Nadia E. Charguia, MD  Associate Professor Executive Medical Director (interim), Integrated Well-Being Program for UNC Healthcare Director, Taking Care of Our Own Program Medical Director, UNC Psychiatry Outpatient Services   Where we are and where we are going cannot exist without embracing our own well-being. Working in the realm of wellness and well-being at UNC has been … Read more

Matt Ballard, MSW, MDiv Program Manager, Farm at Penny Lane, which houses the Center’s innovative mental health recovery programs such as Horticulture Therapy, Brushes with Life Arts program, UNC PAWS and wellness programs.   Many of us who work with psychiatric patients or clients with serious mental illness (SMI) are familiar with overall health outcomes … Read more

By Laura Ornelas, Ph.D.   As a junior investigator in academia, I understand firsthand the significant impact imposter syndrome can have on one’s mental health and well-being. While academia has been a place where I have matured as a research scientist and experienced many achievements, it is also an environment that is comprised of pressures … Read more

Written by Dr. Jean Doak, Clinical Director, UNC Center of Excellence for Eating Disorders (CEED)   The holiday season is a time accompanied by celebrations, observances, religious, family, and cultural traditions, and increased time with family and friends. While it can be a time of excitement, anticipation, and joy, it can also be a time … Read more

By Gabby Hodgins, MD How often do we hear the sentiment, ‘it’s just hair?’ I would argue that this sentiment, although often well-meaning, is simply untrue. Being able to take care of our own skin and hair is something that gives us as human beings autonomy, dignity, and a means of self-expression. That said, the ability for all … Read more

Homelessness Awareness Week is November 13-21, but the HomeLink team at UNC’s Center for Community Mental Health focuses on supporting homeless and precariously housed people 365 days a year. In the United States, over half a million people experience homelessness on a single night (U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, 2020). Many more people … Read more

By Jonny Gerkin, MD gerkin@med.unc.edu   Power is that fantasy of control, so that you don’t have to experience what you fear. Strength is the capacity to experience all that there is and remain responsive. Power has its place at the right time. I don’t mean to cast power aside into the dust bin of … Read more

Written by Kate Roberts, MA, MSW, LCSW   In my work to support the inpatient IV drug use service, I see firsthand the importance of addressing stigma and implicit bias related to injection drug use (IVDU). As an inpatient IV drug use service, we seek to engage those hospitalized with infections, usually endocarditis, and osteomyelitis, … Read more

Written by Dr. Brad Gaynes, Director of the Division of Global Mental Health   What if someone asked you whether it was important to address the 2nd highest cause of disability worldwide? And you knew that there were easy to administer tools to accurately identify the disorder, and there were effective treatments available, and that … Read more

When I was in graduate school for clinical psychology, very few people in the field were talking about suicide risk in autistic individuals (note: I use identity-first language [e.g., “autistic person”] instead of person-first language [e.g., “person with autism”] because most of my community partners prefer identity-first language). Over the past decade, a growing body … Read more