Department news | January 31, 2021

Congratulations to Pamela Y. Collins for having her article, “A Systematic Review of Interventions to Improve Initiation of Mental Health Care Among Racial-Ethnic Minority Groups,” be selected for Editor’s Choice, a curated collection of Psychiatric Services articles. In this systematic review, the authors found that collaborative care and other integrated care models had the best evidence for reducing care initiation disparities for members of racial and ethnic minority groups. The article is part of a refreshed collection on Racial-Ethnic Disparities in Mental Health Care.

Department news | June 30, 2020

The Wayne J. Katon Outstanding Mentor Award recognizes a faculty member who demonstrates sustained commitment to the creative, scholarly, professional and personal development of research mentees. The award honors Wayne Katon, MD, a gifted and dedicated mentor who supervised medical students, psychiatry residents, research fellows and junior faculty across several departments, many of whom have become principal investigators of their own grant funded research programs. He directed an NIH-funded T-32 Fellowship Program in Primary Care Psychiatry for over 25 years that produced more than 30 successful researchers at the interface of medicine and psychiatry, including many members of our department. The award is funded by the Wayne Katon Memorial Fund for Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Faculty Development. Past recipients of the award include Raphe Bernier, PhD, Mary Larimer, PhD, Kathleen Myers, PhD, and Christine Lee, PhD.

The recipient of this year’s award is Patricia Areán, PhD. Dr. Areán is a collaborative scholar who embodies a team science approach and who was nominated by mentees both within and outside the department. An excerpt from her nomination packet states, “Dr. Areán approaches relationships with a collaborative and curious spirit, and blends personalism with professionalism. She is informally regarded as a ‘safe’ person whom other trainees and faculty members approach with challenging situations, be it navigating mentorship or supervisory relationships, or proactively discussing concerns with institutional climate and culture. She has an open-door policy that many junior and mid-career faculty, particularly women, have benefited from.”

Dr. Areán also received the American Psychological Association’s prestigious Committee on Aging (CONA) Award. CONA works toward the optimal development of older adults, expanded scientific understanding of adult development and aging, and the delivery of appropriate psychological services to older persons. According to Dr. Haley, Chair of the selection committee, Dr. Areán’s heartfelt nomination letters gave them little doubt that Dr. Areán was more than worthy of receiving this year’s award.

Department news | June 30, 2020

The Exceptional Staff Award honors and celebrates the valuable efforts staff members make toward supporting the mission of the department and upholding our core values of collaboration, continuous learning and mentorship, and integrity and accountability. We had four outstanding nominees this year: Christina Clayton, LICSW, CDP, program manager of the Northwest Mental Health Technology Transfer Center (NW-MHTTC); Mollie Forrester, MSW, LICSW, Director of Patient and Family Experience; Kelcey Schmitz, MSEd, MTTS/School Mental Health Training and Technical Assistance Specialist; and Joey Stanton, a beloved colleague at the HaRRT Center. This year’s award went to Mollie Forrester.

Mollie was nominated by the faculty of the Trauma Recovery Innovations (TRI) program, who included this excerpt in their nomination packet: “In Mollie’s relatively short tenure in our department, she has become an incredibly valued member of our Department. She serves as a liaison between families and patients seeking or receiving mental healthcare as well as managing our team of mental health navigators. In this capacity, Mollie’s role is to help bridge the gap between individuals (and families) and providers. Prior to having Mollie in this role, this gap seemed nearly impossible to bridge given the amount of need for services and limited capacity. Mollie’s wealth of knowledge around options for mental health care, and her warmth, empathy, and exceptional interpersonal skills have increased access to mental health care for so many in our community. Once one sees Mollie in action, it is easy to see why she excels in this position and why there is cause to for optimism about our ultimate ability to serve the community’s mental health needs.”

Congratulations to all our nominees!

Department news | May 31, 2020

The Journal of the American Medical Association has named a powerful first-person essay by Roberto Montenegro, MD, PhD, one of the top pieces from the last 10 years in the journal’s ongoing “A Piece of My Mind” series.

His essay, My Name is Not ‘Interpreter’, was published in May of 2016. The article has been reprinted in the journal’s “A Piece of My Mind” 40th anniversary theme issue, celebrating and reprinting the editors’ 40 favorite essays from the last 10 years.

In the essay, Dr. Montenegro describes his experience being the target of microaggressions based on his appearance, and his realization that he unwittingly committed them as well. Microaggressions, he wrote, “do not respect boundaries — they exist in our personal, academic and work lives and are detrimental to the training and well-being of our colleagues and trainees.”

He concludes with the challenge to reflect on how we perceive each other, in order to shift the conversation about microaggressions “from taboo to mutual understanding.” He added: “I have no doubt that in our practice of healing, we have the capacity to compassionately listen to one another and further this discourse for the sake of our trainees, colleagues, patients and profession.”

Earlier this week, Dr. Montenegro shared the following statement with his colleagues at Seattle Children's. With his permission, we are sharing it here so that his important message reaches the entire department.

"Dear SCH Team --

This past week has been a very difficult week for our country. A devastating week for people of color. And a painful, unacceptable, and dangerous week for Black people. 

In times like this, it's important to think about the impact that this type of pandemic is having on our faculty, staff, trainees and patients of color, especially our Black community.  Racism is a public health crisis. The intense fear, anger, and hurt that our communities are experiencing should not be ignored. A simple text, email, phone call can go a long way. Please consider speaking about these events. Our peers and patients would benefit from such an act of kindness and acknowledgement. 

Thank you for listening and for helping create an inclusive and safe working environment for all of us that can't rely on our badges alone. Today's event clearly showed how badges, such as those worn by CNN reporters, don't always have the same function for people of color. 

In anticipation of request for resources or other ideas, below you will find some links that have been circulating in the world of Equity."

Sincerely,
Roberto Montenegro

http://www.resourcesharingproject.org/anti-racism-resource-collection

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1BRlF2_zhNe86SGgHa6-VlBO-QgirITwCTugSfKie5Fs/preview?pru=AAABcoUI2lQ*_-KjxybetutBeSs6NsPrKA

https://medium.com/@SolidarityWOC/filling-our-cups-4-ways-people-of-color-can-foster-mental-health-and-practice-restorative-healing-64e5e7584127

Department news | March 31, 2020

Congratulations to the recipients of the Winter round of funding for the Staff Scholarship Award! The scholarship was created by donations from the department administrative team, matched by department funds, to support professional development of classified or professional staff who work in our department. Thank you to the applicants, Selection Committee, and donors who make this program possible. Awardees include:

• Dylan Fisher, ALACRITY Center, to present a first authored poster at the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies conference in November, 2020.
• Erin McRee, SMART Center, to attend a User Experience class
• Ryan Allred, CREATIV Lab, to present a poster at the American Psychological Associate meeting
• SAJE Center team award, to attend the Equity Leaders: A Workshop & Networking Opportunity for those leading Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Efforts

Department news | February 29, 2020

The Washington Society of Addiction Medicine honored Rick Ries, MD, with the Dr. William E. Dickerson Award for the advancement of addiction medicine and psychiatry in recognition for his notable career in service to treating patients with addictions and his many contributions to the advancement of the clinical discipline. Dr. Ries was recognized at the WSAM Annual Meeting as well as at the 22nd Annual Fundamentals of Addiction Medicine.

Department news | December 30, 2019

The Psychology Internship Program is pleased to announce that Will Pelham, PhD, of the General Child Track has been selected as the winner of this year's Joseph Becker Research Award for his project titled, “How Well and How Early Can We Screen for Early Onset Substance Use?”

The Joseph Becker Research Award was established in recognition of the significant contributions of Joseph Becker, PhD, a former Training Director of the Psychology Internship Program, to the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and to the Psychology Internship Program. The award honors Dr. Becker's vision of a scientist-practitioner internship and his long-term presence as a model of the principles this embodies. The award further acknowledges his nationally recognized stature as a clinician-researcher, and as a strong, compassionate teacher and leader. In keeping with Dr. Becker's vision, the purpose of this award is to stimulate quality research by rewarding an intern for independence, creativity and intellectual depth in a research effort of the internship year.

Dr. Pelham is mentored by Erin Gonzalez, PhD. He will receive a plaque at the graduation ceremony in June, as well as an award in support of his research this year

Department news | December 30, 2019

Richard Veith, MD, was awarded a Certificate of Merit for contributions to Can Tho University of Medicine and Pharmacy (CTUMP) in Vietnam during their 40th anniversary celebration. While there, Dr. Veith provided lectures for staff and medical students, interviewed patients at the Can Tho Psychiatry Hospital and visited nearby psychiatric facilities in the Mekong Delta region to teach and discuss mental health workforce and program development.

Dr. Veith has worked with CTUMP since 2013 to develop an educational and research exchange between the two institutions including ongoing, twice-yearly visits to share in educational, clinical, and research activities at CTUMP. Participants from the UW faculty have included psychiatrists, child psychiatrists, psychologists, radiologists, anesthesiologists, obstetrics/gynecologists, internal medicine and family medicine specialists, neurosurgeons, nurses, medical educators, social workers, public health researchers, dentists, and nutritionists. CTUMP faculty members from several disciplines have also visited UW in educational exchanges. In April, 2019, the Memorandum of Understanding between CTUMP and UW was renewed for an additional five years.

Department news | November 30, 2019

Congratulations to Sarah walker, PhD, who received the 2019 Robert Woods Johnson Foundation (RWJF) Award for The Juvenile Justice Transformation Project . The Juvenile Justice Transformation Project works to change the Juvenile court system and is a program that embodies the principles of Community-Campus Partnership for Health (CCPH) by partnering with numerous community organizations to promote social justice for the youth and families affected by the juvenile court system of Pierce County. "The RWJF-CCPH award brings visibility to translational methods that are relatively marginalized in academia,” said Dr. Walker. “Our department is currently reviewing faculty promotion standards for public impact and this award assists in making the case that pursuing practice partnerships are valuable and valued by influential funders."