UCSF Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences

04/02/2026

“Psychedelics may still be a valuable treatment option,” said Balázs Szigeti, PhD, a clinical data scientist at UCSF’s Translational Psychedelic Research Program and the co-first author of a new paper which found that drugs like L*D and psilocybin are no better than antidepressants when it comes to treating major depression. “But if we want to understand their true benefits, we have to compare them fairly — and when we do that, the advantage over standard antidepressants is much smaller than many people, including myself, expected.”

Szigeti's study focuses on a long-standing challenge in psychedelic research: blinding. In standard drug trials, the study is blinded, meaning neither patients nor researchers know who receives the active treatment and who gets a placebo. Psychedelic studies are hard to blind because the drugs cause strong effects.

In psychedelic studies, placebo groups often improve less, partly because participants may realize they did not receive the drug. In antidepressant trials, placebo groups tend to improve more, possibly because more placebo recipients believe they received the active therapy. This difference can make psychedelics appear more effective.

https://psychiatry.ucsf.edu/news/are-psychedelics-better-antidepressants

03/31/2026

We regret that due to circumstances beyond our control, the 2026 Robert S. Wallerstein Lecture in Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy has been canceled. At this time, we do not anticipate being able to reschedule this year’s event for another date.

We understand that many of you were looking forward to this year's lecture, and we share in your disappointment. Your support means the world to us, and we're deeply sorry for any inconvenience this may cause. We hope to see you again at our next lecture.

03/30/2026

DPBS researchers like Daniel Mathalon, PhD, MD, are paving the way to preemptively treat schizophrenia, a disorder which affects about 1% of people worldwide.

"In our research, we identify biomarkers that tell us which high-risk patients are most likely to develop schizophrenia and which are most likely to improve on their own," explains Mathalon. "With better biomarkers and safer medications, early treatment at the high-risk stage may ultimately lessen the symptoms of schizophrenia or even prevent it."

https://psychiatry.ucsf.edu/news/stop-schizophrenia-it-starts-we-might-be-right-track

03/28/2026

Congratulations to our newly matched Adult Psychiatry Residency Training Program Class of 2030! We can't wait to see you here in San Francisco this June.

Read more about them: https://psychiatry.ucsf.edu/news/ucsf-adult-psychiatry-residency-training-program-matches-16-its-class-2030

03/27/2026

A new study is dampening some of the hype surrounding psychedelic therapy. It found that drugs like L*D and psilocybin are only as good as — but no better than — antidepressants when it comes to treating major depression.

Previous studies have suggested that psychedelics may be more powerful than standard antidepressants for conditions like depression, but the new analysis published in JAMA Psychiatry on March 18 concluded that much of psychedelics’ apparent advantage in those earlier trials may be explained by how the studies were designed.

A new study is dampening some of the hype surrounding psychedelic therapy. It found that drugs like L*D and psilocybin are only as good as — but no better than — antidepressants when it comes to treating major depression.

03/26/2026

Join us next Wednesday (April 1) for the 2026 Robert S. Wallerstein Lecture in Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy, featuring psychologist and noted health policy expert Kimberlyn Leary, PhD, MPA.

This year's event marks the 20th anniversary of one of the nation's foremost lectures centered on promoting psychoanalytic knowledge and clinical expertise that impact psychiatry, psychotherapy, and psychoanalysis in the 21st century.

It's free and open to the public, but the talk will be geared towards a professional audience. Registration is required.

The UCSF Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences will host the 2026 Robert S. Wallerstein Lecture in Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy on Wednesday, April 1, 2026, marking the 20th anniversary of one of the nation's foremost events focused on showcasing psychoanalytic knowledge and clinical....

03/23/2026

We join the and global scientific communities in mourning the passing of Chancellor Emeritus J. Michael Bishop, MD.

Dr. Bishop's intellectual rigor, curiosity, and commitment to advancing science in the service of human health leave a lasting legacy, and his vision and leadership strengthened UCSF’s position as a global center for biomedical research, education, and patient care.

Former UCSF Chancellor and Nobel-Prize winning cancer researcher, J. Michael Bishop, has died at the age of 90.

03/19/2026

People whose brains age faster than they do are more likely to develop dementia later in life, according to a new study by UCSF researchers. The study, published today in JAMA Network Open, found that the greater the gap in someone’s “brain age” compared to their actual age, the more likely they were to develop dementia. The smaller the gap, the less likely they were to develop dementia.

Many factors play a role in how fast the brain ages, including sleep quality, how fragmented sleep is, and how deep sleep is.

“Those will contribute to brain age, and therefore the brain age gap,” said senior author Yue Leng, an associate professor of psychiatry at UCSF who studies the link between sleep and neurodegeneration.

People whose brains age faster than they do are more likely to develop dementia later in life, according to a new study by UCSF researchers.

03/19/2026

Join us on April 7 for the second half of our 2026 Trainee Research Award Presentations, featuring talks by Alexandra Klein, PhD, and Chimno Nnadi, MD, PhD https://ow.ly/kG3C50YwtoQ

03/17/2026

UCSF's Daniel Mathalon, PhD, MD, believes that burgeoning knowledge about biomarkers — biological measures of a medical condition that also serve as markers of treatment effectiveness — could help intercept us schizophrenia and tailor treatment to each patient’s level of risk. He directs the UCSF Path Program, serving young patients with psychosis and those with milder symptoms that put them at high risk of developing it.

Schizophrenia affects 1% of the global population and is caused by a complex interplay between at least 280 genes and environmental factors like childhood trauma and early cannabis use. Patients with good support and treatment can do well. But those suffering from the disease’s most disabling symp...

03/11/2026

⏰ STARTS IN 1 HR ⏰

UCSF DPBS – "Pediatric Mental Health Emergencies" with Jennifer A. Hoffmann, MD.

To access the Zoom livestream, visit psychiatry.ucsf.edu/watchgrandrounds

03/05/2026

Next week, join us on Wednesday 3/11 for our next Distinguished Visiting Child and Adolescent Lecturer Series – “Pediatric Mental Health Emergencies” with Jennifer A. Hoffmann, MD.

More info here, https://calendar.ucsf.edu/event/260311gr.