New York Times | October 30, 2025
Results suggest that insurers should reimburse for text-based therapy, which could expand access for people with difficulty attending video appointments, said Patricia Areán, PhD.
Research & Innovation
Kate Comtois named department’s first Vice Chair of Research
Department News | September 30, 2025
Earlier this year, the department formed a new Research Council to provide a dedicated forum to address challenges and opportunities related to our research mission. To lead this new council, we are delighted to announce that Kate Comtois, PhD, MPH has agreed to serve as Vice Chair for Research beginning this fall.
Trouble sleeping? Blame the “Black Moon”
AXIOS Seattle | August 21, 2025
David Avery, MD and other researchers have tracked bipolar patients whose sleep and mood cycles lined up almost perfectly with lunar rhythms.
How your brain’s nightly cleanse keeps it healthy
Scientific American | August 19, 2025
Washing waste from the brain is an essential function of sleep — and it could help ward off dementia. Jeff Iliff, PhD is interviewed.
Podcast: Collaborative Care for Opioid Use Disorder in Primary Care
JAMA Network | August 20, 2025
Anna Ratzliff, MD, PhD and Andy Saxon, MD discuss their new paper and how the collaborative care model can be adapted to treat opioid use disorder.
With just a few messages, biased AI chatbots swayed people’s political views
UW News | August 6, 2025
A team of researchers including Daniel Fisher, MD, PhD found that explicitly biased chatbots often try to persuade users by shifting how they frame topics.
Mental health research in the Department of Veterans Affairs
JAMA Psychiatry | July 23, 2025
Mark Reger, PhD and Miriam Smyth examine the rationale for a mental health reserach program in the VA given the current contraction phase of the executive branch.
Veterans with less-than-honorable discharges face elevated suicide risk
U.S. Medicine | July 15, 2025
The character of a servicemember's discharge may carry serious consequences for their long-term mental health, according to a new study led by Mark Reger, PhD.
New report describes Ukraine’s “stolen generation”
KUOW | July 21, 2025
This segment highlights the psychological trauma experienced by children in Ukraine due to the ongoing war. It features Eric Trupin, PhD who has been using poetry to help young people precess their emotions.
Children are safer when families are supported, not separated
Seattle Times | July 16, 2025
In this op-ed, Susan Stoner, PhD and Jim Walsh write bout the impending impacts of budget cuts on the safety of children and what policymakers should and shouldn't do to protect them.
