Acknowledging Pain, Anger and Fear
Pictured above: Psychiatry team members at our Brighton Health Center location participate in "White Coats for Black Lives" on June 5th, a nine-minute gathering across UR Medicine locations to reflect on racism and violence toward Black Americans. READ MORE>>>

The Department of Psychiatry’s Diversity, Inclusion, Culture, and Equity (DICE) Office, with support from its departmental board members and Department Chair,  acknowledged the hurt, pain and fear experienced by those in the community related to the recent events of violence against Black Americans through an email message and a Town Hall. In addition to brief presentations from Ben Lee, Telva Olivares, and Caroline Nestro, the Town Hall entitled, “Anti-Racism: Transforming Our Department of Psychiatry & Beyond” included powerful personal reflections from co-workers, April Aycock, Patrick Seche, and Ronke Tapp. The COVID-19 pandemic has emphasized health disparities across racial and ethnic lines, adding to the pain, anger, and fear in the Black American community. We stand together in efforts to eradicate these injustices, and with advisement from our “DICE Board”, are focused on anti-racist actions to transform our department culture. 

Pediatric Behavioral Health and Wellness Building Ribbon-Cutting
The official grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new Golisano Behavioral Pediatric Behavioral Health and Wellness Building is scheduled for June 18th at 10 AM. The Golisano Pediatric Behavioral Health and Wellness Building will be the new home for our ambulatory and partial hospital service as well as the headquarters and home for our Child Psychiatry Division. The ceremony will be live-streamed! Stay tuned for more details! 

Trainee Poster Day Goes Digital
Our annual Trainee Poster Day took place on June 2nd this year and 
illustrated the research done by our trainees and students in a new virtual format! Presenters from multiple disciplines shared their work in corresponding "Cheese," "Meatball," and "Dessert" rooms on Zoom set up by the Laboratory for Behavioral Health Skills. If you missed any of the presentations, the posters can still be viewed online. READ MORE>>>

International Panel Discusses Suicide Prevention During COVID-19
In April, Anthony Pisani, PhD, alongside Christine Moutier, MD, Chief Medical Officer at the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, hosted an international panel discussion on suicide prevention during the COVID-19 pandemic. The panel included experts from four continents, including our very own Yeates Conwell, MD and addressed how organizational and healthcare leaders can keep their eyes on suicide prevention while also attending to other pressing needs and concerns. READ MORE>>>

Family Wellness Town Hall Provide Practical Parenting Tips
In May, several members of Psychiatry- including Hochang Ben Lee, MD, Melissa Heatly, PhD, Aparajita ‘Tuma’ Kuriyan, PhD, Kenya Malcolm, PhD, Linda Alpert-Gillis, PhD, Jim Wallace, MD, and Anthony Pisani, PhD- spoke in a "Virtual Town Hall" focused on strategies for family wellness, resilient parenting, and supporting children during a pandemic. If you missed our Town Hall, a recording with subtitles can be viewed here. 

Ronke Tapp Receives Association of Black Psychologists Fellowship
Ronke Tapp, PhD has been chosen as the Association of Black Psychologists
Fellow for this year's Council of National Psychological Associations for the Advancement of Ethnic Minority Interests (CNPAAEMI) Leadership Development Institute! As a fellow, Dr. Tapp will continue efforts to increase awareness and knowledge of African/Black and other ethnic-identified psychologies to a broader audience.

Myra Mathis Keynote Speaker for Health and Human Service Conference
Myra Mathis, MD, who will be joining our Strong Recovery program this summer, will be the featured keynote speaker in the rescheduled annual Health and Human Service Conference alongside Wade Norwood of Common Ground Health. The conference will take place virtually on June 26th and July 10th and will focus on person-centered, trauma-informed and culturally competent care to remove barriers that hinder one’s ability to stay connected to systems and services. Questions should be directed to Sara Taylor. 

Family Therapy Intensive Training Program Wraps Up Another Year
Our Family Therapy Training Program wrapped up another great week for the 27th Annual Integrated Care and Medical Family Therapy Intensive Training! The virtual training this year featured small-group reflective work and larger-group talks about integrated and collaborative care during the pandemic, caregiving and dementia, mind-body connection, substance use disorders, sexual medicine, trauma-informed care, and self-management and self-care. This annual event provides training for professionals when working with patients and families dealing with illness, health concerns and trauma.

​​COVID-19 and the Brain Webinar 
Steve Silverstein, PhD will be joining John Foxe, PhD and Jennifer Stripay, PhD of the Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital respectively focused on the effect of the COVID-19 virus on the brain in healthy and vulnerable populations, as well as on the psychological health of the community. The event will take place on June 18th from noon to 1 PM. Those interested in attending are asked to register online. READ MORE>>>

Documentary Highlights Models of Hope for Individuals With Depression
Tough Hope, a new educational documentary that features the stories of four former patients of the film’s producer David Garrison, MD premiered in May on Youtube. The film follows these four young people from the depths of severe depression as teens to recovering now as young adults. Michael Scharf, MD, Peter Wyman, PhD, Chelsea Keller, and Melanie Funchess of the Mental Health Association of Rochester also appeared in the film. Future screenings of Tough Hope are currently in the works, but the trailer as well as the Facebook Live Q&A sessions with the filmmakers are currently available online. READ MORE>>>

Psychology Day at URMC

On May 27th, we celebrated Psychology Day. Coinciding with the 14th Annual Psychology Day at the United Nations, this holiday honored the work of our psychologists and  trainees in our Doctoral Internship and Postdoctoral Fellowship programs. On social media, folks shared in the international celebrations with the hashtags #PsychologyDay2020 and #PsychDayUN2020. Thank you to everyone who made the day a success! 

Coping with COVID Video Series Offers Mental Health Tips
Several Psychiatry experts have created videos discussing a range of mental health and healthy living topics as part of our "Coping with COVID" video series. This month, all videos can be found on UR Medicine's Youtube Coping With COVID playlist.

Karen Butler Honored as Healthcare Hero

Karen Butler, RN was recently honored as one of News10 WHEC's Healthcare Heroes for her work as a registered nurse in the Ambulatory Psychiatry program. Please join us in congratulating Karen for this well-deserved honor! READ MORE>>>

Mental Health Minutes Feature Music from Psychiatry Members
Our weekly Mental Health Minutes video series continued in May with musical performances from our Department of Psychiatry community. We hope the following videos bring you a bit of inspiration and a short mental health break!

• Antonio Bottos, Psychiatric Technician in our Comprehensive Psychiatric Emergency Program performing "Hallelujah" by Leonard Cohen
• Joshua Wortzel, MD performance of Fleet Foxes' "Blue Spotted Tail"
• Autumn Gallegos Greenwich, PhD performance of Joni Mitchell's "Both Sides Now"
• Young the Giant's "Mind Over Matter" performed by Bolan Marshall Hallmark, a Senior Psychiatric Technician on our 1-9200 unit, and Katy Rebholz
• Tara, daughter of Steven Lamberti, MD and a colleague warm-up for a 12-hour shift in “the tent”.
• Nina Raquel’s (Itza Morales-Torres's daughter) composition, “Ode to Nina Simone” played by the Baruch String Quartet

• Justin McCullough, Ann McCullough’s husband, plays Bach’s Sarabande & Gigue, 1st Suite.

Behavioral Health COVID Unit Featured on Instagram

Our Behavioral Health COVID unit nursing staff were recently featured on the URHeroes Instagram! Nurses Josh, Marin, and Kyle, and nurse manager Heather Jackson were among those recognized for their work in providing individualized care for our patients. READ MORE>>>

Kelly Vandermark Featured in UR Medicine Primary Care​
Kelly Vandermark, Clinical Coordinator in Strong Recovery, was recently featured on UR Medicine Primary Care's website for her work in creating a long-term sustainable approach to identifying and treating substance use disorder. READ MORE>>>

Psychiatry in the News

• Anthony Pisani, PhD spoke about the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on youth mental health on the Good Questions Special Report on WHEC TV.
• Wilfred Pigeon, PhD and Todd Bishop, PhD discussed the relationship between sleep and suicidality in a recent article in Psychiatric Times. 
• Jenn Richman, MD recently joined Judy Zeeman-Golden of Wilmot Cancer Institute's Pluta Integrative Oncology & Wellness Center to discuss healthy ways of coping with the loss of control that comes with a cancer diagnosis.
• Susan McDaniel, PhD spoke with KLFY News 10 on the need for mental health services for healthcare workers.

• Diane Morse, MD discussed gaps in access to contraceptives and maternal-care in the U.S. prison system in this American Prospect article.

• In celebration of Psychology Day 2020, an article by American Psychological Association featuring Katlyn Rice, PhD and her colleagues discussed efforts to celebrate psychologists in the field locally and nationally.

Upcoming Events

• June 18: Pediatric Behavioral Health and Wellness Building Ribbon-Cutting
• ​June 18: COVID-19 and the Brain Webinar 
• June 26: Health and Human Service Conference