DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHIATRY

Hello Members of the Department of Psychiatry,

As we enjoy this fall season and anticipate the upcoming winter season, it is important to reflect on the many accomplishments of 2024!

It has been wonderful to welcome new faculty, trainees, and staff members who have joined the Department of Psychiatry this past year, as well as to continue to work with all of you who started with us in previous years. Each of you have contributed much to the department and to the people that we serve in 2024. Congratulations to all on your many individual and shared accomplishments, and on your tenacity in the delivery of your daily efforts in support of our mission.

I look forward to our ongoing collaboration as we complete this calendar year and anticipate turning the page to 2025. I am proud to count each of you as colleagues, and thank you for your commitment and partnership. You and yours are wished much joy and fulfillment in each of your endeavors and in each new season. Have a great Thanksgiving with your family.

Sincerely,

Anand Kumar, MD, MHA

All Faculty and Staff

Holiday Celebration 

Psychiatry Department’s Annual Holiday Party! 

 Friday December 13^th, 2024

VOCO Hotel Mart Plaza

formerly known as:

 (Holiday Inn Chicago Mart Plaza)

Wolf Point Ballroom 15th  Floor

350 W. Mart Center Drive

Dinner

Dancing

Raffles

Fun

All Faculty and Staff are invited. MUST have sent your RSVP by November 1^st to attend! 

Dr. Brittany Rudd was named an Inspirational Change Maker by the National Institute of Mental Health. She presented at the NIMH 75th Anniversary "Inspiration and Aspiration" Symposium in September on her vision for the future of mental health research. See her presentation and the rest of the symposium presentations here.

CAPACITY Lab Presentations:

Melanie Tran, MA a clinical psychology graduate student was invited to present her work on Out of School Time staff well being at the Sport for Good, Laureus Town Hall. This is an event attended by multiple organizations from across Chicago invested in youth sports to enhance youth health and well being.

Dr. Tara Mehta was awarded Fellow Status in the American Psychological Association and the Society of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology (SCCAP). Fellow status is an honor bestowed upon APA members who have shown evidence of unusual and outstanding contributions or performance in the field of psychology. SCCAP Fellows have made outstanding and extraordinary contributions to the field of child and adolescent mental health.

Dr. Judith Cook and colleagues published study results on how adults with mental illnesses are coping during a global pandemic.

•  Richardson, D., Aranda, F., Cook, J.A., & Swarbrick, M. (2024). How Individuals with Mental Health Challenges Coped During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Clinical Nursing Research, 33(7), https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.20230597

Dr. Judith Cook and colleagues published study results on the impact of individual budgets on employment and financial outcomes among supported employment service recipients.

•  Cook, J.A., Steigman, P.J., Burke-Miller, J.K., Pashka, N., Ruiz, A., Egli, D., Cortez, C., Prestipino, J., Brown, A., Furlong, M., & Razzano, L.A. (2024). Impact of  Individual Budgets on Employment and Financial Well-Being of IPS Supported Employment Recipients with Serious Mental Illness, Psychiatric Services, 75(10),  https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.20230597

Dr. Judith Cook presented on the impact of an evidence-based self-management intervention on older adults, and how to obtain/sustain funding for it.

•   Cook, J.A. & Shore, S. Invited Research Presentation, Using Wellness Recovery    Action Plan with Older Adults: WRAP for Healthy Aging, 29th Annual Conference of  the National Association of Case Management, Denver, CO, October 8, 2024.

Dr. Judith Cook was a keynote speaker at the Taking Action for Wellbeing Conference in Philadelphia, PA. Keynote Presentation, was Cutting Edge Research on Innovative Peer Support Models: What We’ve Learned and Why It’s Important, Taking Action for Wellbeing Conference, Philadelphia, PA, August 12, 2024.

In September 2024, Dr. Dana Rusch was awarded grant funding from NIH for a clinical intervention trial "Can A Youth Civic Leadership, Engagement and Mindfulness Program Reduce Structural Racism, and Support Functioning and Well-being for Youth of Color?" The Future Leaders Program is 4-year clinical intervention trial funded by the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. This trial will test two afterschool interventions (1) LEAP-civic engagement and leadership with mindfulness and (2) EnvisionIT-college readiness and career planning and measure the impact on mental health outcomes for high school youth of color in Chicago, IL and Boston, MA.

Dr. Colleen Stiles-Shields was awarded first honorable mention for the ISBA Professional Advisory Council Annual Research Awards for the paper:

Stiles-Shields, C., Kritikos, T. K., Winning, A. M., Starnes, M., & Holmbeck, G. N. (2023). Caregiver expressed emotion in families of youth with spina bifida: Demographic, medical, and family correlates. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 48(2), 144-155.

Dr. Neil Pliskin received the Excellence in Advocacy Award.

It Takes a Village: Building a Successful Educational Workshop,” Blitzstein S, Luo J, Verduin M, Annual Meeting of the Association for Academic Psychiatry, Washington, D.C.

“Tending to Blossoming Mentorships: Cultivation Professional Growth in Academic Psychiatry,” Donath M, Fitzgerald I, Blitzstein S, Annual Meeting of the Association for Academic Psychiatry, Washington, D.C.

Boland, R., Horrell, K. (Hosts). (2024, May 20). Episode 52: Finding and Fostering Mentorship [MindDive podcast]. Menninger Clinic. www.menningerclinic.org/for-clinicians/mind-dive-podcast.  Sean Blitzstein, M.D

Sean Blitzstein, M.D. has been elected as a Member of The American College of Psychiatrists and will be inducted into The College at the 2025 Annual Meeting in Kauai, Hawaii.

“Learner Assessment: Theories and Frameworks,” Master Educator Series, Odebunmi T, Jong K, Blitzstein S, Ratnakaran B, Annual Meeting of the Association for Academic Psychiatry, Washington, D.C.

Barone, J. C., Ho, A., Osborne, L. M., Eisenlohr-Moul, T. A., Morrow, A. L., Payne, J. L., Epperson, C.N., & Hantsoo, L. (2024). Luteal phase sertraline treatment of premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD): Effects on markers of hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis activation and inflammation. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 169, 107145.

Huibregtse ME, Cooper JJ, Ross DA. Hieroglyphs and Head Injuries: Sex Differences in Traumatic Brain Injury. Biol Psychiatry. 2024 Jun 15;95(12):e25-e27.

Cooper JJ, Valencia VA, Niu K. Neuroimaging education in psychiatric training. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2024 Jul 18.

Eloge JC*, Cooper JJ*, Ross DA. Along Came the DSM – Melancholic Depression, the DST, and How Psychiatry Lost the Brain. Biol Psychiatry. Accepted Oct 2024. *co-first authorship.

Stiles-Shields, C., Lattie, E., Kruzan, K., Lakhtakia, T., & Smith, S. (2024). Coaching Protocol. Prism. Galter Health Sciences Library. Northwestern University. https://doi.org/10.18131/pnan3-dqh44 

Psihogios, A. M. & Stiles-Shields, C. (In Press). Introduction to the Special Issue: Improving digital health implementation in pediatric populations, from design to sustainment. Journal of Pediatric Psychology.

Kritikos, T.K., Smith, Z.R., Stiles-Shields, C., Clark, O., Winning, A.M., Encalade, A., Hendrix, M., Helgeson, V., & Holmbeck, G.N. (In Press). Inclusive measure development: Amplifying the voices of adolescents and young adults with spina bifida in a new measure of benefit-finding and growth. Journal of Pediatric Psychology. doi: 10.1093/jpepsy/jsae072

Stiles-Shields, C., Lattie, E. G., Macapagal, K., & Psihogios, A. M. (In Press). Not a trainee, not yet mid-career: Navigating the adolescent and emerging adulthood of being an early career psychologist. Clinical Practice in Pediatric Psychology.

Stiles-Shields, C., Gustafson, E. L., Lim, P. S., Bobadilla, G., Thorpe, D., Summersett Williams, F. C., Donenberg, G. R., Julion, W. A., & Karnik, N. S. (In Press). Pre-Implementation determinants for Digital Mental Health integration in Chicago pediatric primary care. Journal of Pediatric Psychology. doi: 10.1093/jpepsy/jsae058