Columbia Psychiatry

10/02/2025

New non-medication, non-invasive intervention to be done at home.

https://recruit.cumc.columbia.edu/studyinfopage/2929?fbclid=IwY2xjawNLg6ZleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETE0V1kyVDk2dHZzaUlpblNYAR7fu5ZBkOAUhSl_paOTQ4wY72gsHLRS3uHtKCwVaTdP1uKFtsP3Djps_WwGQw_aem_OZ-nIXGyOGaznw7w--2tsg

09/08/2025

What lasting impact did the pandemic have on kids born in 2020?

Dr. Dani Dumitriu says early delays in “COVID babies” largely disappeared as children caught up—thanks to the brain’s resilience.

More than 3.6 million children born in 2020 amid the COVID-19 global pandemic are walking into elementary schools across the country this fall.

08/29/2025

Back-to-school means new routines—and sometimes procrastination. 📚

Dr. Puliafico spoke with NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital's Health Matters podcast about why kids (and adults) procrastinate and how to build healthier habits.

🎧 Listen: https://healthmatters.nyp.org/how-can-i-stop-procrastinating-with-dr-tony-puliafico/

08/13/2025

When worry snowballs into racing thoughts & physical symptoms, you may be in an anxiety spiral.

Dr. Courtney DeAngelis shares ways to break the loop, like visualizing worries drifting away & shifting focus.

Read this if your brain always jumps to the worst-case scenario.

08/11/2025

New Columbia study finds cannabis products from unlicensed NYC shops often lack required safety labels & use kid-friendly packaging. Dr. Ryan Sultán warns these gaps put consumers—especially youth—at risk.

Researchers at Columbia University find that many cannabis products sold in unlicensed shops in New York state lack required health and safety labels and feature cartoon graphics attractive to youth.

08/08/2025

Extended chatbot use may worsen existing mental health issues in some users by validating their assumptions. Dr. Ragy Girgis told TIME that people susceptible to fringe beliefs may be especially at risk.

AI companies need to do more to protect users' mental health, experts say.

07/30/2025

A Columbia-led trial found the anti-herpes drug valacyclovir was not effective in treating early Alzheimer’s, despite other research suggesting a link.

“There was no efficacy signal,” said lead investigator Dr. D.P. Devanand.

Some research suggests that herpes infections contribute to Alzheimer’s, but in a clinical trial, antiviral treatment did not slow disease progression in people with early symptoms.

07/25/2025

Chronic Lyme disease is attracting research interest. Columbia’s Dr. Brian Fallon, director of the Lyme and Tick-Borne Disease Research Center, told The Wall Street Journal that researchers are exploring “many different possible mechanisms” behind persistent symptoms.

Newer trials are starting to track Lyme patients and investigate potential treatments

07/23/2025

After a 20-year history of severe psychiatric issues and repeated hospitalizations, Mary’s symptoms seemed to vanish following chemotherapy. Her remarkable recovery adds to growing evidence that some cases diagnosed as schizophrenia may, in fact, be caused by autoimmune disorders. These discoveries helped inspire the creation of Columbia’s SNF Center for Precision Psychiatry, founded in 2023 to uncover biologically distinct—and potentially treatable—subtypes of mental illness.

Some psychiatric patients may actually have treatable autoimmune conditions. But what happens to the newly sane?

01/19/2024

Yesterday we gathered for our annual staff winter mixer featuring hot food, sweet treats, and prizes! We couldn't do our important work without our caring, supportive colleagues, from maintenance staff and security to faculty and trainees.

11/30/2023

First Lady Rosalynn Carter was referred to by many as the First Lady of Mental Health for her tireless advocacy. Our own Dr. Harold Pincus (left) worked with Mrs. Carter helping to shape policy on the 1978 President’s Commission on Mental Health while he was a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholar.⁠
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Prior to becoming First Lady of the US, she adopted mental health as her foremost issue while First Lady of Georgia, serving on a commission dedicated to improving services for those with mental health issues. ⁠
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Mrs. Carter used her first interview as First Lady of the US to reaffirm her commitment to the issue, stating that her goal was “for every person who needs mental health care to be able to receive it close to his home, and to remove the stigma from mental health care so people will be free to talk about it and seek help. It’s been taboo for so long to admit you had a mental health problem.”

10/27/2023

Last night we joined our friends at American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital in celebrating our colleague Dr. Warren Ng's years of leadership as the President of AACAP.

His dedication to improving psychiatric care for young people has brought real improvements to the field.