News

Duke Psychiatry researchers F. Joseph McClernon, PhD, and Maggie Sweitzer, PhD, and Duke medical student Dana Rubenstein, MHS, are studying the increasing use of cannabis and tobacco among people seeking pain relief. Using brain scans, they’re investigating how these substances affect pain and whether they might contribute to worsening pain symptoms.

Conventional wisdom holds that people are easily seduced by first impressions, but according to a new study, sleeping on it can help us avoid judging a book solely by its cover. In research in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, a team of researchers at Duke University started with an age-old question: Is it better to start strong with a good first impression, or end on a good note? Lead author Allie Sinclair, PhD, did the research as part of her doctorate in the lab of Alison Adcock, MD, PhD, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences.

A study of millions of patient visits to primary care physicians, led by Dr. Avshalom Caspi, professor in psychology and neuroscience and psychiatry and behavioral sciences, shows that mental health concerns are second only to musculoskeletal complaints in everyday care. One in nine patients was seeking care primarily because of a mental health concern.

In this AAMC Viewpoint article, Damon Tweedy, MD, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences and New York Times best-selling author, argues that curtailing training in diversity, equity, and inclusion risks ignoring the shadow of history that still haunts many Black patients.

Rather than focusing on fixing symptoms, professor and psychiatrist Warren Kinghorn, MD, ThD, describes in a new book, "Wayfaring," how to reframe mental health care as learning to live more wisely and fully in the world.

About 30% of U.S. adults say they do not get enough sleep, which can lead to increased risk of hypertension, diabetes, obesity, depression, heart attack and stroke. Duke Psychiatry's Jessica Lunsford Avery, PhD, said there are several common obstacles we face when trying to improve our sleep. In this Working@Duke article, she shares insights on how to overcome the pitfalls of not getting the sleep we need.

Teresa Fisher is celebrating 39 years at Duke and 24 years as part of the Duke Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences staff. As a financial management analyst II, she works on Duke Health Integrated Practice (DHIP) payroll and budgets, University financials, faculty compensation, and special projects.

Warren Kinghorn, MD, ThD, a professor in psychiatry and behavioral sciences and divinity, co-leads Re-Imagining Medicine, a summer program that asks pre-health students to develop an understanding of their own stories, the stories of their communities, and the stories of the cultures that have shaped them. 

Psychiatrist Nora Dennis, MD, MSPH, DFAPA, an alumna of Duke's medical school and psychiatry residency, saw a need for more programs to help people return to their lives after a mental health crisis. She has created one at Jubilee Healing Farm, a place she calls “generative and abundant and collaborative." Dennis is also an adjunct assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences.

Duke Psychiatry's Sarah Maylott, PhD, and Liz Conradt, PhD, and colleagues documented the complexity of emotional dysregulation in pregnant women and showed that it is linked to neurobehavior in their newborns. The study, published in the journal Pediatrics Research, could have implications for reducing opioid use and potentially improving newborn neurobehavioral outcomes.