Our Story
The story of the Massachusetts General Hospital Department of Psychiatry is the story of the best of modern psychiatry.
The department includes more than 50 specialty clinical and research programs that address virtually every aspect of psychiatric disorders - the brain diseases also known as mental illness - including depression, schizophrenia, and a host of other disorders such as anxiety, panic, attention deficit, bipolar, obsessive compulsive, and post-traumatic stress. All are complex, painful, often debilitating conditions that alter the perceptions, feelings and behaviors of those who suffer.
“Psychiatry is a field of brain study and repair,” notes Jerrold F. Rosenbaum, MD, the department’s seventh and current chief of Psychiatry. “In decades past, the mind and body, or should I say mind and brain, were seen as different and distinct. Modern psychiatry sees them as one. Our organ of interest in psychiatry is the brain, and what a marvelously and infinitely complex one it is.”
The Department of Psychiatry serves patients, families and the community by vigorously pursuing a four-part mission:
Caring for Patients
The Department of Psychiatry offers an exceptional depth and breadth of patient services including: emergency and urgent care; general and specialty outpatient care for adults, children and adolescents; a 24-bed inpatient unit; psychological and educational assessment services; dedicated psychiatry services for both medical and surgical inpatients and outpatients; an addictions program; a neurotherapeutics service, and forensic psychiatry services. The department’s more than 600 affiliated psychiatrists and psychologists are uniquely trained as clinicians, researchers and teachers, and include some of the field’s most accomplished and recognized specialists, particularly in psychopharmacology, cognitive-behavioral therapy and behavioral medicine. They are able to achieve extraordinary treatment results because of the research that underlies their expert care, and the patient concerns that drive the research questions they study. For its exceptional results in patient care, the MGH Department of Psychiatry has earned the #1 ranking in psychiatry every year since 1996 in the annual “America’s Best Hospitals” survey by US News & World Report.
Leadership
Conducting Pioneering Research
The integration of patient care and clinical research has been a hallmark of the Department of Psychiatry for more than 30 years. The department’s clinical research programs began with small scale studies by psychiatrists and psychologists seeking to provide new treatment options for their patients.
Today, the department has the largest clinical research program in the hospital, with studies at the forefront of neuroscience, molecular biology, and genetics. Thanks to tools such as neuroimaging, genetics and genomics, Department of Psychiatry researchers are beginning to map the pathways through which brain biology interacts with life circumstances and events to produce psychiatric illnesses. This research is making it possible to pinpoint affected areas of the brain; understand inherited risk factors and the role of environmental stress; develop more effective psychotherapies, medications, and neurotherapeutic treatments; and ultimately to prevent these illnesses from occurring by intervening early.
Educating Professionals
To address the serious shortage and availability of expert psychiatric care, each year the Department of Psychiatry trains 100 adult and child psychiatry residents, psychology interns, and clinical fellows to become leaders in their areas of specialty. Another 40,000 psychiatrists, non-psychiatric physicians and other health professionals are reached through the MGH Psychiatry Academy, a comprehensive program of web-based seminars, satellite symposia, teleconferences and live symposia. In addition, the department educates professionals in education, law, the military and the clergy who carry their enhanced understanding of the discipline of psychiatry out into their work with affected individuals and their families.
Serving the Community
To address the mental health needs of people in Mass General’s neighborhoods who suffer from severe and persistent mental illness, substance abuse, poverty, immigration challenges, homelessness and multiple traumas, the Department of Psychiatry partners with local organizations through its Division of Public and Community Psychiatry. The department also offers free patient and family education programs in Boston through its Psychiatry Academy. To serve the hospital’s global neighbors, the department was the first hospital department in the United States to establish a division of global psychiatry. The Chester M. Pierce Global Psychiatry Division addresses the acute shortage of mental health professionals in developing countries through training and service opportunities.
05/07/2012: Brief training program improves resident physicians’ empathy with patients
Resident physicians' participation in a brief training program designed to increase empathy with their patients produced significant improvement in how patients perceived their interactions with the residents.
04/16/2012: Adolescents Benefit From Attending 12-Step Meetings
Adolescents Benefit From Attending 12-Step Meetings, according to study led by MGH psychologist John F. Kelly
02/27/2012: Body Dysmorphic Disorder
Sabine Wilhelm, PhD, director of the Body Dysmorphic Disorder Clinic at Mass General and associate professor of Psychology at Harvard Medical School (HMS), and Jennifer L. Greenberg, Psy.D, staff psychologist at Mass General and instructor in Psychology at HMS, discuss body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) and a landmark study on BDD treatment.
02/13/2012: A blood test may eventually help diagnose depression
A small, pilot study by researchers in the Depression and Clinical Research Program at Mass General, shows a new blood test accurately distinguishes patients diagnosed with depression from control participants.
02/07/2012: The Family Dinner Project
Context is Everything: The ‘Where’ of Family Dinners
02/01/2012: Blood test accurately distinguishes depressed patients from healthy controls
The initial assessment of a blood test to help diagnose major depressive disorder indicates it may become a useful clinical tool. A team including MGH researchers reports that analyzing levels of nine biomarkers accurately distinguished patients diagnosed with depression from control participants without significant false-positive results.
01/24/2012: The Family Dinner Project
Context is Everything: The ‘Where’ of Family Dinners
12/19/2011: Maternal Substance Use May Increase Abuse Risk in Children
Maternal Substance Use May Increase Abuse Risk in Children – Medscape News coverage of meeting presentation by MGH physician Amy Yule
12/19/2011: Sports Parents Bad Behavior
Sports Parents Bad Behavior discussion with Mass General psychologist Dr. Richard Ginsburg
12/07/2011: Family Works: Seasonal Affective Disorder (S.A.D.) in kids
Dr. Ellen Braaten offers advice to parents and children about Seasonal Affective Disorder
12/05/2011: Childhood disorder prompts study of infection link to mental illness
Studies indicate that some mental illnesses can be triggered by an immune response
09/12/2011: Social contacts, self-confidence crucial to successful recovery through Alcoholics Anonymous
Among the many ways that participation in Alcoholics Anonymous helps its members stay sober, two appear to be most important – spending more time with individuals who support efforts towards sobriety and increased confidence in the ability to maintain abstinence in social situations.
08/15/2011: CDC reports risky behaviors of gay, lesbian and bisexual students
Mass General psychiatrist, BJ Beck, MSN, MD, says the recent CDC findings comparing "unhealthy risk behaviors" for gay, lesbian and bisexual students to heterosexual peers should get the public's attention.
07/29/2011: Carpenter Professorship established
Globally, more than 450 million people suffer from a mental health problem or mental illness. Over half of these people are women. Lee Cohen, MD, founding director of the MGH Center for Women’s Mental Health, recently was recognized for his exceptional work in this area as the first incumbent of the Edmund N. and Carroll M. Carpenter Professorship in Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School (HMS) in the field of Women’s Mental Health.
07/19/2011: MGH ranks #2 in nation
MGH ranks #2 in 2011-2012 U.S. News & World Report "Best Hospitals" rankings
07/15/2011: New guide helps doctors identify signs of trouble in military families
New tool is designed to help pediatricians and other clinicians identify and address the signs of deployment-related stress among children and families.
06/20/2011: Mental Health of Returning Veterans is Focus of 3rd Annual Boston Conference
Many of the nation’s top experts in mental health care for veterans gather in Boston to assist community-based healthcare professionals to effectively identify and treat returning veterans who suffer from psychological and physical wounds of deployment.
06/20/2011: Free Conference for Clergy and Spiritual Leaders Focuses on Mental Health of Returning Veterans Affected by Combat Stress
Clergy members and spiritual leaders of all denominations are invited to attend an innovative symposium that focuses on understanding and guiding the recovery of veterans returning from Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as their families.
05/31/2011: Long-term study data supports association between childhood ADHD and substance abuse risk
An analysis of more than 10 years of data confirms that ADHD alone significantly increases the risk of future cigarette smoking and substance abuse in both boys and girls.
05/05/2011: Combination of ADHD and poor emotional control runs in families
A subgroup of adults with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) also exhibit excessive emotional reactions to everyday occurrences, and this combination of ADHD and emotional reactivity appears to run in families, an MGH study finds.
04/29/2011: Lecturer highlights value of diversity
MGH Hotline 4.29.11 During his April 13 lecture in the Ether Dome, Price Cobbs, MD – an internationally recognized psychiatrist and management consultant – encouraged audience members to reflect on what diversity means both to them and their organization.
04/29/2011: In general awards and honors
MGH Hotline 4.29.11 In general
04/21/2011: Meditation may help the brain "turn down the volume" on distractions
The positive effects of mindfulness meditation on pain and working memory may result from an improved ability to regulate a crucial brain wave called the alpha rhythm, which is thought to "turn down the volume" on distracting information.
04/18/2011: Wondering if you are “Facebook Depressed”? It’s not that simple.
Eugene Beresin MD, Director of the Center for Mental Health and Media at the Massachusetts General Hospital Department of Psychiatry and Associate Director Tristan Gorrindo MD, discuss a new phenomenon known as Facebook Depression.
03/07/2011: Increased, mandatory screenings help identify more kids with emotional/behavioral problems
An MGHfC study published in the March 2011 Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine shows that Massachusetts' new court-ordered mental health screening and intervention program led to more children being identified as behaviorally and emotionally at risk.
02/25/2011: Carl Bell, MD, receives first Frances J. Bonner, MD, Award
MGH Hotline 2.25.11 A physician in the Department of Psychiatry for five decades, Frances J. Bonner, MD, was both the first African American woman resident and first African American woman faculty member at the MGH.
02/04/2011: MGH award honors “In Treatment”
MGH Hotline 02.04.11 “IN TREATMENT,” a provocative drama series on HBO, offers viewers a glimpse behind the normally closed doors of talk therapy, illuminating the lives and stories of both the main character, a psychoanalyst named Paul Weston – who is in therapy himself – and his many patients.
01/21/2011: Mindfulness meditation training changes brain structure in 8 weeks
Participating in an 8-week mindfulness meditation program appears to make measurable changes in brain regions associated with memory, sense of self, empathy and stress.
12/14/2010: The effects of spirituality in Alcoholics Anonymous on alcohol dependence
A new study shows that, as attendance at AA meetings increases, so do the participants' spiritual beliefs, especially in those individuals who had low spirituality at the beginning of the study.
12/06/2010: Psychotic-like symptoms associated with poor outcomes in patients with depression
Among patients with depression, the presence of symptoms associated with bipolar disorder does not appear to be associated with treatment resistance, according to a study from MGH investigators. However, many patients with depression also report psychotic-like symptoms, such as hearing voices or believing they are being spied on or plotted against, and those patients are less likely to respond to treatment.
11/23/2010: Probiotics under study as treatment for IBS and depression
A new study will measure the ability of probiotic bacteria GanedenBC30 (Bacillus coagulans GB1-30, 6086) to help people diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and major depressive disorder (MDD).
11/18/2010: Culturally sensitive treatment model helps bring depressed Chinese immigrants into treatment
A treatment model designed to accommodate the beliefs and concerns of Chinese immigrants increased the percentage of depressed patients entering treatment nearly sevenfold.
11/10/2010: Tips for eparenting: Setting limits on your kids' screen time
A recent study found that kids, ages 8-18, spend on average 11 hours a day in front of computers, TV, or other digital devices. In this article, Tristan Gorrindo, MD, and Anne Fishel, PhD, of MGH Psychiatry, offer advice to parents on how to set-age appropriate limits on their children's screen time.
09/02/2010: Back to school sleep adjustments can be helpful for children
As the summer days wind down, many parents prepare to ready their children for the changes that a new school year brings. Among the things parents may want to do is help their child adjust to a new sleep schedule prior to the first day of school.
08/31/2010: Driver's education for the brain teaches social and emotional competency in the classroom
The Massachusetts General Hospital School Psychiatry Program announces the creation of an educational curriculum to help teachers train their students' brains. Doctors say such efforts could curb bullying by helping students develop core social and emotional skills.
08/30/2010: Get in the Game
Clinical and Sport Psychologist Richard Ginsburg provides advice on how to help children foster a healthy love of sports and physical activity.
08/24/2010: Cognitive behavior therapy improves symptom control in adult ADHD
Adding cognitive behavioral therapy – an approach that teaches skills for handling life challenges and revising negative thought patterns – to pharmaceutical treatment for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder significantly improved symptom control in adult patients.
07/16/2010: MGH ranks among top
The MGH ranked third among the country's top hospitals on the annual list of "America's Best Hospitals" issue of U.S. News & World Report.
06/25/2010: Final Frontier comes to MGH campus
MGH Hotline 06.25.10 "WHEN YOU LOOK BACK at the earth from space, you realize that you are all on earth together -- there are no lines or boundaries, no countries," said Robert Satcher, MD, PhD, as he described being in space at the MGH Department of Psychiatry's Diversity Committee annual spring speaker series.
05/26/2010: Study finds “law-like” patterns in human preference behavior
In a study appearing in the journal PLoS ONE, MGH scientists describe finding mathematical patterns underlying the way individuals unconsciously distribute their preferences regarding approaching or avoiding objects in their environment.
05/14/2010: Recognition from Malaysia
MGH Hotline 05.14.10 The influence of the MGH around the world was recently recognized with two Brandlaureate awards from the Asia Pacific Brands Foundation.
05/04/2010: New Balance Named as Presenting Sponsor of the Run to Home Base: Fans Race to Help Wounded Veterans - Fenway's Famed Home Plate is Finish Line Run to Home Base Presented by New Balance
Local company teams up with Mass General and Red Sox Foundation to support veterans.
04/27/2010: The meaning of mean
To many, bullying can seem like a rite of passage in childhood. But while it may be fairly commonplace, is bullying really "just kids being kids"? For some victims, the negative effects can last a lifetime, and those who engage in bullying are demonstrating deeper-set issues themselves.
04/02/2010: Fashion luminaries discuss eating disorders at Harris Center forum
MGH Hotline 4.2.10
02/16/2010: A Race Like No Other - Fans Race in Honor of Veterans
This May, some 3,500 Red Sox fans will be able to know the thrill of running across home plate at America’s Most Beloved Ballpark, while at the same time raising funds to support services for local veterans with deployment-related stress disorders and traumatic brain injuries.
01/28/2010: Attendance at Alcoholics Anonymous meetings may reduce depression symptoms
One of many reasons that attendance at Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meetings helps people with alcohol use disorders stay sober appears to be alleviation of depression. A team of researchers has found that study participants who attended AA meetings more frequently had fewer symptoms of depression – along with less drinking – than did those with less AA participation.
01/13/2010: Words used to describe substance-use patients can alter attitudes, contribute to stigma
Changing the words used to describe someone struggling with alcoholism or drug addiction may significantly alter the attitudes of health care professionals, even those who specialize in addiction treatment.
01/08/2010: Making 2010 the year for positive change
MGH Hotline 01.08.10 To help determined individuals aiming for self-improvement in 2010, Bruce Masek, PhD, of the MGH Department of Psychiatry, weighs in on the unique tradition that is making New Year's resolutions.
12/14/2009: Study finds increased risk of death, stroke in postmenopausal women taking antidepressants
Women participating in the Women's Health Initiative study who reported taking an antidepressant drug had a small but statistically significant increase in the risk of stroke and of death compared with participants not taking antidepressants.
11/06/2009: Seventy-five years strong
MGH Hotline 11.06.09 Most know him as the Academy Award-winning actor from hit movies such as "Jaws," "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," and "Mr. Holland’s Opus." But many do not know Richard Dreyfuss as someone who -- like thousands of others -- struggles with bipolar disorder.
10/21/2009: Sexual problems rarely addressed by internists caring for cancer survivors
More than half the internists responding to a survey indicated they rarely or never discussed sexual problems with their patients who had survived cancer.
09/25/2009: Reaching Home Base
MGH Hotline 09.25.09 The bases were loaded during the Sept. 17 pregame ceremonies at Fenway Park. At first base was Tim Wakefield, on second Jason Bay and at third Mike Lowell.
09/17/2009: Red Sox Foundation, Mass General Team Up to Help Veterans of Afghanistan and Iraq Wars
The Red Sox Foundation and Massachusetts General Hospital today will announce a multifaceted initiative aimed at helping veterans of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq who are affected by post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury.
09/01/2009: MGH Study Aims to Ease Depression in Diabetics
A new study at MGH is trying to see whether cognitive behavioral therapy can help ease depression in diabetics. Dr. Mallika Marshall reports.
07/01/2009: Large study strongly supports many common genetic contributions to schizophrenia, bipolar disorder
An international research consortium has discovered that many common genetic variants contribute to a person’s risk of schizophrenia and are also involved in bipolar disorder.
06/22/2009: The road to recovery
Through a collaborative effort between the MGH Charlestown HealthCare Center and the city of Boston, the Monument Street Counseling Center is helping to lessen the stigma surrounding mental health issues and substance abuse.
05/12/2009: Enriched environment improves wound healing in rats
Improving the environment in which rats are reared can significantly strengthen the physiological process of wound healing, according to a report in the open-access journal PLoS ONE. MGH researchers found that giving rats living in isolation the opportunity to build nests led to faster and more complete healing of burn injuries.
04/10/2009: MGH Psychiatry explains bipolar disorder to probation officers
MGH Hotline 4.10.09 Caught committing a petty theft, a young woman is placed on probation. Her probation officer reviews her file and notices a diagnosis of bipolar disorder. At their first meeting, the probationer is jittery and fretful.
03/24/2009: Depression and diabetes
For many patients the two go hand in hand.
03/08/2009: Bridging the gaps
Massachusetts General Hospital tries new approach to help teens and young adults battle their addictions.
02/18/2009: A Compass for Navigating the Mental Health Journey in Troubled Times
Although many people affected by the economic downturn could benefit from mental health treatment and services, two factors typically discourage them from seeking help: the stigma often associated with mental health conditions, and the feeling of not knowing how to find the right mental health care providers, information, and services. A web site (www.moodandanxiety.org) recently re-launched by Massachusetts General Hospital’s Department of Psychiatry addresses both of these issues.
01/03/2012: Mindscapes Winter 2012
View the Mindscapes Winter 2012 issue (PDF)
The newsletter for friends and supporters of the Dept. of Psychiatry. In this issue: "The Making of a Psychiatrist" highlights the Psychiatry department’s
teaching mission
08/23/2011: Mindscapes Summer 2011
View the Summer 2011 issue of Mindscapes (PDF)
The newsletter for friends and supporters of the Dept. of Psychiatry. In this issue: Helping Young People Reach Their Potential; Pediatric Bipolar conference.
04/11/2011: Mindscapes Spring 2011
View the Spring 2011 issue (PDF).
The newsletter for friends and supporters of the Dept. of Psychiatry. In this issue: learn about Behavioral Medicine at MGH, and our new Child Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) Clinic.
12/06/2010: Mindscapes Fall 2010
Mindscapes Fall 2010 (PDF)
The newsletter for friends and supporters of the Department of Psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital.
04/15/2010: Mindscapes 2010, Spring
View the Spring 2010 issue (PDF).
The newsletter for friends and supporters of the Department of Psychiatry.
08/02/2009: Mindscapes Summer 2009
Mindscapes Summer 2009 (PDF)
The Massachusetts General Hospital Department of Psychiatry newsletter for friends and supporters.
09/29/2008: Mindscapes, 2008, Fall
View the Fall 2008 issue (PDF)
The Massachusetts General Hospital Department of Psychiatry newsletter for friends and supporters.
03/21/2008: Mindscapes, 2008, Spring
View the spring 2008 issue (PDF)
The newsletter for friends and supporters of Mass General Psychiatry
12/21/2007: Mindscapes, 2007, Winter
View the winter 2007 issue (PDF)
The newsletter for friends and supporters of Mass General Psychiatry
09/22/2007: Mindscapes, 2007, Fall
View the Fall 2007 issue (PDF)
The newsletter for friends and supporters of the Dept. of Psychiatry at Mass General Hospital
11/10/2012: 10th Annual Schizophrenia Education Day
10th annual Schizophrenia Education Day -- A free educational program for patients, families and friends
04/02/2012: Health is Beauty: Defining Ourselves
The Harris Center’s 15th Annual Public Forum focuses on Body Image and the Media, offering the community opportunities for discussion with leaders in the media, fashion and publishing industries.
03/09/2012: Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology
Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology 15th annual conference
01/28/2012: Sins and Sensibility: A Psychotherapeutic Journey Toward Self-Acceptance
Department of Psychiatry’s Annual Psychodynamic Psychotherapy Case Conference
01/01/2012: Virtual Grand Rounds: New Series in Spring, Summer and Fall 2012
New Psychiatry Grand Rounds Series in Spring, Summer and Fall 2012
01/01/2012: The Fundamentals of CBT: An Interactive Online Course
The Fundamentals of CBT: An Interactive Online Course
11/15/2011: The Psychiatric Genetics and Translational Research Seminar (PGTRS)
PGTRS is a weekly seminar sponsored by Psychiatric Genetics Program in Mood and Anxiety Disorders (PGPMAD). Devoted to genetic, clinical, and translational research in psychiatry and neuroscience, the seminar series is open to investigators, clinicians, and trainees. This seminar series is held on Tuesdays from 10:00am-11:00am in the Garrod and Mendel Conference Room on the 2nd floor of MGH’s Simches Research Building (185 Cambridge Street, Boston).
11/05/2011: 9th Annual Schizophrenia Education Day
9th Annual Schizophrenia Education Day A free educational program for patients, families and friends
Why do adolescents act impulsively?
John Kelly discusses why adolescents act impulsively.
How can schools engage parents in helping students with addiction issues?
Jeff Bostic, M.D., Ed.D., talks about how schools can engage parents in helping students with addiction issues
Three steps for starting a successful conversation with someone you suspect is using
Three steps for starting a successful conversation with someone you suspect is using, according to Martha Kane, Ph.D.
Concerned your child is using? How to bring it up
Concerned your child is using? Martha Kane, Ph.D., talks about how to bring it up
75th Anniversary: Dept. of Psychiatry
Symposium celebrating the 75th anniversary of the MGH Dept. of Psychiatry
The first step: Connect emotionally
The first step: Connect emotionally, says Martha Kane, Ph.D.
#1 in the nation for psychiatric care 
U.S. News & World Report ranks Mass General psychiatry first among U.S. hospitals.
Support the Department of Psychiatry
When you support the Department of Psychiatry, you are making a significant contribution to advancing care at the hospital.
