Women’s Mental Health Related Content

Staff Profile: Shelly F. Greenfield, MD, MPH

Shelly F. Greenfield, MD, MPH, is an addiction psychiatrist, clinician, and researcher. She serves as principal and co-investigator on federally funded research focusing on substance use disorders treatment, gender differences, and substance health services. She received a National Institute on Drug...

Staff Profile: Esther Dechant, MD

Esther Dechant, MD, received her medical degree from Harvard Medical School. She completed the residency program in psychiatry at Cambridge Hospital and a fellowship in child and adolescent psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital and McLean Hospital. Board certified by the American Board of...

Staff Profile: R. Kathryn McHugh, PhD

R. Kathryn McHugh, PhD, engages in clinical and translational research focusing on the nature and treatment of anxiety and addiction. She is particularly interested in the study of affective vulnerability factors, such as distress intolerance and stress reactivity, that are common across...

Staff Profile: Dawn E. Sugarman, PhD

Dawn E. Sugarman, PhD, is a research psychologist in the Division of Alcohol, Drugs, and Addiction at McLean Hospital. Dr. Sugarman focuses her research and clinical work on the treatment of addictive behaviors. She is particularly interested in gender-specific treatment for substance use disorders...

Staff Profile: Michael B. Leslie, MD

Dr. Leslie is the founder and director of the McLean Hospital Initiative for LGBTQ Mental Health, a program dedicated to improving the lives of LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and gender nonconforming, and questioning or queer-identified) people and families affected by psychiatric...

Staff Profile: Mary C. Zanarini, EdD

Mary C. Zanarini, EdD, began her career studying the phenomenology and etiology of borderline personality disorder (BPD), finding that it is a valid psychiatric disorder that has a clear-cut clinical presentation, can be delimited from other near-neighbor disorders, runs in families, and has a...

Staff Profile: Kristin N. Javaras, DPhil, PhD

Kristin N. Javaras, DPhil, PhD, is a clinical psychologist and statistician whose research and clinical practice focus on eating disorders and other eating-related problems. Her research combines psychology, neuroscience, and epidemiology—and uses innovative methodology and technology—to better...

Staff Profile: Laura Payne, PhD

Laura Payne, PhD, is the director of the Clinical and Translational Pain Research Laboratory at McLean Hospital. Her research focuses on identifying neurobiological, behavioral, and psychological biomarkers related to pain, particularly menstrual pain in adolescents. Specifically, she is interested...

Staff Profile: Judith Halperin, PsyD

Judith Halperin, PsyD, moved to the Boston area for her post-doctoral fellowship at McLean in 1987 and has stayed on both as an attending psychologist and a staff psychologist in a variety of settings including the Adolescent Family Treatment Unit and the Appleton Outpatient Substance Abuse Clinic...

Staff Profile: Holly S. Peek, MD, MPH

Holly S. Peek, MD, MPH, received her medical degree from Tulane University School of Medicine. She also received a dual Masters of Public Health degree at Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, with a concentration in global community health and behavioral sciences. She...

Staff Profile: A. Blythe Rose, MD, MPH

A. Blythe Rose, MD, MPH, received her medical degree from Harvard Medical School and a Master of Public Health degree, with a concentration in international mental health and disaster relief, from the Boston University School of Public Health. She completed her residency at the Adult Psychiatry...

Why McLean Focuses on Women’s Mental Health

Up until the mid-1990s when the federal government mandated that women be included in clinical trials in human health studies, the vast majority of federally funded medical research was conducted with men. This meant there was limited information to help inform best practice when providing care for...

Staff Profile: Karen S. Kantor, LICSW

Karen S. Kantor, LICSW, is an outpatient therapist and licensed social worker in the Division of Alcohol, Drugs, and Addiction at McLean Hospital. She has extensive training in the treatment of substance use disorders and co-occurring psychiatric diagnoses, such as mood and anxiety disorders. Ms...

Women’s Mental Health: Projects and Collaborations

Members of McLean’s Division of Women’s Mental Health engages in share their expertise in psychiatry and women’s health to support the field. Through community collaborations, scholarly conferences, and more, the division aims to promote women’s mental health as a means to improving brain health for...

Staff Profile: Kayia L. Akoun, MD

Kayia L. Akoun, MD, is a staff psychiatrist at McLean Hospital’s Dissociative Disorders and Trauma Inpatient Program. Her areas of interest include women’s mental health, trauma disorders, mood disorders, and college mental health.

Advancing Excellence in Women’s Mental Health

Philanthropy is crucial to the success of McLean’s Division of Women’s Mental Health and its mission to create better outcomes for women and girls affected by psychiatric illnesses. Philanthropic support allows division leadership to advance a broad range of clinical, research, and educational...

Women’s Mental Health Leadership Council

McLean’s Women’s Mental Health Leadership Council is a growing group of influential women with a strong interest in and dedication to improving mental health care for women and girls, and a willingness to make women’s mental health a philanthropic priority. The council’s charge is to learn about...

Staff Profile: Joe B. Flores, MD

In his role as medical director of the Gunderson Outpatient Program, Joe B. Flores, MD, oversees intensive treatment for individuals with borderline personality disorder and other complex personality disorders. The program strives to develop effective treatment approaches for individuals who...

Staff Profile: Sherry R. Winternitz, MD

Sherry R. Winternitz, MD, was previously the clinical director of the Dissociative Disorders and Trauma Programs. She began her career as a cardiologist before coming to Boston to pursue training in psychiatry, where she completed her residency at Tufts Medical Center and joined the faculty there...