May 11, 2021

On this episode of Mind the Brain, Dr. Neill Epperson explores the intersection of breast cancer and brain health with her two guests: Dr. Anosheh Afghahi, the Medical Director of the Hereditary Cancer Program at the University of Colorado and an Assistant Professor of Medicine in the division of Medical Oncology, and Dr. Kristi Wilson, a breast cancer survivor—and one of Dr. Afghahi’s patients.

May 4, 2021

On this episode of Mind the Brain, Dr. Michelle West, the Director of the Program for Early Assessment, Care, and Study (PEACS) here in our Department of Psychiatry and the University of Colorado, talks to Dr. Neill Epperson about joining the Department of Psychiatry and starting PEACS mid-pandemic, and how to assess for and treat early psychosis.

Apr 27, 2021

On this premiere episode of Mind the Brain Season two, Chancellor Marks talks with Dr. Neill Epperson about what makes CU Denver’s student body unique—and uniquely vulnerable to the impacts of COVID-19—and how faculty and staff can support their students through extreme crisis while still taking care of their own stress.

Dec 16, 2020

Resilience – it’s what we are all searching for during this season of unprecedented uncertainty. In this week’s episode, Dr. Neill Epperson speaks with Dr. Anne Dondapati Allen to gain her insight on connecting with our inner resilience.

Nov 16, 2020

Laura Anthony, PhD, Pediatric Mental Health Institute, says we should expect kids to feel more stress, sadness and grief about the things they’re missing and to watch for signs of distress.

Dec 10, 2020

Sharon Hunter, a developmental psychologist at CU Anschutz Medical Campus [and associate professor of psychiatry at CU School of Medicine], said choline is “an important, neurotransmitter-like substance that’s really critical for appropriate fetal brain development.”

Dec 7, 2020

Dr. Steven Berkowitz is a psychiatrist specializing in trauma in children and adolescents. He says the pandemic has taken a mental health toll on all of us, especially Generation Z, the young people who lived through 9/11, natural disasters and a rapidly changing climate. The impacts, he says, will far outlast the pandemic.

Nov 15, 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic has ensured that holiday gatherings will look a lot different for many this year, and for some parents, it might be difficult to explain why to their children.

Dec 8, 2020

In our second episode of the new season, we discuss why some Americans may be hesitant to get COVID-19 vaccines and strategies for effectively addressing concerns related to new vaccines. Dr. Neill Epperson discusses these various barriers to participation in an insightful conversation with Dr. Chad Morris.

Nov 18, 2020

Dr. Neill Epperson is joined by family and psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner, Laura McGladrey. Together they reassess our definition of “thriving” as we continue to live through uncertainty and a rapidly changing reality.

Jul 28, 2020

You’ve probably heard people say that a healthy gut equals a healthy mind. But what does this actually mean and what can we learn from this in the time of COVID-19? In this episode, Dr. Neill Epperson explores how to mind our microbiome-gut-brain axis with Dr. Christoper Lowry, an Associate Professor in both the Department of Integrative Physiology at UC Boulder and the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and Center for Neuroscience here on the Anschutz Medical Campus.

Jul 22, 2020

We can all agree that 2020 has been a real mess. The novel coronavirus pandemic has caused immense disruption to our daily routines, social connections, family relationships, working and academic goals, and plans for the future. In this episode, Dr. Epperson talks with Dr. Roselinde Kaiser, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience at UC Boulder, about what brain science can teach us about adolescent stress and resilience

Jul 16, 2020

During a global pandemic, it comes as no surprise that getting good sleep can feel difficult. Decreased sleep quality and quantity including difficulty falling and staying asleep, sleeping too much, distressing dreams and sometimes nightmares are common during times of stress and the current period of prolonged urgency, uncertainty and heightened work/life demands. The following are concrete suggestions to help improve sleep during this challenging time.

Jul 13, 2020 by Department of Psychiatry

The School of Medicine Faculty Senate will have two continuing faculty officers and two newly elected officers for the 2020-2021 academic year. Newly elected are Gregary Bocsi, DO, assistant professor of pathology, as president-elect, and Merlin Ariefdjohan, PhD, MPH, assistant professor of psychiatry, as secretary. Continuing faculty officers are Jaime Arruda, MD, associate professor of clinical practice of obstetrics and gynecology, who will be president, and Nicole Draper, MD, associate professor of clinical practice of pathology, who will be past-president. Thanks to all for their leadership.

Jul 7, 2020

Fear and anxiety keep us safe from harm – they prevent us from running into the street when a car comes racing toward us, and motivate us to prepare well for a presentation we’re nervous to give. But fear and anxiety can also spiral into uncontrollable worry, endless internet searching, and avoiding valued life activities that connect us with the people we love. How do we harness the positive features of fear and anxiety without becoming trapped by their risks?

Jun 30, 2020

We all know we live in challenging and uncertain times. The Renée Crown Wellness Institute at the University of Colorado Boulder was established with a commitment to the vision of a world in which every young person thrives, supported by the caring relationships and inner resources required for a lifetime of wellness. The last few months have challenged this vision in profound ways. The pandemics of the coronavirus and systemic racism call upon us with urgency to attend to our individual and collective mental health and wellness.

Jun 23, 2020

Anxiety helps us stay vigilant for potential future threats, and the COVID-19 pandemic brings with it significant uncertainty. We certainly expected a spike in reports of anxiety symptoms like worries, fear, irritability, and low mood in the children and adolescents we care for in the clinic and our homes.

Jun 16, 2020

These are uncertain times, and uncertainty is familiar territory for people living with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). OCD sufferers have more difficulty tolerating uncertainty and are more likely to feel uncertain in situations where others would not (1, 2). Compulsions are driven by the quest for certainty.

Jun 9, 2020

Have you seen these sorts of social media posts? Society has framed the quarantine during the COVID-19 pandemic as a recipe for disaster; being stuck at home, close to snacks with nothing to do but sit around. Weight loss, working out and dieting are being pushed as necessities to help you come out of this pandemic feeling refreshed and renewed. Ideas like these ignore the fact that this is not a vacation, and that while we may have extra time on our hands, it does not mean that we have the bandwidth or the finances to cook, eat healthy or work out regularly. For many of us, our routines—and the feelings of security that go with them—have disappeared, and this can cause a disruption in eating patterns and self-image.

Jun 4, 2020

“There’s already a kindling that’s saturated with gasoline, and it doesn’t take much to set it off,” Berkowitz said, alluding to the cloud of COVID-19 followed by the uprising against police brutality after the recent death of George Floyd.