program took a field trip to Ganondagan to learn about historical and contemporary Seneca and Hodinöhsö:ni’ culture & values. 

Psychiatry Receives Additional $3.2 Million Grant Toward Combating Opioid Crisis
Congratulations to our UR Medicine Recovery Center of Excellence team for their most recent grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)! This funding will help the center expand their work in addressing the opioid use disorder in rural Appalachian communities. READ MORE>>>

Substance Use, Suicide Prevention, and Public Health Symposium
There is just a few weeks before our 6th Annual Behavioral Health Integration Symposium starts! Join in on Fridays starting September 17th for virtual talks from experts on substance use, suicide prevention, and public health. Our first series of talks will feature Eric Caine, MD discussing rethinking suicide prevention and Kenneth Conner, PsyD discussing the interrelationship of stigma, mental health, and substance use. Register today for this free event here. 

CMHC Provides Consultation to UR Medicine Leadership
The Clergy Mental Health Collaborative (CMHC), a group of local faith leaders facilitated by John S. Walker, MDiv, PhD dedicated to addressing critical health issues in the community, recently provided consultation to UR Medicine leadership about urban health. Kathy Parrinello, PhD, Adrienne Morgan, PhD, and Telva Olivares, MD joined the CMHC, over lunch, at the Zion Hill Missionary Baptist Church to discuss how UR Medicine can best meet the health needs of community members. 

9th Annual Summer Brown Bag Series Concludes in August

Thank you to everyone who attended this year's Summer Brown Bag Series focused on Antiracist Clinical Care. We had record turnouts for these sessions with valuable feedback received. Thank you as well to all of our speakers and to the departments of Neurology, Pediatrics, Medicine, and Wilmot Cancer Institute for co-hosting the series with us this year! If you missed any of the presentations, you can watch them again on our website here. 

Let's Look At What's Right About Nursing Homes

Carol Podgorski, PhD, MPH recently spoke with Kevin Pho, MD of KevinMD.com on the need to re-examine how quality-of-life is measured in nursing homes and long-term care facilities. She discusses her KevinMD article, "We Need to Re-examine Quality-of-life Metrics in Nursing Homes," which can be read here. 

Join the CSPS Team at AFSP's Out of the Darkness Walk

Our UR Center for the Study and Prevention of Suicide (CSPS) will be walking for suicide prevention on October 2nd at this year's Rochester Out of the Darkness Walk. Join and help the CSPS team support all the work the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention - Western NY Chapter does by clicking here.

New Department of Psychiatry Alumni Website
We are excited to share that our new Department of Psychiatry Alumni webpage is now up and running! This website will be a hub for alumni from all of our educational programs- including our psychiatry residency programs and fellowships, our Marriage and Family Therapy Training program and Post degree certificate programs, our Psychology Doctoral Internship, our Postdoctoral Fellowship programs, and our Clinical Social Work Training Internship Program- and will highlight news and events for and from alumni. READ MORE>>>

Course Teaches Skills to Address Mental Health Needs
We are excited to once again be partnering with the Children’s Institute, the Interdenominational Health Ministry Coalition, and Common Ground Health to present "Renewing of the Mind." This free ten-month course will help faith leaders and members to develop skills to address mental health challenges in their communities. Register for the course by September 15th here. 

Get Ready to GROW Program Offers Free Screenings for Children
Studies show that children who receive interventions for health and development challenges are more likely to be healthier as adults, avoid teen pregnancy and substance abuse, graduate high school, hold jobs and live independently, and avoid crime and delinquency. Our friends over at the Children's Institute and Roc The Future have recently started Get Ready to GROW, a program which offers free developmental screenings for 1-5 year olds throughout the Finger Lakes Region. Ann Marie White, EdD spoke at a press conference announcing the initiative on August 19th. READ MORE>>>

August Psychiatry Publications 

• Kimberly van Orden, PhD, alongside Emily Bower, PhD, Taylor Becker, and Suzanne Gillespie, MD, published a paper looking at robotic pets for companionship in older adults in long-term care facilities. 
• Andrea Shamaskin‑Garroway, PhD, Lauren DeCaporale- Ryan, PhD, Keisha Bell, PhD, and Susan McDaniel, PhD discuss the University of Rochester Physician Communication Coaching program as a model for resident education in this new paper in The Journal of Clinical Psychology in Medical Settings. In this model, psychologists serve as coaches, drawing on their expertise in communication skills, behavior change, and wellness promotion.
• Peter Britton, PhD, Dev Crasta, PhD, and Wilfred Pigeon, PhD joined Kipling Bohnert, PhD of Michigan State University as well as Cathleen Kane, MS and John Klein, MS of VISN 2 CoE for Suicide Prevention on a paper comparing shorter and longer-term risk for non-fatal suicide attempts in male U.S. military veterans.
• Fengsu Hou, PhD, Catherine Cerulli, JD, Marsha Wittink, MD, Eric Caine, MD, Jennifer Thompson-Stone, and Peiyuan Qiu of Sichuan University published a paper on women's recognition and perceptions of intimate partner violence in rural China and coping strategies.
• A study by Joshua Wortzel, MD, Dukjae Maeng, PhD, Andrew Francis, PhD, MD of Penn State University Hershey, and Mark Oldham, MD found gaps in catatonia recognition among clinicians. Recommendations made include education about catatonia’s phenotypes and accurate Bush-Francis Catatonia Rating Scale use as well as standardizing catatonia assessments.

• Joy Choi, MD and Mark Nickels, MD joined Paula Zimbrean, MD of Yale University and Jeffrey Alexis, MD and Igor Gosev, MD of the Divisions of Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery on a case study of common challenges in treating substance use disorders in those with advanced heart failure.

• A study by Yeates Conwell, MD, Kimberly van Orden, PhD, Carol Podgorski, PhD along with faculty from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, University of Rochester Department of Biostatistics and Computational Biology, Lifespan of Greater Rochester, and UC San Diego School of Medicine found that the presence of peer companionship improved depression and anxiety symptoms in socially disconnected older adults . 

• Thomas V. Caprio, MD was a coauthor on this paper examining a multi-component intervention involving diagnosis-based certified home health agency referral and standardized post-discharge phone calls to prevent hospital readmission after ischemic stroke. 
• Aspen Ainsworth, MD and Mark Oldham, MD are coauthors alongside CIBS Center faculty on this review of psychiatric conditions that may be challenging to differentiate from delirium in order to help ensure appropriate clinical care.  
• Yeates Conwell, MD, Kathni Heffner, PhD, and Thomas V. Caprio, MD were coauthors on a study examining pain treatment among those with Alzheimer's disease and other dementias in Medicare home health care.

Upcoming Events

• Sept. 11: Belonging Annual Art Show Viewing at CWO
• Sept. 14: Opioid Overdose Prevention Training
• Sept. 15: Psychiatry Grand Rounds- The Healers' Village - Creating an Ecosystem of Wellness for People of the African Diaspora
• Sept. 17: Rethinking Suicide Prevention
• Sept. 17: Interrelationship of Stigma, Mental Health, and Substance Use
• Sept. 17: Public Health Grand Rounds: The HEART of the Matter
• Sept. 23: Opioid Overdose Prevention Training
• Sept. 24: Understanding the Connections Between Partner Violence & Suicide
• Sept. 24: Promoting Social Connection to Prevent Suicide
• Sept. 25: Belonging Annual Art Show Viewing at CWO
• Sept. 29: Psychiatry Grand Rounds- Sexual Harassment in the Age of "Me-Too"
• Oct. 1: Finding Beauty in Negative Spaces: Role of Faith Communities in Mental Health of African American Youth
• Oct 1: Suicide among Hispanics in the United States
• Oct. 8: Suicide in Later Life-Clinical and Public Health Perspectives
• Oct. 8: The Loss Survivor Experience, in their Own Words Panel Discussion