The annual graduation ceremony for psychology fellows, held on June 14th, served as an occasion to recognize faculty within the Department of Psychiatry’s Psychology Section.
Five members of the full-time and voluntary faculty were honored this year, including Drs. Carolyn Mazure, Seth Axelrod, Lindsay Oberleitner, John Collins, and Myriel Rodriguez-Gerschefski.
The Sidney J. Blatt Award
Carolyn M. Mazure, PhD
The highest honor bestowed by the Psychology Section is the Sidney J. Blatt Award. Dr. Blatt was the Chief of Psychology within the Department of Psychiatry for over 50 years and excelled as a clinician, educator, and scholar.He maintained an active practice of psychotherapy, trained hundreds of psychologists and physicians, and pursued an active course of empirical research on psychodynamic theories and interventions. The award given in his name is bestowed on a faculty psychologist who similarly has excelled in clinical care, teaching, and research.
This year’s honoree was Carolyn M. Mazure, PhD, the Norma Weinberg Spungen and Joan Lebson Bildner Professor of Psychiatry and Psychology. As a clinician and clinical administrator she spent nearly a decade as the highly respected Director of the Acute Inpatient Psychiatric Treatment Program at Yale-New Haven Hospital. As an educator she has trained numerous doctoral and postdoctoral fellows and served as the Associate Dean for Academic and Faculty Affairs within the School of Medicine.
With respect to research, her internationally recognized work has centered the interplay of stress, depression and addictive disorders, with an emphasis on gender difference. She created and manages Women’s Health Research at Yale, a center that funds innovative studies on the health of women and on sex differences in health outcomes. In presenting this award, Dr. Michael Hoge, the Director of Clinical Training in Psychology, encouraged graduating fellows to “draw inspiration from this woman who, in the finest tradition of psychology at Yale, of our profession, and of Dr. Blatt, exemplifies the types of contributions that you can make across your lifetime and the diverse and creative professional roles that are open to you as you embark on your career in this remarkable field of psychology.”
Distinguished Faculty Award -- Teacher
Seth Axelrod, PhD
Dr. Axelrod is the DBT Team Leader at the Yale-New Haven Psychiatric Hospital Intensive Outpatient Program and has a local and national reputation for his expertise on Dialectical Behavior Therapy, suicidality, self-harm and borderline personality disorder.
In presenting this award, Dr. Dwain Fehon, Chief of Psychology at YNHH, offered the following comments. “It has been said that outstanding teachers not only possess an in-depth understanding of their subject matter, but through their passion, enthusiasm, commitment, and role-modeling, can engage and inspire students to learn and achieve high goals. Seth is all of these things. He is a natural teacher. He is passionate about his subject matter. He possesses an intricate and highly nuanced understanding of DBT, and with sincere enthusiasm and joy he loves to share his knowledge and cultivate the same passion and understanding in his students.”
Distinguished Faculty Award -- Supervisor
Lindsay Oberleitner, PhD
Dr. Oberleitner is the Associate Director of the Forensic Drug Diversion Clinic (ForDD) at CMHC where she supervises psychology fellows. In presenting her with this award as an outstanding supervisor, ForDD Director Dr. Sherry McKee turned to the words of students that Dr. Oberleitner has supervised: “She is inviting, generous with her time, and was always available to provide me with guidance and support. She taught me how to trust myself in handling difficult clinical issues. I felt comfortable talking with her about my professional development and how to balance that with my personal life. She valued my opinion as a trainee and also viewed me as a colleague.”
Distinguished Faculty Awards -- Voluntary Clinical Faculty
John Collins, PhD
Dr. Collins was recognized for 26 years of service to the Department of Psychiatry and its Psychology Section as a member of the voluntary faculty. Dr. Jack Tebes, Chief of Psychology at the Connecticut Mental Health Center, presented this award and offered the following acknowledgement. “Dr. Collins brings to supervision a wealth of knowledge and expertise about clinical work with children, adolescents, adults, and families. He takes a direct, practical approach to the supervision of complex cases that draws on his many clinical experiences, such as working with children living in urban poverty, collaborating with caseworkers and families in the child welfare system, completing forensic assessments, and consulting on complex clinical cases.”
Myriel Rodriguez-Gerschefski, PhD
Dr. Rodriguez-Gerschefski joined the voluntary faculty in 2013 and was recognized for her contributions to training at the CMHC West Haven Mental Health Clinic. In presenting the award, Dr. Tom McMahon, director of the clinic, offered the following. “She has brought knowledge and skill to our program directly relevant to the psychological assessment and treatment of ethnic minority children and has been particularly helpful in our efforts to address the needs of Hispanic children, adolescents, and young adults. She has helped our psychology fellows who speak Spanish develop their capacity to provide clinical services in a bilingual environment.”