May 12, 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought new stressors into everyone’s lives. It can be tempting to pour a glass of wine or grab a beer to help cope. However, during this public health crisis, what are the ramifications in regards to alcohol use and alcoholism?

May 4, 2020

I talk (over video chat) to many students in the healthcare professions through my position at Student and Resident Mental Health at the CU Anschutz Medical Campus. Since the COVID-19 pandemic and its requirement for social distancing began in mid-March, a common theme in our conversations has appeared. These once ambitious, hardworking, stoic doers are surprised they can’t engage themselves in activities, despite having all this free time on their hands.

Apr 28, 2020

Steven Berkowitz, MD addresses how pandemics are different from other disasters, how COVID-19 is different from previous pandemics, and what you can do today to cope with this inordinate stress.

Apr 22, 2020

It’s not whether EDs have the capacity to conduct assessments and crisis evaluations for patients with psychiatric conditions that worries Scott Simpson, medical director of psychiatric emergency services at Denver Health and associate professor of psychiatry at the CU Anschutz Medical Campus. It’s what will happen to patients after such assessments are made that worries him. “I think there are going to be a lot of challenges coming up related to transitions of care,” he said. Psychiatric News, April 9, 2020

Apr 22, 2020

The nightly howl is a primal affirmation that provides a moment’s bright spot each evening by declaring, collectively: We shall prevail, said Scott Cypers, director of Stress and Anxiety programs at the Helen and Arthur E. Johnson Depression Center at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. The New York Times via Associated Press, April 10, 2020

Apr 22, 2020

“The genie is out of the bottle on this,” said Jay Shore, director of telemedicine at the Helen and Arthur E. Johnson Depression Center and director of telemedicine programming for the department of psychiatry at the University of Colorado. He thinks this is the beginning of a new era that will last beyond the pandemic. “There’s going to be a much wider and diffuse acceptance of telemedicine as we go forward,” he added. The Hospitalist, April 9, 2020

Apr 22, 2020

Matt Mishkind, deputy director of the Helen and Arthur E. Johnson Depression Center at the University of Colorado School of Medicine in Denver, is concerned about families learning to juggle work and school at home. “We’re going to start to see a lot more parenting issues come out, and probably more need for family services as well,” he predicted. CBS4, April 14, 2020

Apr 21, 2020 by Department of Psychiatry

From Dr. Epperson comes a new series of articles about mental healthcare in the time of COVID-19

Apr 13, 2020 by Department of Psychiatry

From the Helen and Arthur E. Johnson Depression Center, Scott Cypers, PhD, assistant professor of psychiatry, and Amy Lopez, PhD, LCSW, instructor of family medicine, have launched an online parenting support group to help parents in our community as they cope with the pandemic, home schooling, and other causes of anxiety. The initial support group meeting had 162 Zoom participants and the video posting of that meeting has had more than 1,700 views. More information about future events are posted on the Johnson Depression Center website.

Feb 18, 2020 by Department of Psychiatry

Child psychiatrist Joel Stoddard said that, at least in research on young animals, “there are permanent changes in neural pathways for attention and memory.” “And it makes you more prone to goosing that reward system,” said Stoddard [assistant professor of psychiatry at CU School of Medicine]. CPR News, Feb. 12, 2020

Feb 18, 2020 by Department of Psychiatry

“Early identification and treatment of perinatal depression can improve outcomes for mothers and children by promoting both parenting success and early childhood development,” Jay H. Shore, of CU School of Medicine, and colleagues wrote. Healio, Feb. 10, 2020

Feb 18, 2020 by Department of Psychiatry

The Maine Medical Research Institute will partner with the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus to study why therapeutic horseback riding benefits children with autism and co-occurring psychiatric diagnoses. Both organizations have been awarded $2.5 million for their research….A previous study by Colorado Anschutz researcher Robin Gabriels showed that a 10-week horseback riding session reduced irritability and hyperactivity while improving social communication skills. The new research will look at why. News Center Maine (Portland, Maine), Feb. 10, 2020

Jan 24, 2020 by Department of Psychiatry

Researchers at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora brought notable attention to the work there this month as they explore help for children and teens vulnerable to bipolar disorder. Researchers found two treatments were more effective at delaying new and recurring bipolar symptoms: 12 sessions of teaching families better communication skills or six sessions of traditional psychoeducation to help patients understand and cope with their symptoms.

Jan 31, 2020 by Department of Psychiatry

“For someone to be a candidate for deep brain stimulation, we want them to have tried all the standard therapies and to have had those not work,” explains Rachel Davis, a psychiatrist at UCHealth and director of the OCD Clinic at CU Anschutz [and assistant professor of psychiatry at CU School of Medicine]. “There is a small but not trivial risk of a serious complication from surgery. We know that putting these electrodes in is safe for the vast majority of patients. But some, you can you run a risk of a stroke, of bleeding in the brain, of infection, of hardware-related complications. And so that’s not to be taken lightly,” Steven Ojemann, neurosurgeon at UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital [and associate professor of neurosurgery at CU School of Medicine], told Newsy. Newsy, Jan. 23, 2020

Jan 24, 2020 by Department of Psychiatry

“This study also aims to refine information on the durability, dose and sub-population effects of this intervention,” said Robin Gabriels, professor of psychiatry at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and licensed clinical psychologist who practices at Children’s Hospital Colorado.

Jan 23, 2020 by Department of Psychiatry

“This study is an important first step in trying to decrease the severity of bipolar disorder early on for children,” said study co-author Christopher Schneck, an associate professor of psychiatry at the University of Colorado. “Efforts at home and in health care settings, like providing skill training for families, can make a big difference in a child’s suffering.” U.S. News & World Report, Jan. 20, 2020

Jan 14, 2020 by Department of Psychiatry

Standard treatments for his obsessive-compulsive disorder hadn't provided relief, so UCH doctors offered up one last option: deep-brain stimulation for OCD.

Jan 6, 2020 by Department of Psychiatry

Opinion column by Steven Berkowitz, professor of psychiatry and the director of the Stress, Trauma, Adversity Research and Treatment Center at the CU School of Medicine, and co-author: “As these children and parents arrive at our doorstep seeking asylum, as is their legal right, it is wrong for this administration to knowingly place them in dangerous environments when safe alternatives exist and their presence in the United States has no negative impact on our society. It is our duty to protect them.” USA Today, Jan. 6, 2020

Dec 19, 2019 by Department of Psychiatry

The Brain & Behavior Research Foundation in December announced that the top research achievements of 2019 include an investigation led by CU faculty members. The work by Robert Freedman, MD, professor and former chair of psychiatry, M. Camille Hoffman, MD, associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology in the division of maternal fetal medicine, and seven other CU faculty members found that during pregnancy, the presence of adequate levels of the nutrient choline in the mother’s system has a protective role in the development of the fetal brain and on behavior in children following birth. The results of the study are described in an article published in May 2019 in The Journal of Pedicatrics. The Brain & Behavior Research Foundaiton is the world’s largest private funder of mental health research grants and has awarded more than $408 million to more than 4,800 scientists around the world.

Dec 23, 2019 by Department of Psychiatry

Michael Allen, a professor at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, has been working on the idea with stakeholders nationwide for years. “Part of the desire is not just to create a simpler number but to develop a better system,” Allen told FOX31. Fox31, Dec. 12, 2019