World Mental Health Day is meant to raise awareness around mental health issues and to mobilize efforts in support of mental health.
Mental health includes emotional, psychological and social well-being. It affects how people think, feel and act.
According to the National Institute of Mental Health, it is estimated that more than one in five U.S. adults live with a mental illness.
Faculty experts at the George Washington University have a number of leading experts available for interviews on a wide range of mental health topics. To schedule an interview with an expert, please contact Katelyn Deckelbaum at [email protected].
Daniel Lieberman, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences, is an expert on depression and anxiety. He is the author of “The Molecule of More,” which explains how the brain chemical dopamine influences the expectations and disappointments.
Lorenzo Norris, is an associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences and chief wellness officer at the GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences.
Amir Afkhami, an expert in psychiatry, holds a joint appointment at the GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences and the Milken Institute School of Public Health. An expert in psychiatry, much of his current work focuses on psychiatric services and education, behavioral health policy, and the mental health consequences of conflict.
Billy Mullins, clinical assistant professor of nursing, is an expert in medical-psychiatric inpatient care. Mullins can discuss the importance of suicide assessment and prevention as well as therapeutic communication and relationships. He can also discuss anxiety and ways to manage anxiety, schizophrenia, depression and substance use disorders.
Jeffrey Akman is an associate professor and interim chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences. He is recognized as a pioneer in HIV/AIDS psychiatry and for his expertise in LGBTQ mental health.
Kathleen Roche, a professor of prevention and community health at the GW Milken Institute School of Public Health, is an expert on adolescent mental health in immigrant Latino families. She can talk about factors that can lead to depression and anxiety in Latino teens.
Rhonda Schwindt, associate professor of nursing, leads efforts to prepare future nurse practitioners in providing affirming mental health care to transgender and gender-expansive patients. She can discuss this work and the mental and physical health disparities in the LGBTQ population as well as the impacts of discrimination in healthcare overall.
Tony Roberson, an associate professor of nursing, is a mental health expert. He is an expert on anxiety, depression and childhood development.
Beth Tuckwiller, an associate professor of secondary special education and transition services, is trained as a mental health counselor and previously specialized in child and adolescent mental health in her clinical work. She can discuss mental health among students and teachers and the impact the pandemic has had on those groups.
RSS