Psychiatry and Mental Health

Host: Maurice Pickard, MD

Guest: Elaine Birchall

Although hoarding was only recently added to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, understanding what exactly this disorder it and how it impacts approximately 21 million Americans is essential. So to help shed light on this often-overlooked disorder, Dr. Maurice Pickard is joined by Elaine Birchall, co-author of Conquering the Clutter: Strategies to Identify, Management, and Overcome Hoarding.

Host: Joshua Sharfstein, MD

Guest: Amy Greensfelder, MSW

Guest: Shantay Jackson

Fallout from COVID-19 goes beyond case counts—we are facing “an epidemic of isolation and loneliness,” says Councilman Zeke Cohen. The Baltimore Neighbors Network is a virtual community of trained volunteers who are available to listen to city residents and provide resources for follow-up if needed.

Councilman Cohen, Shantay Jackson, executive director of the Baltimore Community Mediation Center, and Amy Greensfelder, executive director of Pro Bono Counseling, talk to Dr. Josh Sharfstein about how the network is addressing the mental health risks.

Published April 9, 2020

Host: Joshua Sharfstein, MD

Guest: Albert Wu, MD

In the midst of a pandemic, resilience is key for health care workers. Dr. Albert Wu, co-director of RISE—Resilience In Stressful Events—an emotional peer support structure at Johns Hopkins Hospital, talks to Dr. Josh Sharfstein about the importance of supporting hospital staff and what can be done to mitigate anxiety and stress in this unprecedented situation.

Published March 25, 2020

Host: Joshua Sharfstein, MD

Guest: Monica Schoch-Spana, PhD

For many, COVID-19 has revealed an anxiety-ridden world of unknowns. Protecting our mental health is just as important as protecting our physical health in this pandemic. But how can we find comfort if we’re inundated with scary messages and physically cut off from people we love? Dr. Monica Schoch-Spana of the Center for Health Security talks to Dr. Josh Sharfstein about caring for ourselves and for vulnerable populations like frontline healthcare providers, friends, and neighbors in quarantine, and those with underlying health conditions like anxiety or depression.

Published March 23, 2020

Host: Matt Birnholz, MD

Guest: Donald Meyer, MD

Guest: Travis Mickelson, MD

With physical and behavioral health practices often operating in silos, many healthcare providers are left wondering whether their patients’ holistic needs are being adequately addressed. To help bridge this gap in care, Drs. Donald Meyer and Travis Mickelson helped lead the implementation of a more integrative approach to behavioral health services within their organizations and are now sharing the benefits and challenges that came along with it.

Host: Jenn Simmons, MD

Guest: Dike Drummond, MD

Half of all doctors report troubling symptoms like depression, exhaustion, dissatisfaction, and a sense of failure, and Dr. Dike Drummond was one of them. Experiencing burnout not once, but twice led him to dedicate his career to coaching physicians and healthcare organizations, which he dives into with Dr. Jen Simmons.

Host: Andrew Wilner, MD, FACP, FAAN

Hysteria is nothing new, but looking at how the spread of misinformation affects this disorder is a new concept. Providing an update to a blog he wrote back in 2012 entitled An Explanation for Mass Hysteria that was also featured in his book Bullets and Brains, Dr. Andrew Wilner dives into the contemporary problem of mass hysteria.

Host: Brian P. McDonough, MD, FAAFP

Guest: Kisma Orbovich

Improvement is something we’re all constantly chasing, whether it’s in the form of a promotion, a bigger house, or maybe even an ideal weight. So why do we often fail miserably at these attempts to make our lives better?

To get to the bottom of this dilemma, Dr. Brian McDonough is joined by Kisma Orbovich, the CEO of Illumination Academy, to reveal the secret to true success and how gratitude may just be the lifehack we’ve been searching for.

Host: Brian P. McDonough, MD, FAAFP

Guest: Teresa Gil, PhD

Since about 21 million mothers in America experienced sexual abuse in their childhood, there’s a good chance that some of these women are our patients. So as their physicians, how can we provide them with the best possible care as they continue to cope with the lifelong effects of sexual abuse? That’s what Dr. Brian McDonough explores with Dr. Teresa Gil, author of Women Who Were Sexually Abused as Children: Mothering, Resilience, and Protecting the Next Generation.

Host: Mario R. Nacinovich, Jr., MSc

Guest: Raj Mehra, PH.D.

Seelos Therapeutics is leading the charge against central nervous system (CNS) disorders by advancing late-stage therapeutic candidates with proven mechanisms of action for patients with suicidality in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and major depressive disorder (MDD). And Mario Nacinovich welcomes Dr. Raj Mehra, Chairman, Founder, and CEO of Seelos Therapeutics, to hear all about it.