Department news | April 30, 2019

Anna Ratzliff, MD, PhD, has received the Distinguished Contributions to Lifelong Learning Award, the highest recognition for UW faculty who make significant contributions to lifelong learning at the UW. The annual UW Lifelong Learning Award honors full- and part-time University of Washington faculty who have designed and/or taught courses, seminars or workshops aimed at non-matriculated working adults and other nontraditional students, and who have received excellent teaching evaluations for that work.

Dr. Ratzliff is a professor in our department, the new director of our Psychiatry Residency Program, and a highly experienced and dedicated educator. She has been instrumental in starting and leading a state-funded Integrated Care Training Program, a year-long Community-Based Integrated Care Fellowship for psychiatrists and psychiatric nurse practitioners s seeking additional training in integrated care, the UW Psychiatry and Addictions Case Conference (UW PACC) series that connects community providers with UW Medicine psychiatrists and addictions experts, and All Patients Safe, a practical and engaging suicide prevention training for healthcare professionals.

"In classroom and individual interactions, she brings a lightness, excitement and authentic energy that are delightful to experience,” says a former student in the Community-Based Integrated Care Fellowship. “She shares generously of herself, both through undivided one-on-one attention and through her dynamic teaching presence. Her desire to spark change is energizing and inspiring-she has given me new direction for my personal practice and new hope for improvement in mental health care locally and nationally."

Department news | January 31, 2019

We are delighted to announce that Ty Lostutter, PhD, is this year's recipient of the Outstanding Clinician Teacher Junior Faculty Award. This award is given to an outstanding clinician teacher faculty member at the Assistant Professor level for excellence in teaching, curriculum development, educational scholarship, and/or educational administration. Dr. Lostutter is a stellar clinician, teacher, and supervisor; is Director of our Psychology Internship; has won the Outstanding Supervisor Award from the Adult Track Psychology residents; and has a track record of nationally-recognized scholarly work in addictions, particularly gambling. Congratulations, Ty! Dr. Lostutter will receive his award at our annual department Graduation Ceremony on June 21, 2019. Past recipients include Suzanne Murray, MD; Heidi Combs, MD; Ray Hsiao, MD; Anna Ratzliff, MD, PhD; Ian Kodish, MD, PhD; Will French, MD; Jesse Markman, MD; Jennifer Piel, MD, JD; and Jonathan Buchholz, MD.

Department news | January 31, 2019

Congratulations to child psychiatry resident Nana-Aba Nduom, MD, for receiving a UW Medicine 2019 Golden Eddy award! Each year, the Golden Eddy Awards recognize UW Medicine team members who demonstrate excellence in patient and family education. Dr. Nduom is being recognized for developing patient educational materials on the use of antidepressants in pregnancy. She developed this material as part of her involvement in the Perinatal Psychiatry Pathway led by Deb Cowley, MD, and Amritha Bhat, MD. The overall goal of this pathway is to develop the knowledge base and clinical skills of psychiatry residents in assessment and treatment of psychiatric symptoms during pregnancy, postpartum, and in women wishing to conceive.

Department news | November 30, 2018

Debra Kaysen, PhD, ABPP, is the new President-Elect of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (ISTSS), the leading scientific professional organization on traumatic stress. ISTSS is run by a committed group of elected and unelected volunteers from the various trauma-related disciplines around the world, and its members come from a variety of clinical and non-clinical settings including public and private health facilities, private practice, universities and non-university research foundations. Dr. Kaysen’s research is situated at the interface of PTSD and addictions and includes both etiologic and prevention/treatment-oriented studies. She directs the UW Trauma Recovery Innovations program and is a Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences with adjunct positions in the Departments of Psychology and of Global Health. Dr. Kaysen will serve as President for a one year term.

Department news | November 30, 2018

The Colville, WA clinic that was the 2017-18 implementation site for ICTP Fellow Ashley Davidson, MD, won the Providence Spokane Region 2018 Innovators Award for their use of the Collaborative Care Model to improve the quality and spectrum of care to their patients. In addition to Ashley, Lydia Chwastiak, MD, MPH, Tanya Keeble, MD, Amy Burns, MD, Anna Ratzliff, MD, PhD, and Debra Morrison were all involved in this award-winning partnership.

Department news | October 31, 2018

Richard Ries, MD, received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Washington State Health Care Authority earlier this month for his longstanding work with the annual Co-Occuring Disorders and Treatment Washington State Conference. He and Dennis Donovan, PhD, started the COD & Treatment Conference in the late 1980s to share current information on co-occuring disorders and treatment among professionals from behavioral health, developmental disabilities, adult and youth corrections, and physical health. The goal of the conference is to promote integration of services across the public mental health, substance use disorder, developmental disabilities, and medical systems; promote knowledge about co-occurring disorders and the value of integration, to support the development of a co-occurring capable system of care, and to advocate and partner with others to promote integrated treatment and recovery for all people. Over 500 people were in attendance this year.

Department news | September 30, 2018

Maria Monroe-DeVita, PhD, associate professor and co-director of the First Episode Psychosis Program at Harborview, was recently awarded the Washington State Hero Award by the Washington Council for Behavioral Health at their annual conference in Kennewick, Washington. She was nominated and selected for this prestigious award for her translational work toward implementing and sustaining evidence-based and recovery-oriented practices for individuals experiencing serious mental illness across Washington State over the past 12 years, including Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) programs, and more recently spearheading efforts to disseminate and implement evidence-based interventions for individuals and families experiencing early psychosis. These include the New Journeys coordinated specialty care teams and formative work toward developing a Family Bridger program focused on assisting and supporting families and caregivers who have loved ones who have experienced early psychosis both during hospitalization and while transitioning to care in the community. Dr. Monroe-DeVita was joined by Todd and Laura Crooks who also received a Hero Award from the Washington Council for their groundbreaking work toward improving mental health care in the community via Chad’s Legacy Project, a nonprofit named after their son.

Department news | September 30, 2018

The students of MEDEX Seattle Class 50 collectively nominated Jason Kilmer, PhD, as the recipient of a 2018 MEDEX Golden Apple Award given to outstanding guest lecturers to the MEDEX classroom. For everyone who has heard Dr. Kilmer speak, this comes as no surprise. The decision to honor Dr. Kilmer’s lecture on communication came from student comments like the below:

• “Entertaining speaker. Educational presentation for a topic that isn't strictly "medical." I think it's important to have communication skills based on objective evidence. Very useful for future practice."
• "He had a way of being inspirational, funny, and knowledgeable all at the same time. He made me want to listen to him for the entire presentation.”
• “Really great information here. I am actively trying to make changes in my communication style and will be working to incorporate many of these strategies."
• "The speaker was very engaging and elicited class participation very effectively."
• "One of the finest classes I've attended anywhere."

MEDEX Northwest operates as a section under the Department of Family Medicine, UW Medicine and trains healthcare providers who will practice primary care in medically underserved and rural areas of the UW School of Medicine’s service region. Most of its 2,100-plus graduates work in the WWAMI region.

Department news | September 30, 2018

Vice Chair for Education and Faculty Development Deb Cowley, MD, will receive the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP)’s 2018 Cancro Academic Leadership Award next month at AACAP’s annual meeting in Seattle. Dr. Cowley will be the guest speaker at the Training and Education Lunch where attendees learn about important updates and innovations in child and adolescent psychiatry training for medical students, fellows and the community. Dr. Cowley’s talk, Faculty Development for Clinician Educators, will review the faculty development needs of clinician educators in child and adolescent psychiatry, and she will discuss ways to address these needs within the workplace. The Training and Education Lunch is open to child and adolescent psychiatry residency program directors, medical school clerkship directors, and other faculty who are passionate about education.

Department news | September 30, 2018

Mary Larimer, PhD, became the President of the Research Society on Alcoholism (RSA) in June, 2018. RSA was established in 1976 to assist and encourage the application of research to the solution of problems related to alcoholism. Today, the Society serves as a meeting ground for scientists, providing a forum for communication among researchers and promoting the acquisition and dissemination of scientific knowledge in the areas of basic science, risks and resiliency, education and prevention, treatment, outcome and recovery, and policy and economics. The president serves a one year term and provides opportunities to contribute leadership at a national level on behalf of this specialty. Dr. Larimer is a Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and Director of the Center for the Study of Health and Risk Behaviors.