This week on Mind the Brain, Dr. Neill Epperson is joined by Dr. Robert Werthwein, Director of the Office of Behavioral Health at the Colorado Department of Human Services, to talk about the work of Colorado’s Behavioral Health Task Force  and behavioral health reform efforts in our state.   

Robert Werthwein, Ph.D., is the Director of the Office of Behavioral Health at the Colorado Department of Human Services (CDHS), holding the position since October 2017. Werthwein directs the operations and administrative oversight of the public behavioral health system, including mental health and substance use community programs as well as operation of the Colorado Mental Health Institutes at Fort Logan and Pueblo. He also leads in providing policy, performance management, fiscal and administrative tools, and oversight to a large group of mental health facilities, treatment centers and clinics statewide.

Dr. Robert Werthwein on Colorado’s Behavioral Health Task Force

This week on Mind the Brain, Dr. Neill Epperson is joined by Drs. Thida Thant and Rose Mauch. Dr. Thant is the director of the University of Colorado Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry Service and the Psychiatric Consultation for the Medically Complex clinic. She has expertise in the evaluation and management of psychiatric symptoms in the context of medical and neurological illness. Dr. Mauch is currently a 3rd year psychiatry resident at the University of Colorado, and is interested in how long-term effects of early childhood trauma on psychiatric and medical illness. Together, they discuss a phenomenon many of us have experienced – a phenomenon called ‘pandemic brain.’

Dr. Thida Thant and Dr. Rose Mauch on Pandemic Brain and Post-COVID Brain

Dr. Winnie Hunter on Sexual Health

This week on Mind the Brain, Dr. Epperson is joined by Emmaly Perks and Lily Luo – the directors behind the CU Psychiatry PURPLE program. PURPLE stands for Psychiatry Undergraduate Research Program and Learning Experience, and is designed to introduce young people to the field of mental health by encouraging participation in supervised research activities. On this episode, Dr. Epperson and her guests talk about this program and how it has opened a pathway to careers in medicine for many students.

Lily Luo and Emmaly Perks on the PURPLE Program

On this episode of Mind the Brain, Dr. Epperson is joined by Dr. Kent Hutchison to discuss Cannabidiol (or CBD) research. Dr. Hutchison is a professor at the CU Anschutz Department of Psychiatry, and also works as an adjunct professor at the University of Colorado Boulder in their Psychology and Neuroscience department. He is affiliated with the CU-Boulder Institute of Cognitive Science, where he conducts research on combining neuroimaging, epigenetic, pharmacological, and clinical perspectives to develop more effective addiction intervention and prevention strategies. Most recently, he is conducting alcohol and cannabis research, neuroimaging, and blood-based biomarkers under one conceptual framework that emphasizes the cannabinoids, endocannabinoids, inflammation, and the brain. On this episode, Dr. Epperson and Dr. Hutchison discuss CBD research in Psychiatry.

Dr. Kent Hutchison on Cannabidiol (or CBD) Research

This week on Mind the Brain, Dr. Epperson is joined by Dr. Helen Coons, a board-certified clinical health psychologist. Dr. Coons is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at CU Anschutz and the Clinical Director for the Women's Behavioral Health and Wellness Service Line. For the past two decades, she has collaborated with healthcare providers to treat women and couples coping with infertility and other health and mental health concerns. On this episode, Dr. Epperson shares a riveting conversation with Dr. Coons about her work with patients experiencing fertility challenges, and discuss the impact of infertility and fertility treatment on women’s health and emotional well-being.

Dr. Helen Coons on Infertility and Mental Health

On this episode of Mind the Brain, Dr. Epperson is joined by Dr. Tracy Bale, Professor of Pharmacology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and Director of the Center for Epigenetic Research in Child Health and Brain Development. Dr. Bale and Dr. Epperson discuss early childhood stress, and the benefits of using mouse models to study stress responses neuroscientific and psychiatric research.

Dr. Tracy Bale on Epigenetic Research of Stress Across the Lifespan

Conversations in pursuit of brain health for all, for life.

Dr. Robert Werthwein on Colorado’s Behavioral Health Task Force

Mind the Brain

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