May is observed as Mental Health Awareness Month.
Since its inception in 1949, Mental Health Awareness Month has served as a way to encourage people to seek treatment without shame while also educating people on the topic.
According to the National Institute of Mental Health, it is estimated that one in five U.S. adults live with mental illness.
The George Washington University has a number of leading experts available for interviews on a wide range of mental health topics. To interview an expert, please contact the GW media relations team at [email protected].
General
Daniel Lieberman, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral 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. He established the medical-psychiatric unit at Medstar Washington Hospital Center, which focuses on providing holistic medical and mental health care in collaboration versus the traditional silos. 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.
Fallon Goodman is an assistant professor of clinical/community psychology. Goodman's research examines how people foster social connection and resilience to adversity. Her work explores daily patterns of coping and barriers to social connection (e.g., social anxiety; rejection), with a focus on people who are vulnerable to social stress.
Minority Mental Health
Jeffrey Akman is an associate professor and interim chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. He is recognized as a pioneer in HIV/AIDS psychiatry and for his expertise in LGBTQ mental health.
David Huebner, an associate professor of prevention and community health, is an expert in psychology and public health. He studies how anti-gay discrimination affects health and can discuss how parents can prevent mental health issues in lesbian, gay or bisexual youth.
Sherry Molock is an associate professor of clinical psychology. Her expertise includes risk and protective factors in suicide in African American adolescents/young adults and mental health help-seeking behaviors in African American adolescents/young adults.
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.
Adolescent
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.
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