Department of Psychiatry

An $11.7 million Center of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) grant renewal to the Vermont Center on Behavior and Health (VCBH) at the University of Vermont will support another five years of research on addressing and better understanding the unhealthy behaviors that negatively impact health and cost the U.S. healthcare system billions of dollars.

On July 18, 2018, UVM Larner College of Medicine clinical department chairs issued a letter to the community.

An evaluation of Vermont’s Hub and Spoke system of care led by University of Vermont Research Professor of Psychiatry Richard Rawson, Ph.D., shows that people in treatment for opioid addiction reported a 96 percent decrease in opioid use and a 100 percent drop in overdose incidences.

Vermont is among the top ten states in per capita research funding in the U.S., according to a State of Research at the College presentation delivered by Larner College of Medicine Senior Associate Dean for Research Gordon Jensen, M.D., Ph.D., at the Dean’s Excellence in Research Awards event held November 13, 2017. The last of three 2017 Celebrating Excellence in Research events held at the College on November 10 and 13, 2017, the awards ceremony recognized the accomplishments of faculty, residents, medical students, graduate students and postdoctoral trainees.

The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) presented James Hudziak, M.D., professor of psychiatry, pediatrics and medicine at the Larner College of Medicine at the University of Vermont, with the 2017 Irving Philips Award for Prevention at the organization’s 64th Annual Meeting on October 25, 2017 in Washington, D.C.

On October 16, 2017, UVM Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Pediatrics David Rettew, M.D. was highlighted in the VT Digger article, "Vermont physicians propose go-slow approach on pot legalization," regarding two proposed resolutions to Vermont's medical marijuana program

New interdisciplinary research conducted by University of Vermont researcher Jane Nathan, Ph.D., and colleagues, has found that the Benson Henry Institute’s (BHI) evidence-based Stress Management and Resiliency Training (SMART) is a valuable model to use with health professionals to enhance their well-being.

University of Vermont Medical Center President Eileen Whalen, M.H.A., R.N., announced today that Isabelle Desjardins, M.D., has accepted the position of Chief Medical Officer (CMO) for The University of Vermont Medical Center, effective October 1.

The FDA is right – when it comes to disease culprits, cigarette smoking tops the list. While recognized as the number-one cause of preventable disease and death, it’s an incredibly tough habit to break due to the addictiveness of nicotine. New research from the University of Vermont (UVM) and colleagues suggests that reducing nicotine content in cigarettes may decrease their addiction potential in especially vulnerable populations and suggests how regulatory policies could shift preferences to less-harmful tobacco products.

On August 14, UVM Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, David Fassler, M.D., wrote to the New York Times in response to an editorial titled "Evolving Attitudes on Solitary for Juveniles."

The Conrad N. Hilton Foundation has awarded a three-year, $1.8 million grant to James J. Hudziak, a professor of child psychiatry and pediatrics at the University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine, to determine if the UVM Wellness Environment, or WE, in concert with a health promotion and disease prevention app he developed will promote wellness among college students, in the process reducing their use of alcohol and other drugs.

Pioneered by Professor James Hudziak, M.D., Dr. Jim to his students, WE has significantly reduced substance abuse on campus while earning national buzz for its novel and ground-breaking approach to neuroplasticity, mindfulness, and the charismatic mastermind behind the program. No college has tried at this level before.

While the debate regarding the safety of e-cigarettes continues, another issue has emerged: Is vaping addictive?

Community Medical School launched its Spring 2017 series on Tuesday, March 7, with a lecture on “Happiness: Exploring the Science of Well-Being.” The talk by Andrew Rosenfeld, M.D., assistant professor of psychiatry, attracted more than 200 attendees.

Despite diagnoses for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) occurring in a reported 11 percent of U.S. school-aged kids, clinicians still don’t fully understand the underlying causes of this common condition. Now a brain marker may be on the horizon, thanks to a new approach that provides evidence of a relationship between brain structure and dimensional measures of ADHD symptoms.

The newest members of the Teaching Academy at The Robert Larner, M.D. College of Medicine at The University of Vermont were inducted during a ceremony and dinner held January 5, 2017 that kicked off the Snow Season Education Retreat at the Sheraton Burlington Hotel and Conference Center.

Comments from David Rettew, M.D., UVM associate professor of psychiatry and pediatrics, were featured in a news story about the growing concerns over the safety of the scenic Queeche Gorge Bridge for local NBC affiliate WPTZ-TV Newschannel 5.

UVM College of Medicine faculty members Thomas Simpatico, M.D., professor of psychiatry and chief medical officer for the Department of Vermont Health Access; Sandra Steingard, M.D., clinical associate professor of psychiatry and chief medical officer at the Howard Center; and Jaskanwar Batra, M.D., assistant professor of psychiatry and medical director at the Department of Mental Health, are featured in an article about the disputes over force-medicating psychiatry patients for Seven Days.

UVM College of Medicine faculty members James Hudziak, M.D., professor of psychiatry, pediatrics and medicine and director of the Vermont Center for Children, Youth & Families, and Jon Porter, M.D., clinical assistant professor of family medicine and director of the UVM Center for Health & Wellbeing, are featured in an article about UVM’s Wellness Environment (WE) program on NBCNews.com.

Beth Robbins, Psy.D., UVM clinical associate professor of psychiatry and clinical director of the Seneca Mood and Anxiety Disorders Clinic at The UVM Medical Center, was interviewed live on WCAX-TV Channel 3’s morning news, discussing the topic of her March 1 Community Medical School presentation, “All Stressed Out: Symptoms, Physiology and Approaches for Relief.”