Thank You for Joining the 26th World Congress and 75th Anniversary Events
Last week, we capped off our 75th Anniversary with three big events. From September 7th to 9th, we had nearly 300 people attending the ICPM conference. People from all over the world - Hungary, Switzerland, Iceland, Germany, Italy, Korea, Japan, etc. – came and enjoyed the conference with the theme of “Application and Innovation of Biopsychosocial Model." 

On the 9th, we held a Soiree at the Rochester Museum and Science Center, celebrating with members of the Department of Psychiatry across Divisions and generations.

Lastly, on the 10th, we welcomed back alumni across the years for a special alumni breakfast and tour.

Thank you to all those that joined us over this past year and this week of events in celebration of our 75th Anniversary. A big thanks especially goes out to all those involved with organizing these events. Stay tuned for a memory book capturing our year-long 75th Anniversary celebration.

URMC Department of Psychiatry Recognized by Senator Samra G. Brouk

At the International College of Psychosomatic Medicine's 26th World Congress, our department was recognized by New York State Senator Samra Brouk with an official proclamation honoring 75 years of service to the Rochester community. Read the full proclamation here.

New Clinic For Those At-Risk Of Developing Psychotic Disorder

Mental health care often tends to respond to crises; however, it is often better for the patient if the crisis can be avoided in the first place. We are excited to announce a new program, INTERCEPT, which works with 15 to 28-year-olds and their families to prevent the psychotic episodes when possible, and improve outcomes, when not. INTERCEPT is made possible with a grant from the Patrick P. Lee Foundation. READ MORE>>>

Supporting Puerto Rico in the Aftermath of Hurricane Fiona 
In response to the recent devastation Hurricane Fiona has left up the Atlantic coast, we will be partnering with Ibero American Action League & Puerto Rican Independence Diaspora from Rochester and their friends to collect supplies for individuals and families in Puerto Rico which has been particularly hard-hit by flooding and mud slides. Items will be picked up weekly with shipment to Puerto Rico beginning early October. Thank you to Richard Betancourt Rivera for his leadership in this effort. ​For any questions, please reach out to Diana Julian. For a list of locations and requested supplies, click here.

"Biopsychosocial 2.0: The Future of the Biopsychosocial Model" Now Online

Thank you to everyone who attended our final 75th Anniversary webinar on August 30th, "Biopsychosocial 2.0: The Future of Biopsychosocial Care, Discovery, Learning, and Community Partnership." In addition, a big thank you to everyone who presented and moderated over the course of this year for our 75th Anniversary Webinar Series! The recording is now online and can be viewed above. The 75th Anniversary webinars are online and can be viewed here. 

2022 DICE Summer Series Wraps Up

Our 2022 Office of Diversity, Inclusion, Culture & Equity (DICE) Summer Series wrapped up on August 24th with a discussion of the future of the biopsychosocial model. If you missed any of the sessions, you can rewatch the recordings online here. Thank you to all those that joined us for this year's series including our presenters. Thank you also to the departments of Medicine, Neurology, and Pediatrics, UR School of Nursing, and the Wilmot Cancer Institute for their partnership on this year's series. 

Got Health: Peer Power

September is National Recovery Month. This month aims to educate others about substance use disorders and co-occurring disorders, the effectiveness of treatment and recovery services, and that recovery is possible. Our Strong Recovery Peer Team recently spoke with Center for Community Health & Prevention, URMC on the role peers play in guiding patients with substance use disorders on their journey to recovery. READ MORE>>>

Supporting Recently Incarcerated Patients Through WISH
Our Women's Initiative Supporting Health (WISH) Transitions Clinic was featured in Transitions Clinic's most recent newsletter. WISH helps women recently released from Monroe County Jail or New York State Prison access needed physical and mental health services. READ MORE>>>

Funding Announcements

Department of Defense Funds Trial Optimizing Digital Behavioral Treatment for Co-Occurring Insomnia and Depression
We would like to congratulate Wilfred R. Pigeon, Ph.D. for being awarded a $6 million dollar research grant for improvements in immediate and long-term treatment for veterans enduring insomnia and depressive disorders. This study plans on creating meaningful impacts in personalized medical approaches, effective assessment/intervention in rural and resource-limited areas, and considerations for optimal combinations of pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic interventions in order to improve the lives of those with insomnia and depression, and overall military health. This study will be conducted with Co-Investigators Todd Bishop, PhD at URMC, Ron Kessler, PhD at Harvard Medcial School, Rob Bossarte, PhD at University of South Florida and Stephen Schueller, PhD at UC-Irvine. READ MORE>>>

NIH Grant Funds App-based Intervention to Reduce Postpartum Depression in High-Risk Women
It's often difficult for new mothers to access post-partum depression treatment due to the labor-intensive nature of live group sessions as well as the difficulties of balancing childcare with attending sessions. A grant from National Institutes of Health (NIH) will support the development of an app to let mothers to access interventions on their own time. READ MORE>>>

NAM Presents Healthy Longevity Catalyst Award
The National Academy of Medicine (NAM) awarded Corey Nichols-Hadeed, JD, Kim Van Orden, PhD, Malik Sams, MD of the Department of Emergency Medicine, and Kiah E. Nyame, EdD of the City of Rochester the Healthy Longevity Global Competition Award for their Intergenerational Mentoring to Promote Health Across the Lifespan project. This award supports innovative ideas with the goal of extending the human healthspan. The team's project will connect UR Medicine, local government, and the Rochester community to foster mentorships between older adults and younger mentees in order to promote health and well-being. READ MORE>>>

Faculty, Staff, and Trainee Recognitions

Ellen Poleshuck Named a 2022 Power 30 in Health Care

A big congratulations to Ellen Poleshuck, PhD for being named one of Rochester Business Journal's Power 30 Health Care for 2022. This award celebrates those who have played a significant role in improving the health of the Rochester community. Dr. Poleshuck is a clinical psychologist and a marriage and family therapist, specializing in treating underserved women and families who seek OBGYN care. She is also the Clinic Director of our Healing Through Education, Advocacy, and Law (HEAL) clinic, an innovate multi-disciplinary clinic for people experiencing intimate partner violence. READ MORE>>>

SoYoung Choe Receives Postdoc Award for Excellence in Equity and Inclusion

SoYoung Choe, PhD, Postdoctoral fellow in our Center for the Study and Prevention of Suicide, recently was named the recipient of the Postdoctoral Appointee Award for Excellence in Equity and Inclusion. This award recognizes a postdoctoral appointee or postdoctoral appointee group in the School of Medicine and Dentistry for their outstanding effort in advancing equity and inclusion. Dr. Choe is a researcher focusing on intrusive parenting techniques and their associated negative developmental outcomes. She also leads the Asian American Pacific Islander Trainee Support Group in the University of Rochester. 

Psychiatry in the News

News 8 WROC and WHEC recently covered INTERventions for Changes in Emotions, Perception and Thinking (INTERCEPT), a new program for young adults aiming to prevent the progression of early symptoms into serious psychiatric conditions. 

Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month: A Q&A with Dr. Olivares

In recognition of Hispanic Heritage Month in September, UR Medicine sat down with Telva Olivares, MD to talk about her career journey and Hispanic heritage and how she’s helping to bridge health care gaps by delivering culturally competent, high-quality care to the Latino population of Rochester. READ MORE>>>

Myths Busted: New Studies Show Telemedicine is Effective, Doesn’t Reduce Access to Care
With the growth of telemedicine, particularly in response to the pandemic, many bring up concerns about the effectiveness of seeing a healthcare provider virtually. Two studies released NEJM Catalyst look at telemedicine use at UR Medicine​ and our Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes (ECHO) program's effort to provide mental health services to nursing homes via a hybrid model. These two studies confirmed that telehealth was an effective and efficient way of receiving many kinds of health care, particularly those with transportation issues. READ MORE>>>

‘You Can Really Save A Life’: Local Expert Discusses Suicide Screenings For Teens
This past spring, a national panel recommended screening for general anxiety disorders for all children ages 8 to 18 and screening for depression between ages 12 and 18. Michael Scharf, MD spoke with News 8 WROC Rochester on the benefits of routine suicide screenings as well as how parents can start a conversation with their children to "check in" on their mental health. READ MORE>>>

Mental Health Care Part Of Rush-Henrietta's Approach To Students
A partnership with Rush-Henrietta Central School District is addressing access to youth mental health care by bringing our clinicians right to the schools. Our very own Alison Stiles, PhD joined Diane Wynne, EdD of Rush-Henrietta Central School District to talk about bringing mental health clinics into the school day and educating the teachers about what to look for when it comes to mental health. READ MORE>>>

YMCA Partners with URMC to Support Mental Health of Young Children

WHEC TV recently covered the partnership between our Pediatric Behavioral Health & Wellness services and YMCA of Greater Rochester bringing training and resources to YMCA staff in order to support youth mental health. READ MORE>>>

What Are Clinicians Missing About Catatonia?
A new publication in Psychiatric Times highlighted the work of Mark Oldham, MD, Joshua Wortzel, MD and Andrew Francis, PhD, MD in creating a detailed training manual and coding guide for clinicians to help them identify catatonia reliably and accurately. READ MORE>>>

Mark Your Calendars

Annual Stanton/ Anthony Conversation
Michael Scharf, MD will be joining policy makers, community members, and researchers in the Susan B. Anthony Center's annual Stanton/Anthony Conversations on September 30th. This year's panel discussion, "Community Conversations on Gun Violence: How Policy & Health Connect," will discuss gun violence, policy, and community health. To register for this free event, click here. 

Reel Mind Theatre & Film Series Starts October 11th

The Reel Mind Theatre & Film Series will be returning for 2023, and, for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic, screenings will be in-person with a virtual live streaming option available. The series will run weekly from October 11th to November 1st at the Rochester Academy of Medicine. All shows will be followed by talk-back with mental health professionals, and subjects from the films will be present for the Q&A. This year's series will feature films and plays addressing depression, anxiety, OCD, and PTSD. READ MORE>>>

August/ September Psychiatry Publications 

• Daniel Maeng, PhD, Zhi-Yang Tsun, MD, Eric Lesch, MD, David Jacobowitz, MA, Robert Weisman, DO, and J. Steven Lamberti, MD published an assessment of the affordability of forensic assertive community treatment programs for those with mental illness in the legal system.

• Marsha Wittink, MD, MBE, Tziporah Rosenberg, PhD, and Susan McDaniel, PhD published an editorial describing cases of real-world implementation of the biopsychosocial approach to healthcare. 

• Mark Oldham, MD published a review of characteristics of catatonia while highlighting distinctions across scales and diagnostic criteria that can introduce variance into catatonia cases.

• A paper by Adam Simning, MD, PhD, Zhi-Yang Tsun, MD, PhD, Nirav Shah, MD, MPH, Elizabeth Santos, MD, MPH, Lara Press-Ellingham, MPA, OT, and et al. discussed our ECHO program and how such programs can be used to optimize limited clinical resources and meet behavioral health needs in nursing homes.

• Donna Kreher, PhD, Shiloh Eastin, and Ellen Poleshuck, PhD published a paper alongside colleagues from the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Center for Community Health and Prevention identifying the specific educational needs of patients with chronic pelvic pain.

• Peter Wyman, PhD and Catherine Cerulli, JD, PhD were coauthors on an article out of Mt. Hope Family Center proposing a developmental model that integrates principles of developmental psychopathology and current theories of suicide to explain the association between child maltreatment and youth suicide risk.

• Steve Silverstein, PhD was a coauthor on a paper out of the University of Chicago that suggested cortical theta-gamma phase-amplitude coupling is not a memory-specific signal, but instead reflects some other attentional or perceptual processes.

• EJ Santos, MD was a coauthor on this paper describing characteristics, associated factors, and consequences of aggression towards caregivers of those with Parkinson's Disease.

• Donna Kreher, PhD was a coauthor on a study alongside Rui Li, PhD and Tonya Palermo, PhD of Seattle Children’s Research Institute, and Ashley Gubbels, MD of Creighton University identifying profiles of those suffering from chronic pelvic pain using biopsychosocial phenotyping.
• Steven Silverstein, PhD as a coauthor on a paper suggesting that cortical theta-gamma phase-amplitude coupling is not a memory-specific signal, but instead reflects some other attentional or perceptual processes.
• Peter Wyman, PhD was a coauthor on a paper describing a procedure to account for context in randomized trials after assignment. 
• A study by Docia Demmin and Tracey Shors of Rutgers University and Steven Silverstein, PhD found mental and physical training with meditation and aerobic exercise improved mental health and well-being in teachers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Wilfred Pigeon, PhD was a coauthor on an analysis on whether unconscious socioeconomic bias influences evaluations of obstructive sleep apnea via telemedecine.

Upcoming Events

• Sep. 30:  Community Conversations on Gun Violence
• Oct. 7: Public Health Grand Rounds-  Modern Echoes of Historic Institutionalized Racism
• Oct. 11: Reel Mind Theatre & Film Series- Any Given Day
• Oct. 12: An Integrated Approach to Managing Insomnia
• Oct. 12: Opioid Overdose Prevention Training

• Oct. 17: Removing the Burrs with Rohsennase Dalton LaBarge

• Oct. 18: Opioid Overdose Prevention Training
• Oct. 21: Reel Mind Theatre & Film Series- The Road Back & Special Pre-show Art Exhibition
• Oct. 25: Reel Mind Theatre & Film Series- Mental As Everything
• Nov. 1: Reel Mind Theatre & Film Series- Here is Better