In the News

Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Allison M. McCarthy, Ph.D., served as lead author on a perspective titled "Ethical Conflicts for Clinicians under Tennessee Abortion Law" published in the May 2023 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine. Click here to read the perspective.

Sarah Szymkowicz, PhD and Warren D Taylor, MD recently published expert review article conceptualizing depression in context of the aging process and accelerated aging.  The manuscript also reviews resilience factors and how resilience can be improved therapeutically.  

Warren Taylor, M.D., James G Blakemore Professor of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, served as an author on the recently published article "Influences of resting-state intrinsic functional brain connectivity on the antidepressant treatment response in late-life depression." The article appears in the journal Psychological Medicine and details how connectivity between brain regions measured before treatment may predict response to common antidepressant medications.  This work was led by Mr.

Aaron Brinen, Psy.D. in the Division of Psychology was interviewed for an important story on holiday stress that appeared in US News & World Report. See: https://health.usnews.com/wellness/articles/how-to-relieve-holiday-stress Also, he was interviewed on Channel 5 on a similar topic of feeling down during the holidays.

The Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences celebrated its 75th anniversary on Nov. 11 with an afternoon program that highlighted its contributions to professional education, research, and clinical care. “We wanted to recognize the important role of the department in the training of physicians and psychologists at Vanderbilt, showcase innovation in our clinical services, and highlight some of our research accomplishments,” said Stephan Heckers, MD, MSc, the William P. and Henry B. Test Professor of Schizophrenia Research and Chair of the Department.

A new prescribing alert helps physicians quickly understand how and why they should offer a naloxone prescription to a patient at high risk for an opioid overdose. The alert contains key facts about the patient’s history, such as previous overdoses and whether a benzodiazepine has also been prescribed. The alert has led to a dramatic increase in naloxone prescribing, which was described in a recent article in Anesthesia & Analgesia.

The Vanderbilt Kennedy Center (VKC) Nicholas Hobbs Discovery Awards and Director’s Strategic Priorities Grants have been announced for the 2022-23 award cycle. Projects address spatial processing, repetitive movements, adaptation of an intervention for Spanish-speaking families, and improving diagnostic approaches and treatment strategies for autistic individuals with co-occurring intellectual disability.

Process must be customized to meet needs of individuals who have trouble naming and sharing emotions. Recently, emergency departments nationwide have seen a drastic upswing in young autistic people presenting with suicidal thoughts and behaviors. In response, Vanderbilt University Medical Center researchers, writing in Pediatrics, have suggested ways that clinicians and emergency department staff can adapt suicide safety plans to meet their special needs and enhance quality of care.

Kristopher A Kast, M.D., assistant professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, program director of the Addiction Psychiatry Fellowship Program, and clinical director of the Addiction Consult Service, recently served as author of a newly-published paper in the Journal of the Academy of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry.