VCU Department of Psychiatry

02/06/2026

https://www.chrichmond.org/blog/details/dr-allison-williams-explains-nicu-psychology-and-how-it-helps-families-adjust-to-life-with-a-new-little-one

Psychologist Dr. Allison Williams has a unique role on our neonatal intensive care unit team. While her colleagues specialize in providing care for their petite patients, she supports parents and caregivers as they adjust to an often unexpected beginning to life with their new family member. Her wor...

02/06/2026

02/06/2026

Congratulations are in order for Dr. Debbie DiazGranados, Director of Evaluation and Team Science at VCU’s Wright Center, on the publication of her article, “Examining and Evaluating Team Science Competencies Through Sensemaking,” in the American Journal of Evaluation (December 2025).

https://blogs.vcu.edu/cctr/2026/02/03/moving-beyond-the-checklist-a-new-roadmap-for-evaluating-the-heart-of-team-science/

01/06/2026

Dr. Kenneth Kendler co-leads a study shedding light on why the majority of people diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder will ultimately be diagnosed with a second or third in their lifetime:

Co-led by VCU expert Kenneth Kendler, a global research group has developed the most comprehensive genetic map to date, revealing five families of disorders with high levels of overlap.

12/19/2025

Addiction specialist Jasmin Vassileva earns a Fulbright – and a return home

The VCU researcher had left Bulgaria when Communism fell, and her five-month program will help her improve neuroscience technology there.

12/12/2025

Congratulations to Dr. Molly Hyer, who was named one of the Top 40 Under 40 by Richmond Style Weekly Magazine for her work through the VCU Institute for Women's Health!

Director of Research Development and Innovation, VCU Institute for Women’s Health

12/10/2025

We are thrilled to announce that the Addiction Medicine Fellowship filled in the match! We had a very competitive recruitment season and matched three fantastic clinicians! Thank you to Brianna, our current fellows Brian, James, Jess, and the faculty recruitment team for all of your hard work!!

Kwame O. Affram, MD, PhD
PhD: Uniformed Services, Neuroscience
Residency: Piedmont Athens (GA), internal medicine

Joe Testa, MD
Residency: UCON, emergency medicine​
Fellowship: VCU, medical toxicology

Adrianna Uhlar, MD
Residency: VCU-Bon Secours: family medicine

11/13/2025

Nicole D. Cook, MSW, LCSW, our Behavioral Health Program Manager for the VCU Department of Psychiatry, was recently on the Brainwaves Unplugged: Real Talk on Mental Health podcast. Click below to listen!

"Behavioral Health Program Manager for the VCU Department of Psychiatry Nicole Cook, LCSW joins Grace Gallagher, Co Founder and Chair of the Board for the Cameron K Gallagher Foundation and host of the Conversations with CKG podcast, for a candid conversation titled Parenting with Trauma: Carrying Scars While Raising a Family. From unhealed wounds to moments of deep resilience, this discussion explores how trauma shows up in our parenting and how awareness and compassion can become powerful tools for healing. The conversation is honest, real, and full of hope, reminding us that while trauma may leave scars, it can also deepen our capacity for connection, strength, and grace."

Podcast Episode · Brainwaves Unplugged: Real Talk on Mental Health · 11/03/2025 · 46m

09/19/2025

VCU HEALTH is sponsoring the 2025 NAMI Walk this year and we would love your support.

Here’s how you can do it: Donate and/ or come walk with us! VCU Health will have a table and we will be handing out water and tote bags.

I'm supporting NAMI!

09/12/2025

Children's Hospital of Richmond at VCU opens Partial Hospitalization Program for youth in need of comprehensive mental health care.

Watch the Partial Hospitalization Program ribbon-cutting at VTCC!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fb1N883AL1c

Full article: https://www.chrichmond.org/blog/details/chor-opens-partial-hospitalization-program-for-youth-in-need-of-comprehensive-mental-health-care

Demand for pediatric mental health care remains high, but the needs cannot be met with a one-size-fits-all approach. CHoR leaders cut the ribbon today on the Partial Hospitalization Program, offering a new level of care at Virginia Treatment Center for Children on our Northside Campus.

09/10/2025

Are mental illnesses brain diseases? It's a big question that has puzzled psychiatrists since the field emerged 200 years ago. VCU's Kenneth Kendler, M.D., one of the most cited psychiatric researchers in the world and director of the Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics, weighs in on an age-old debate. Read the full article here:

Research & DiscoveryAre mental illnesses brain diseases?Psychiatric geneticist Kenneth Kendler, M.D., weighs in on an age-old question.By Catherine BrownWhen Kenneth Kendler, M.D., was working toward his medical degree at Stanford and completing his residency at Yale in the 1970s, the field of psych...