Massachusetts General Hospital | Psychiatry

Meet Our Staff

Helen Riess, M.D.
Helen Riess, M.D. is Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and Director of the Empathy and Relational Science Program in the Department of Psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). She conducts research on improving empathy and relational skills in physicians. In clinical studies conducted at MGH and at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary (MEEI), her novel neurobiologically-based empathy curriculum has demonstrated statistically significant improvement in physician empathy at the level of patient perception.

Dr. Riess was a topic leader for the Coalition for Physician Communication at Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Riess' empathy training was a course offered by the Massachusetts General Physician's Organization (MGPO) in a quality improvement initiative to enhance communication in more than 1500 physicians at MGH. Dr. Riess is a speaker at national and international conferences on empathy in medicine and medical education.

Committed to medical education, Dr. Riess completed a Rabkin Medical Education Fellowship at Harvard Medical School and Mount Auburn Hospital. She was a Harvard Macy Scholar at the Harvard Macy Institute for Physician Educators in the Health Professions in. There, she designed research protocols to test her empathy training curriculum. A pilot study was completed at MEEI with Otolaryngologists, followed by a randomized, controlled trial of empathy training at MGH and the MEEI with six medical and surgical specialties.

Research funding for her studies has come from several foundations, including The Risk Management Foundation, The Josiah Macy, Jr. Foundation for Medical Education, The Arnold P. Gold Foundation for Humanism in Medicine, The David Judah Fund and The Office for Patient Safety at MGH.

Dr. Riess has taught and supervised psychotherapy to residents since completing her own residency at MGH. In her role as Director of Education for Psychotherapy Supervisors, she initiated a faculty development curriculum that offered continuing education and risk management credits for faculty supervisors. Her program was translated into a supervision course for residents and junior faculty at MGH. Dr. Riess also developed a novel integrative group psychotherapy curriculum for the treatment of eating disorders. This was published in her book, Integrative Group Treatment for Bulimia Nervosa.

Dr. Riess is an adult psychiatrist who specializes in psychotherapy and psychopharmacology for mood and adjustment disorders. Dr. Riess has written numerous journal articles on empathy in medicine, risk management, continuing education in patient-doctor relations.

Selected References:

Riess, Helen, Kelley, John M., Bailey, Robert W., Dunn, Emily J., Phillips, Margot. Empathy Training for Resident Physicians: A Randomized Controlled Trial of a Neuroscience-Informed Curriculum", Journal of General Internal Medicine, Online First™, 2 May 2012

Riess H. Empathy in Medicine: A neurobiological Perspective. Journal of the American Medical Association. 2010; 304(14) 1604-1605.

Riess H. Biomarkers in the psychotherapeutic relationship: The role of physiology, neurobiology, and biological correlates of E.M.P.A.T.H.Y. Harvard Review of Psychiatry. 2011; 19:1-13.

Riess H, Kelley JM, Bailey RW, Konowitz P, Gray ST. Improving Empathy and Relational Skills in Otolaryngology Residents: A Pilot Study. Otolaryngology –Head & Neck Surgery, 2011; 144 (1) 120 -122.

Kelley JM, Lembo AJ, Ablon JS, Villanueva JJ, Conboy LA, Levy R, Marci CD, Kerr CE, Kirsch I, Jacobson EE, Riess H, Kaptchuk TJ. Patient and practitioner influences on the placebo effect in irritable bowel syndrome. Psychosomatic Medicine 2009; 71: 789-804.

Riess H, Marci CD. The Neurobiology and Physiology of the Patient –Doctor Relationship: Measuring Empathy. Medical Encounter 2007; 21(3):38-41.

Marci CD, Riess H. The clinical relevance of psychophysiology: Support for the psychobiology of empathy and psychodynamic process. American Journal of Psychotherapy 2005; 59: 213-226.

Gordon C, Riess, H. The Formulation as a Collaborative Conversation. Harvard Review of Psychiatry 2005; 13:112-123.

Riess H. Risk Management for the Supervising Psychiatrist. Psychiatric Times 2009; 26(9):38-45.

Riess H, Herman, JB. Teaching the teachers: A model course for psychotherapy supervisors. Academic Psychiatry 2008; 32:259-264.

Riess H, Fishel, AK. The necessity of continuing education for psychotherapy supervisors. Academic Psychiatry 2000; 24:3; 147-155.

Riess, H. Dockray-Miller, M. Integrative Group Treatment for Bulimia Nervosa. New York: Columbia University Press. 2002.

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John M. Kelley, PhD
John M. Kelley, PhD is an Associate Professor of Psychology at Endicott College, an Instructor of Psychology at Harvard Medical School, and a licensed clinical psychologist in the Psychiatry Service at Massachusetts General Hospital. He also maintains a private practice in general psychotherapy. Dr. Kelley earned a bachelor’s degree from Harvard University, and MS and PhD degrees in Clinical Psychology from the University of Oregon. In addition to his expertise in psychotherapy, Dr. Kelley has a significant background in statistics, research design, and psychometric measurement, and he has served as a co-investigator or consultant on eight National Institutes of Health (NIH) research grants. His current research interests include: (1) investigating the placebo effect in medical and psychiatric disorders; and (2) understanding how the doctor-patient relationship improves clinical outcomes in medicine and psychiatry. Dr. Kelley is the author or co-author of twenty-five peer-reviewed publications in such journals as Psychosomatic Medicine, British Medical Journal, Experimental Brain Research, and Social Science and Medicine.

Selected References:
Riess, Helen, Kelley, John M., Bailey, Robert W., Dunn, Emily J., Phillips, Margot.Empathy Training for Resident Physicians: A Randomized Controlled Trial of a Neuroscience-Informed Curriculum", Journal of General Internal Medicine, Online First™, 2 May 2012

Conboy, L. A., Macklin, E. A., Kelley, J. M., Kokkoto, E., Davis, R. B., & Kaptchuk, T. J. (2010). Which patients improve: Characteristics increasing sensitivity to a supportive patient-practitioner relationship. Social Science and Medicine, 70(3), 479-484.

Cremonini, F., Ziogas, D. C., Chang, H. Y., Kokkotou, E., Kelley, J. M., Conboy, L., et al. (2010). Meta-analysis: the effects of placebo treatment on gastro-oesophageal reflux disease. Alimentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics, 32(1), 29-42.

Dahlin, C. M., Kelley, J. M., Jackson, V. A., & Temel, J. S. (2010). Early palliative care for lung cancer: Improving quality of life and increasing survival. International Journal of Palliative Nursing, 16(9), 420-423.

Kaptchuk, T. J., Friedlander, E., Kelley, J. M., Sanchez, M. N., Kokkoto, E., Singer, J. P., et al. (2010). Placebos without deception: A randomized controlled trial in irritable bowel syndrome. PloS One, 5(12), e15591.

Kaptchuk, T. J., Kelley, J. M., Conboy, L. A., Davis, R. B., Kerr, C. E., Jacobson, E. E., et al. (2008). Components of placebo effect: Randomized controlled trial in patients with Irritable Bowel Syndrome. British Medical Journal, 336, 998-1003.

Kaptchuk, T. J., Kelley, J. M., Deykin, A., Wayne, P. M., Lasagna, L. C., Epstein, I. O., et al. (2008). Do “placebo responders” exist? Contemporary Clinical Trials, 29(4), 587-595.

Kerr, C. E., Shaw, J. R., Conboy, L. A., Kelley, J. M., Jacobson, E. E., & Kaptchuk, T. J. (in press). Placebo acupuncture as a form of ritual touch healing: A neurophenomenological model. Consciousness and Cognition.

Kaptchuk, T. J., Shaw, J., Kerr, C. E., Conboy, L. A., Kelley, J. M., Csordas, T. J., et al. (2009). Maybe I made up the whole thing: Placebos and patients’ experiences in a randomized controlled trial. Culture, Medicine, and Psychiatry, 33, 382-411.

Kelley, J. M., Boulos, P. R., Kaptchuk, T. J., & Rubin, P. A. D. (2009). Mirror, mirror on the wall: Placebo effects that exist only in the eye of the beholder. Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice, 15, 292-298.

Kelley, J. M., Lembo, A. J., Ablon, J. S., Villanueva, J. J., Conboy, L. A., Levy, R., et al. (2009). Patient and practitioner influences on the placebo effect in irritable bowel syndrome. Psychosomatic Medicine, 71(7), 789-797.

Riess, H., Kelley, J. M., Bailey, R. W., Konowitz, P. M., Gray, S. T. (2011). Improving empathy and relational skills in otolaryngology residents: A pilot study. Otolaryngology: Head and Neck Surgery, 144(1), 120-122.

Wechsler, M. E., Kelley, J. M., Boyd, I. O. E., Dutile, S., Marigowda, G., Kirsch, I., et al. (in press). Assessing placebo effects: A double-blind randomized crossover trial comparing drug, placebo and natural history in asthma. New England Journal of Medicine.

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Margot Phillips, MD
maphillips1@partners.org

Margot Phillips, M.D. is a psychiatrist and a graduate of the MGH-McLean Adult Psychiatry Training Program, where she served her final year as the Chief Resident in Psychotherapy at MGH. Dr Phillips began working with Dr Riess in 2009 and joined the research team in 2010. Beginning July 2011, Dr Phillips will pursue a fellowship in Psychosomatic Medicine through Boston University. She is also a candidate in the MGH Center for Psychoanalytic Studies.

 

Selected References:

Riess, Helen, Kelley, John M., Bailey, Robert W., Dunn, Emily J., Phillips, Margot.Empathy Training for Resident Physicians: A Randomized Controlled Trial of a Neuroscience-Informed Curriculum", Journal of General Internal Medicine, Online First™, 2 May 2012

Phillips M., Gross A. Approach to the Medically Ill Patient. In The Massachusetts General Hospital/ McLean Hospital Residency Handbook of Psychiatry. By the Residents and Faculties of the Massachusetts General and McLean Hospitals. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 1st edition. June, 2010 pp: 129-139.

Gordon C., Phillips M. and Beresin G. The Doctor-Patient Relationship. In The Massachusetts General Hospital Handbook of General Hospital Psychiatry. 6th Edition. Stern TA, Fricchione GL, Cassem NH, Jellinek MS, Rosenbaum JF. Mosby: 2010 pp. 15-24.

Beresin G., Phillips M. and Gordon C. The Psychiatric Interview. In The Massachusetts General Hospital Handbook of General Hospital Psychiatry, 6th Edition. Stern TA, Fricchione GL, Cassem NH, Jellinek MS, Rosenbaum JF. Mosby: 2010 pp. 25-38.

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Maren Leuschner, M.D
Maren Leuschner, M.D. joined the Psychotherapy Research Group at the Department of Psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital in 2010 where she has been involved in empathy training research. After earning her medical degree from the University of Ulm, Germany, in 2004, she worked as an Intern at the Psychiatric Center Nordbaden, Wiesloch, Germany. In 2008 she completed her Research Dissertation at the Department of Psychosomatics in Ulm, Germany with the Title: "Changes of Marital Quality and Somatic Syndromes at the Transition to Parenthood in Men”.

Since 2006 Dr. Leuschner has been a Fellow at the Department of Psychosomatics at the University of Heidelberg, Germany, where she works with a broad spectrum of psychosomatic disorders, leading group psychotherapy and family therapy sessions.

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Lidia Schapira M.D.
Lidia Schapira, M.D. is Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and a staff oncologist in the Gillette Center for Breast Oncology at the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center. She conducts research on psychosocial issues in cancer care and is keenly interested in improving communication between cancer patients and their physicians through educational interventions.

Dr. Schapira led the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s (ASCO) task force on Physician-Patient communication and chaired workshops attended by American and international oncologists designed to improve their communication skills. She developed print and film teaching materials and is a speaker at national and international conferences on physician- patient communication in oncology. Her work addresses the importance of collaborative decision-making at many different and crucial points of the patient’s illness continuum.

Dr. Schapira’s clinical work focuses on the care of women with breast cancer. She participates in research at the MGH and the Dana Farber Harvard Cancer Center. She currently collaborates on a longitudinal cohort study of young women with breast cancer.

Selected References

Schapira L. An existential oncologist. J Clin Oncol. 2002;20(9):2407-8.

Schapira L. Communication skills training in clinical oncology: the ASCO position reviewed and an optimistic personal perspective. Crit Rev Oncol Hematol. 2003;46(1):25-31.

Schapira L. Shared uncertainty. J Support Oncol. 2004;2(1):14, 18

Hoffman M, Ferri J,Sison C, Roter D, Schapira L, Baile W. Teaching communication skills: an AACE survey of oncology training programs. . J Cancer Educ. 2004 Winter;19(4):220-4. . 2004;19(4):220-4

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Áine Lorié, PhD
Áine Lorié completed her PhD in Sociology at the National University of Ireland, Galway in June 2009. Prior to this, she conducted research in applied sociology for both academic and professional (market-research) purposes. This work heavily included medical based projects, in particular mental health research.

Dr. Lorié currently teaches online as an Adjunct Faculty with Kaplan University in the Department of Social Sciences as well with Regis University’s College for Professional Studies School of Humanities and Social Sciences. She simultaneously assists as a research collaborator in the Department of Psychiatry at Massachusetts General where she has been working on several projects and provides qualitative research support as well as a complementary sociological perspective. Dr. Lorié’s principal career goals and research interests are geared towards expanding dialogue between the professions of sociology and psychiatry, psychology, and psychotherapy in order to further understand therapy in its social context.

Selected References:
Lorié, Á (in press). Sacred Belief & Secular Health?: a study on mental illness and religion in modern Irish society. Peter Lang (Oxford) Ltd.

Hodges, K & Lorié, Á (in press). Ignoring the Social Elements: Research of Prevention-Focused Group Programs for Preadolescents and Adolescent (review), in International Journal for Group Psychotherapy

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Emily J. Dunn
Emily J. Dunn graduated from Simmons College in May 2011 with a B.A in Psychology and a minor in Art. She has been working with the Empathy and Relational Science Program since January 2010. Her long term goal is to earn a PhD in Clinical Psychology.

Selected References:
Riess, Helen, Kelley, John M., Bailey, Robert W., Dunn, Emily J., Phillips, Margot.Empathy Training for Resident Physicians: A Randomized Controlled Trial of a Neuroscience-Informed Curriculum", Journal of General Internal Medicine, Online First™, 2 May 2012

 

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Gordon Kraft-Todd
Gordon Kraft-Todd graduated from Harvard College in 2007 with a B.A. in Leadership, a self-designed major aimed at synthesizing psychological, philosophical, and sociological perspectives on leadership. Following graduation he designed a course of experiential research in eastern spiritual traditions and intellectual research on evolution and ethics. Gordon is a research assistant in the Empathy and Relational Science Program who has worked as a psychology research assistant and lab manager with the Moral Cognition, Cognitive Evolution, and Canine Cognition laboratories in the Department of Psychology at Harvard University.

Gordon intends to pursue graduate work that integrates basic social psychology research in moral cognition and prosocial behavior. In addition to his work with the Empathy and Relational Science Program, he is also working on a grant through the Edmund J. Safra Center for Ethics at Harvard Law School investigating the psychological roots of institutional corruption in academia.

 

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Alumni

Rob Bailey
Rob Bailey graduated from the University of Oregon in 2003 with a B.S. in Business Administration and a concentration in Finance. After working as a credit analyst in commercial banking for a year, Rob spent two years teaching English in Kyrgyzstan with the Peace Corps. Since 2007, Rob has been focusing specifically on a career in Clinical Psychology. For the past year, Rob has been involved with the Psychotherapy Research Group in support of Dr. Helen Riess’s research studying the effectiveness of a training program designed to bring empathy and humanistic ideals to the field of medicine.

In addition to his work at MGH, Rob is a residence counselor at the Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Institute at McLean Hospital in Belmont, MA, where he provides direct patient care to adults with severe OCD spectrum disorders through group and individual counseling. Rob will begin doctoral studies in Clinical Psychology in the fall of 2011 and will focus his graduate work on examining the efficacy of psychodynamic psychotherapy and psychoanalysis through process and outcome research.

Selected References:
Riess, Helen, Kelley, John M., Bailey, Robert W., Dunn, Emily J., Phillips, Margot.Empathy Training for Resident Physicians: A Randomized Controlled Trial of a Neuroscience-Informed Curriculum", Journal of General Internal Medicine, Online First™, 2 May 2012