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For too many people experiencing acute mental illness, cries for help bring police and handcuffs rather than compassionate medical intervention. But this doesn’t have to be the case. The Wilson Center for Science and Justice at Duke Law explores this issue and makes recommendations in their latest report, co-authored by Duke Psychiatry's Marvin Swartz, MD.

Angel Peterchev, PhD, professor in psychiatry and behavioral sciences, received the Brainbox Initiative’s 2024 John Rothwell Award. This annual award is given to one individual for “excellence in non-invasive brain stimulation research that stimulates further work at a higher scientific level.”

The NC Trauma-Informed Communities Project team held a retreat in Pine Knoll Shores, NC, on September 23-25. The gathering was an opportunity for those working in the trauma-informed space to elevate their equity-focused, community-led approaches and to build community and enhance connection amongst themselves through relational power and restorative justice practices.

A unique partnership between the Department of Psychology and Department of Psychiatry took root in 1946, when Duke’s clinical psychology PhD program was established—just three years after the Department of Psychiatry was founded. Nearly 80 years later, the clinical, education, and research collaboration has continued to thrive. 

Kim G. Johnson, MD, an assistant professor of psychiatry and neurology, is the division chief of the Memory Disorders program at Duke’s School of Medicine. She is also a co-leader of the clinical group at the Duke-UNC Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, a collaboration funded by the National Institutes of Health. Johnson and her colleagues are on the cutting edge of research and treatment to slow down the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. She leads trials on gene therapy for patients with genetic risk for Alzheimer’s disease and new treatments that may prevent the disease.

Duke AI Health director of data science Benjamin Goldstein, PhD, and interim director for Duke Center for Autism and Brain Development Lauren Franz, MBChB, MPH, were awarded an NIH grant to develop approaches for using existing sources of health data to better understand late language emergence in children, or “late talking.”

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.