Podcasts & Panels

You Ask? We answer. Columbia Psychiatry's world-renowned mental health leaders answer the most common real-life questions patients ask on this podcast co-hosted by our partners at PsychHub. You’ll hear from our experts in clinical practice, education, and research. Here we highlight a few podcasts featuring spirituality, depression, coping with things you can't control, and parenting. Click here for our full list of Ask the Expert podcasts.

Spirituality & Mental Health Featuring Sidney Hankerson, MD
Sidney Hankerson, MD, is a nationally recognized expert on faith-based mental health services and researches on reducing ethnic disparities in mental health treatment.

How to Deal with Depression Featuring Diana Samuel, MD
Diana Samuel, MD is a leading expert in depression, anxiety, and women's health. Learn tips for how to deal with depression, the leading cause of disability in the world.

Coping With What You Can't Control Featuring Dr. Jeffrey Cohen
Jeffrey Cohen, PsyD, is a leading expert on balancing acceptance with change. He'll provide an overview of healthy ways to cope with things that are out of your control.

Parenting Advice Featuring Zachary K. Blumkin, PsyD
Zachary K. Blumkin, PsyD is a go-to expert on parenting, and has experience navigating all levels of the education system, addressing family issues and teaching parenting skills.

Mental health impacts everyone. Every day people are online actively asking questions and seeking answers related to mental health. Columbia University’s Department of Psychiatry has partnered with Psych Hub and HCA Healthcare to create this 10-episode podcast series to bring people credible online mental health education.

ADHD: Unwrapping Your Gift
People with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) are the outliers, the creators, the developers, the entrepreneurs, the disrupters–and the ones who may find it challenging to stay on task or focus at times. According to Dr. Hallowell, if you can maximize the positive aspects of ADHD while minimizing the negative ones, this condition can turn into a superpower.

What Exactly is Binge Eating?
How do you know if you are binge eating or overeating? What is the difference between Binge Eating Disorder and other eating disorders? What can you do if you or someone you know has this condition? In this episode of You Ask, We Answer, we will address all of these questions and more. 

You're Dating a Narcissist, Now What?
People with NPD tend to not demonstrate empathy, making it difficult to be in a relationship with them. However, there are things you can do to better navigate the relationship with a person with a narcissistic personality disorder–both at work and at home.

How to Resist the Urge to Self-Harm
In this episode of You Ask, We Answer, we explore the topic of self-harm in depth to better understand what it is, why it happens, what are the common myths, how to deal with the urge to self-harm, treatments, and more.

All About Depression
Major Depressive Disorder is a relatively common mood disorder that can impact the way a person thinks, feels, and behaves. In this episode of You Ask, We Answer, Psych Hub CEO Marjorie Morrison is joined by Jared O'Garro-Moore, Ph.D. to discuss the symptoms and frequency that characterize MDD in children and adolescents, and what treatments are available.

What is Alcohol Use Disorder?
In this episode of You Ask, We Answer, Psych Hub CEO Marjorie Morrison is joined by Aimee Chiligiris, PsyD, a licensed clinical psychologist specializing in the treatment of substance use disorders and co-occurring mental health concerns. In this episode, they discuss alcohol use disorder and many of the treatment options you or a loved one can consider.

What it Means to Have Borderline Personality Disorder
Borderline personality disorder (BPD) impacts a person’s ability to regulate their emotions. This can affect how a person feels about themselves, increase impulsivity, and negatively impact their relationships with others. This episode covers the criteria for  a BPD diagnosis, as well as the symptoms of this disorder.

PTSD - "A Crack in the System"
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a mental health condition in which a person has difficulty recovering after experiencing or witnessing a terrifying event. In this episode, Marjorie Morrison, CEO of Psych Hub, asks renowned PTSD expert Yuval Neria the most common PTSD questions searched online.

The Most Commonly Asked Questions on OCD, Answered
In today’s episode, we are going to speak with a leading OCD expert about what the disorder is, how best to live with it, and how to help those around you with the disorder.

Parenting Children with Intellectual Disability
Parenting a child with intellectual disability can feel overwhelming at times. But it can also be wonderfully rewarding. Leading IDD expert Dr. Ambrose answers the most commonly asked questions about intellectual disabilities searched online in this episode of You Ask, We Answer.

Angela A. Coombs, MD and Jennifer Sotsky, MD, MS, hosts of this podcast series, are two early-career psychiatrists grappling with the most pressing issues of mental health today both inside and outside of the office. Here are a few recent interviews with Columbia experts. For our full list of Breakthrough Sessions podcasts, click here. 

David Hellerstein, MD: Psychedelic Treatments for Psychiatric Disorders

Research on psilocybin, LSD, and other hallucinogens as psychiatric treatments are in their renaissance, transitioning from banned and illegal to potentially useful in changing life for the better in some patients. 
 

Anne Marie Albano, PhD: A Conversation on the Spectrum of Anxiety

A discussion with professor of medical psychology and director of the Columbia University Clinic for Anxiety and Related Disorders.

Lloyd Sederer, MD: A Conversation About Addiction and the Opioid Epidemic

How can we save more lives and prevent overdose deaths? Lloyd I Sederer, MD, a psychiatrist, expert in public health, and author provides insights.

Unequal Care: Mental Health and Black Americans

This wide-ranging conversation with Dr. Brian Smedley, from the American Psychological Association, and Drs. Sidney Hankerson and Angela Coombs, from the Columbia University Department of Psychiatry, discusses how structural inequalities in the field of mental healthcare have had a tangible impact on Black Americans for generations. The wide ranging, discussion touches on how those inequalities have affected the Black community throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the increased focus on police brutality in the wake of the murder of George Floyd, as well as on a host of other issues, ranging from addiction to the lack of representation in mental healthcare.

Lost In the Shuffle: Boomers and Mental Health

Reports of growing anxiety, depression and suicide among young people demand our attention. Less discussed and covered in the media is the mental health of the aging baby boom generation. Boomers already dealing with life changes resulting from retirement, the specter of physical and cognitive decline and loss of loved ones are now faced with heightened vulnerability to COVID. Presented in partnership with the Columbia Journalism School, "Lost in the Shuffle: Boomers and Mental Health" is a discussion of the mental health issues affecting boomers today.

Avoidable Deaths of Despair: Many Causes, Many Solutions

Are deaths of despair the result of a crisis of joblessness, increased poverty, and a breakdown in traditional support mechanisms rooted in family and community? Are individuals blaming themselves for their circumstances and feeling desperate and depressed? And is the COVID-19 pandemic worsening the crisis?

Mental Illness is Not a Crime

When the police respond to a psychiatric call too often it ends with days in the ER, incarceration and even death. No other illness is a police problem. Now proposed solutions are on the horizon - a 988 emergency number, help that comes to you; and a safe place to stay. Listen to a discussion with as we explore what it will take to make the vision a reality.

Mental Health & Addiction Care: The Promises and Perils of Technology

Technology has reshaped our society, offering a solution to nearly everything – from microfinance to shopping. As venture capital-backed startups turn to technology to solve our mental health crisis, promises of “increased access,” “scalability,” and “improved user experience” offer new solutions to age-old problems. But are there costs to this paradigm shift? Changing regulations, privacy concerns, access for those with severe mental illness, and the paradox of solving problems of loneliness and isolation with smartphones are key concerns that must be addressed. Our panelists will tackle these challenging questions to provide a nuanced and balanced view of what technology can and cannot do in addressing mental health and addiction care in the United States, and the world.

Youth and Mental Illness What is Going on?

A survey of more than 100,000 college students reports that half meet criteria for one or more mental health conditions… Over last 10 years, pediatric ER visits for mental health disorders up 60 percent and rates for deliberate self-harm increased 329 percent… CDC warns youth suicide an increasingly prominent public health issue… What do the statistics mean? Is it the pandemic taking its emotional toll—social isolation, uncertainty, and loneliness—on our youth? Or was the mental health of America’s youth going in the wrong direction before COVID-19? Join Dr. Lou Baptista and his panel of experts to explore the headlines, determine the facts, and offer guidance to families, practitioners, philanthropy, media, and policymakers struggling to raise resilient children and youth.

Helping Kids with Back-to-School Anxiety

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced children and teens to deal with many stresses: health concerns, adjustment to remote learning, disruptions to their daily schedule and home environment, personal loss, and social isolation. Now, after more than a year of managing restrictions and safety precautions at school, it’s only natural for them to be hesitant about returning. “Re-entry anxiety is real, not just for children but also for parents,” said Anthony Puliafico, Director, Columbia University Clinic for Anxiety and Related Disorders – Westchester, who moderates the session.