At the Department of Psychiatry’s March 31 Grand Rounds, Craig Katz, MD, discussed the history of epidemics and the effects on mental health, as well as new COVID-19 data from China.
Craig Katz, MD, Clinical Professor of Psychiatry and Global Health, is the founder and director of Mount Sinai’s Global Mental Health Program. He organized the psychiatric response to 9/11 in New York City through an organization he co-founded, Disaster Psychiatry Outreach, including founding and directing the World Trade Center Mental Health Screening and Treatment Program for 9/11 responders. He has also been deeply involved in researching the mental health toll of child separation at Immigration and Customs Enforcement centers, showing the extent of mental health disorders in detained children.
In his grand rounds talk from Tuesday, March 31, Dr. Katz reviews the impact of prior epidemics on humanity and mental health and discusses common human reactions to infectious outbreaks, factors that influence people’s reactions to them, and how to apply these historical lessons in your own practice. He also covers recently published data on the mental health repercussions of health care workers following COVID-19 in China. His presentation provides us with a bird’s eye perspective on the challenge we are currently facing, and highlights our role in this crisis as mental health care providers. Watch the lecture >