Last week was National Nurses Week. We take this time to celebrate and thank the nurses in our lives for all the vital work that they do every day. Nurses at UR Medicine Mental Health and Wellness work in a variety of settings, including all our inpatient units and CPEP. Our Ambulatory Psychiatry nurses recently enjoyed a team walk through the lilacs to celebrate this week. 

Now Recruiting Teens Interested in Theater
We're excited to share that our Pediatric Behavioral Health & Wellness team, in partnership with OFC Creations Theatre, will be staging a production of She Kills Monsters by Qui Nguyen. We are looking for teens that are interested in theater and that are either currently or formerly involved in Pediatric Behavioral Health and Wellness services to participate! There will be an informational session at our pediatrics location at South Avenue on May 17th at 1860 South Avenue. READ MORE>>>

Deanna Sams Named Clinical Director of Child and Adolescent Inpatient

It is with great enthusiasm that we share that Deanna Sams, PhD has been named to the position of Clinical Director of Child and Adolescent Inpatient Services. This new position is part of the restructuring of our Child and Adolescent Division leadership in order to effectively manage the expanded services and address the current youth mental health crisis. READ MORE>>>

David Satcher Returns to Recognize Local Community Health Contributions

Congratulations to Andrew Cohen, PhD, Allison Stiles, PhD, and Corey Nichols-Hadeed, JD for being named Dr. David Satcher Community Health Improvement Junior Faculty Awardees for their "EACH Youth in the RCSD" project. Their project aims to address the health issues of children and youth by providing specialty training for school teams and promoting community service collaboration. READ MORE>>>

Psychosis Research Group Recruiting Research Participants

Our Psychosis Research Group (PRG) studies various issues related to severe mental illness. The PRG is currently recruiting individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, bipolar disorder, and major depressive disorder, along with controls, for future research opportunities within the PRG. For more information, contact them via email. 

Help Support Pediatric Behavioral Health and Wellness Through the Strong Stroll

The 27^th Annual Stroll for Strong Kids & 5k Race will take place on Sunday, June 4^th at Genesee Valley Park, and our Pediatric Behavioral Health & Wellness has a walking team! There are many ways you can support the team in raising money for our child and adolescent outpatient services, partial hospitalization service, and inpatient service.  

• Register for the walk and join our team here. If you wish to donate, please do so AFTER registering. This will guarantee your donation goes to support our programs. 
• We are teaming up with Special Touch Bakery to sell pies starting May 15 through May 31 with delivery on June 16. Click here to order. 
• We are partnering with Upstate Bottle Return for a bottle and can drive.  People can drop off their recyclables starting May 30 through June 3 throughout Rochester. Stay tuned to the Pediatric Behavioral Health and Wellness Facebook page for a list of locations coming soon!

Inaugural Psychiatry Shadow Experience
We are excited to announce the start of our inaugural Psychiatry Shadow Experience program! This program will allow students currently in or graduating from a clinical degree program (i.e. social work, psychology, counseling, Marriage Family Therapy, nursing, or medicine) to meet with leadership and staff and experience what it is like to work in the psychiatry field. If you are interested in signing up for the waitlist for this program, please contact Serina Tetenov, PhD, LCSW-R. 

Celebrating Psychologists on Psychology Week

April 23rd-29th marked Psychology Week, a celebration of psychologists and psychologists-in-training as well as the field's contributions to improving lives. In addition, we celebrated the 5th annual URMC Psychology Day on April 20th. We have psychologists and psychology trainees across our Department of Psychiatry as well as throughout the URMC system. Thank you psychologists and psychologists-in-training for all you do for our patients, their families, our community, and our healthcare system at large. READ MORE>>>

Evelyn Santos and Kristy Lamb Graduate from LCHS Program

Congratulations to our very own Evelyn Santos, RN, and Kristy Lamb, RN of our Ambulatory Psychiatry unit for their upcoming graduation from the University of Rochester School of Nursing's Leadership in Health Care Systems program! This program prepares working professionals for healthcare management or leadership roles. Please join us in congratulating them on this next step in their professional journey!

Psychiatry In the News

A Roadmap to Prevent People Being Gone Too Soon
MQ Mental Health Research recently highlighted 18 recommendations from 40 global experts, including our very own Anthony Pisani, PhD, for preventing premature deaths related to mental health challenges. READ MORE>>>

Doctors and Social Workers Raise Awareness of Mental Health Services in Rochester

May is Mental Health Awareness Month with May 3-9 designated as Children's Mental Health Awareness Week. Linda Alpert-Gillis, PhD spoke with WHEC TV on the obstacles many people face when seeking help for their families and children as well as outreach efforts our Pediatric Behavioral Health & Wellness Services are currently undertaking such as a recent event at United Methodist Church Emmanuel. READ MORE>>>

URMC Details Future Expansion to Psychiatric Emergency Department
Part of the funding for UR Medicine's Strong Expansion Project will go toward tripling the size of our psychiatric emergency department and enhancing the intake process. Michael Scharf, MD spoke with News 8 WROC Rochester on how this expansion will allow for a more comfortable space and enhance the intake process for patients with various needs. READ MORE>>>

Mark Your Calendars

AD-CARE and Alzheimer's Research Presentation
Are you interested in learning more about Alzheimer’s disease? Please join Anton Porsteinsson, MD, Director of our AD-CARE Program for a presentation about Alzheimer’s disease, research developments, and research opportunities on May 16th and 23rd. Call 585-602-5200 for more info or to register. READ MORE>>>

NAMI Walks Rochester is This Weekend! 

This year's NAMI Walks Rochester takes place on May 20th at the Village Gate! We invite you to join our walking team here and/or join our departmental efforts in fundraising for NAMI Rochester and its programs supporting those with mental health challenges and their families here. UR Medicine Mental Health and Wellness will also have a table at the event and invite you to stop by to learn about our various clinics and programs! 

SafeSide Framework for Suicide Prevention in Rural Communities

Join the UR Medicine Recovery Center of Excellence and SafeSide Prevention in May for the second session of their live, interactive, no-cost suicide prevention workshop for rural healthcare providers with one year of continued learning! READ MORE>>>

Healing Within Reception

Rooted by Colleen Burgoyne

Please join us on June 27th from 4:30 PM to 6 PM for an IN-PERSON reception for our Bridge Art Gallery's latest exhibition, Healing Within. This exhibition features artists from across the world and their responses to healing in the context of the significant national turmoil and a growing mental health crisis. This event is free and open to the public, but please register here. 

April Psychiatry Publications 

• A February publication by Mark Oldham, MD, and Andrew Francis, PhD, MD was recently featured on the front page of Clinical Psychiatric News. The editorial discussed the need to address prevalent misunderstandings over what catatonia looks like.

• Melissa Heatly, PhD, Corey Nichols-Hadeed, JD, Allison Stiles, PhD, and Linda Alpert-Gillis, PhD published a case study of school-based learning partnership to promote cross-sector collaboration for facilitating students with behavioral health challenges.

• Anthony Pisani, PhD, alongside Edwin Boudreaux, PhD of the University of Massachusetts, published an editorial on systems-based approaches to suicide prevention, providing a case sample of how traditional clinical cases can be framed to highlight the impact of systemic factors

• Marc Swogger, PhD was a coauthor on a chapter of The Oxford Handbook of Opioids and Opioid Use Disorder on the pharmacology and use of kratom.

• Tara Augenstein, PhD was a coauthor on a study examining the psychometric properties of parents’ reports on the Proposed Specifiers for Conduct Disorder assessing impairments across interpersonal, and potentially antisocial and behavioral features.

• Thomas O'Connor, PhD was a coauthor on a new paper finding that secure attachment to parents is associated with lower social and economic costs related to antisocial behavior.
• Electronic medical records (EMR) may serve as a resource for identifying experiences of violence, particularly among transgender people. Catherine Cerulli, JD, PhD was a coauthor on a study examining methodologic approaches to determine experiences of violence using EMR.
• Marc Swogger, PhD was a coauthor of an editorial discussing the latest research on kratom dependence and withdrawal.

• Steve Silverstein, PhD was a coauthor of a computational analysis of reinforcement learning impairments among youth at high-risk for psychosis vs those with depression.

• Apathy is a common neuropsychiatric symptom in Alzheimer's disease, affecting up to 70% of patients. Anton Porsteinsson, MD co-authored a study that analyzed the economic effectiveness of treating apathy in patients with Alzheimer's.

Upcoming Events

• May 16: Embracing the Digital Future of Healthcare Symposium
• May 16: Alzheimer’s Disease and Prevention Research
• May 17: Interdisciplinary Multimodal Therapy for Chronic Pain Treatment
• May 20: NAMI Walks Rochester
• May 23: Alzheimer's Disease and Prevention Research Session
• May 23: SafeSide Prevention Workshop for Service Providers in Rural Communities
• Jun. 4: 27th Annual Stroll for Strong Kids & 5k Race
• Jun. 5: Integrated Care and Medical Family Therapy Annual Intensive