Faculty

Bio

I received my BA in Psychology from the University of California, Los Angeles, an MA in Psychological Research from San Francisco State University, and a PhD in Clinical Psychology from the California School of Professional Psychology, San Francisco. I completed pre-doctoral training at the Defense and Veterans Head Injury Program, VA Palo Alto Health Care System, in Neuropsychology Services at the Northport VA Medical Center, and a postdoctoral fellowship in schizophrenia research at the San Francisco VA Medical Center.

I am an adult research psychologist whose primary research focus is on the evaluation of neurocognition, clinical symptoms, and functional outcomes of individuals with psychosis, and the effects of neuroscience-informed cognitive training exercises. Within the department, I am Director of Assessment for the Vinogradov Lab where I provide training and supervision of behavioral assessments for studies of cognitive training and measurement-based care.

Expertise

• Psychosis

Administrative Assistant

(for academic support only)
Teneshia Collins
coll1148@umn.edu

Research Summary

Dr. Fisher's main research area centers around assessing neurocognition, clinical manifestations, and the practical results observed in individuals with psychosis. Additionally, she explores the impacts of cognitive training exercises rooted in neuroscience. Within the department, Dr. Fisher holds the role of Director of Assessment for the Vinogradov Lab. In this capacity, she offers guidance and oversight for behavioral assessments linked to cognitive training studies and measurement-driven care.

Clinical Summary

Dr. Fisher's clinical interests include the effects of cognitive training and assessments delivered remotely; the implementation of measurement-based care and cognitive training in clinics that specialize in early intervention services for individuals with psychosis; clinics that provide specialized care for pregnant women and mothers with and without emotional distress; and the development of cognitive assessments that have relevance to the unique challenges and performance metrics of military populations. 

Bio

I received a BA in Biology from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, MN, graduating summa cum laude. I completed medical school at the University of Wisconsin. I completed my psychiatry residency at the University of Colorado in Denver, where I was also chief resident. 

I am an adult psychiatrist and have devoted my career to treating folks with severe and persistent mental health disturbances, those with physical and mental health challenges, as well as those with new-onset mental health concerns.

I believe in the capacity of individuals to improve the quality of their lives via healthy lifestyles (e.g., social, vocational, nutritional, physical, creative, and spiritual endeavors). Additionally, I am consistently impressed with the success of my patients in managing their physical and mental health concerns in collaboration with their professional partners - with the shared goals of minimizing suffering, maximizing health, and each individual's purpose and meaning in existence.

Within my department, I serve on the Residency Training Committee and am the Leader of the Global Community Psychiatry Residency Track. In that role, I am now partnering with other faculty and residents to improve the psychiatric curriculum of the residency program in the areas of the history of psychiatry; ethics; spirituality; cultural and public psychiatry; and forensic psychiatry. I am also the Chief of Psychiatry at the University of Minnesota's Federally Qualified Health Center, called the Community-University Health Care Center. I have become board certified in Community and Public Psychiatry via the American Association of Community Psychiatrists in January 2023. I am proud of the honor of receiving NAMI's Exemplary Psychiatrist Award in 2023.

Expertise

• Medical impact of mental illness
• General

Administrative Assistant

(for academic support only)
Shelly Slominski
slomi001@umn.edu

In the Media

• 2022: Featured in this KARE 11 interview about an all-too-familiar scenario: "Suspect in Roseville police shooting had a history of threatening behavior".
• 2021: Featured in this piece titled, "Pandemic response has been a roller coaster ride for Department providers and learners".
• 2021: Featured in this WCCO interview titled, "9/11 20 Years Later: Our nation's mental health".
• 2020: Featured in this M Physicians article titled, "National Recovery Month Shines a Spotlight on the Importance of Mental Health". In it, he talks about how he works with patients who struggle with substance abuse

Teaching Summary

I am grateful for the opportunity to teach psychiatry resident physicians and medical students at the University of Minnesota Medical School. I instruct resident physicians on Spirituality and Psychiatry, Ethics in Psychiatry, therapeutic relationships, and psychiatric clinical care including the use of psychotherapy. I instruct medical students on the therapeutic relationship in psychiatric and other medical practices and have lectured on mood disorders. My aspirations include further exploration and scholarly contribution to the interdisciplinary field of Spirituality and Psychiatry; development of evidence-based psychotherapeutic treatment modalities for individuals with a variety of terminal illnesses and chronic ailments that impact one's life path, based on the therapeutic approach utilized for patients with cancer (i.e. Meaning Centered Psychotherapy, Logotherapy, and more broadly existential psychotherapy in general); and to contribute to the field of Psycho-Oncology.

Clinical Summary

I have a particular interest in existential psychotherapy and philosophy and have worked to increase the availability of Meaning-Centered Psychotherapy for patients with advanced cancer. I approach each patient interaction with the goal of understanding the unique individual that I am partnering with, and to render the most accurate and comprehensive diagnostic impression. In collaboration with my patient, a patient-centered treatment plan is crafted to reduce distress, optimize well-being, and enhance the unique significance and purpose of each person's existence.

Bio

I earned my PhD in Clinical Social Work from the Institute for Clinical Social Work in Chicago, IL. Research from my dissertation was foundational for Developmental Repair, an intervention manual for behaviorally challenged and challenging children, written in collaboration with the Washburn Center for Children in Minneapolis. This manual is now used extensively throughout the state. I taught for 25 years in the U of MN School of Social Work and was faculty of the U’s Infant and Early Child Mental Health Certificate program in the Institute for Child Development. I completed a Master’s in Social Work from the Fordham University Graduate School of Social Work of New York, NY, and have had an independent mental health practice that serves children, adolescents, and adults since 1987. 

My initial role in Psychiatry was teaching normal child development to child and adolescent psychiatry fellows. In 2017, I started the family consult clinic to help families navigate potentially confusing diagnoses, treatment plans, and related family needs, and provide fellowship with family engagement experiences. 

I provide mental health therapy at MIDB, and in the community, as well as consulting with agencies and schools about the developmental needs of children and adolescents. My teaching and research expertise is in early development, attachment, and impact of trauma, especially trauma that occurred when children are preverbal, or when the impact of intergenerational traumas persists within family dynamics. In 2021 I was awarded the University of MN Medical Center (UMMC), Clinical Educator Award; this complimented Teacher of the Year awards from the psychiatry fellows. I am honored to be able to use my experiences to pass knowledge on.

Expertise

• Early development
• Attachment
• Impact of childhood trauma, specifically when children are preverbal
• Intergenerational trauma within family dynamics 

Administrative Assistant

(for academic support only)
Natasha Hampton-Anderson
nhampton@umn.edu

In the Media

• 2022: Interviewed during this KARE 11 piece titled, “Strategies for coping with holiday blues”.
• 2022: Featured in this Minneapolis Star Tribune article titled, "Minnesota experts offer advice for parents to talk to children about tragedy".
• 2020: Interviewed recently by KARE11 about the negative impact of the pandemic on children and learning. She advocates helping teachers, students, and parents come together as a team and see the setbacks of COVID-19 as an opportunity to reinvent the educational system, replacing the 3 Rs with the three Es.
• 2022: Featured during a May 27 Minnesota Public Radio interview titled, "During the pandemic, don't forget about kids' mental health".

Research Summary

Dr. Gearity's research expertise is in early development; attachment; and the impact of trauma, especially trauma that occurred when children are preverbal or when the impact of intergenerational traumas persists within family dynamics.

Teaching Summary

Dr. Gearity taught at the U of MN School of Social Work for 27 years; she developed and taught in the Infant and Early Childhood program through the Institute for Child Development at the U of MN for 20 years; and consulted with schools and community agencies. Her initial role in the Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences Department was teaching normal child development to child and adolescent psychiatry fellows. With over four decades of psychotherapy practice, she also provides case consultations and training.

Bio

Ashwin V. George, MD, is the co-founder and CEO of Valley Medical and Wellness and its subsidiary, Valley Medical Laboratory. Dr. George is triple-board-certified in internal medicine, palliative care, and addiction medicine, He is committed to helping patients overcome addiction so they can live full, quality lives.

Dr. George graduated with a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery from Sri Ramachandra Medical College and Research Institute, Chennai, India. He completed a surgical internship at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine at the Montefiore Medical Center in Bronx, New York. Dr. George underwent his internal medicine residency at Seton Hall University’s Trinitas Regional Medical Center in Elizabeth, New Jersey. 

Dr. George currently serves as an executive board member and chair of the advocacy committee of the Minnesota Society of Addiction Medicine. He is also an Adjunct Associate Professor at the University of Minnesota Medical School, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences.

As a Board-Certified Addiction Medicine specialist, Dr. George provides treatment for opioid dependence, heroin addiction, alcohol, benzodiazepines, and methamphetamine dependence. He also offers careful, considerate, and effective addiction counseling services. He is committed to the goal of helping patients suffering from substance abuse and chronic pain through the company's growing number of clinics and the services offered to treatment centers.

Bio

Chinmoy Gulrajani, MD, DFAPA is an adjunct associate professor with the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences at the University of Minnesota and Medical Director with the Minnesota Department of Human Services. He is the founder - director of the fellowship in forensic psychiatry, as well as numerous clinical and research courses for residents and medical students. He has published in the domains of ethics, social justice, and forensic psychiatry and serves on the editorial board of several leading peer-reviewed journals in Psychiatry and Law. Dr. Gulrajani is Past-President of the Minnesota Psychiatric Society and holds office in various regional and national organizations. In 2023, Dr. Gulrajani was a NAMI Exceptional Psychiatrist awardee and received the Presidential Service Award from the Minnesota Psychiatric Society. 

Bio

I am a tenured Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences. I conduct community-based intervention research focused on the development and implementation of more effective and accessible services to support youth mental health. My research also focuses on understanding how family relationships during adolescence can promote healthy emotion regulation and well-being or contribute to the development of psychopathology. I provide training and supervision in the delivery of evidence-based psychotherapy to student learners, as well as practicing providers in the community. I also provide psychotherapy in the Department’s Early Stage Mood Disorders Clinic.

Expertise

• Child and adolescent depression
• Attachment theory and interventions
• Community-based intervention research

Administrative Assistant

(for academic support only)
Molly Jokimaki
jokim004@umn.edu

In the Media

• 2022: Featured in this M Physicians article titled, “Coping with Grief During the Holiday Season.
• 2022: Coauthor of a study featured (although not named) in this MIDB article: "First Study to Evaluate Neurobiological Predictors of Interpersonal Psychotherapy for Depressed Adolescents".

Research Summary

Dr. Gunlicks-Stoessel’s currently funded research studies focus on addressing mental health disparities experienced by youth in rural communities, providing parents with guidance to support their adolescents’ mental health, and developing strategies for personalizing interventions for adolescents with depression.

Teaching Summary

Dr. Gunlicks-Stoessel provides training and supervision in the delivery of evidence-based psychotherapy to student learners, as well as practicing providers in the community. She also provides psychotherapy in the Department’s Early Stage Mood Disorders Clinic.

Clinical Summary

Dr. Gunlicks-Stoessel's clinical interests include Child & Adolescent Mood Disorders Clinic; and Grief/Bereavement.

Research Summary

Substance use disorders Serious and persistent mental illness Implementation of best-practice recommendations/guidelines