Dr. Christine Yu Moutier

Mind Wide Open

Dr. Christine Yu Moutier, chief medical officer of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP), joins Lily to shed the stigma around discussions of mental health and suicide. After losing colleagues to suicide, Dr. Moutier dedicated herself to fighting this leading cause of death. She explores why stigma exists and how it's being reduced, what to do if you or a loved one is in crisis, and how she navigates her own mental health in an intense field.

For more information, guest bios, and resources, go to www.mindwideopenproject.com

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Originally aired JULY 13, 2021

Dr. Christine Yu Moutier (pronounced You Moo-tee-ay) knows the impact of suicide firsthand. After losing colleagues to suicide, she dedicated herself to fighting this leading cause of death. A leader in the field of suicide prevention, Dr. Moutier joined AFSP in 2013 as Chief Medical Officer, and it’s through her passion and commitment that we see a lasting impact via research, education and support to communities across the U.S.

She has testified before the U.S. Congress and provided multiple Congressional briefings on suicide prevention, presented to the White House, spoken at the National Academy of Sciences, co-anchored CNN’s Emmy Award winning Finding Hope suicide prevention town hall, and has appeared as an expert in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Time magazine, The Economist, The Atlantic, the BBC, CNN, NBC, CBS and other print, radio and television outlets.

Throughout her career she has focused on training healthcare leaders, physicians, and patient groups in order to change the culture surrounding mental health, fighting stigma and optimizing care for those suffering from mental health conditions. In addition to co-founding AFSP’s San Diego Chapter, Moutier co-led a successful suicide prevention program for medical faculty, residents, and students, which featured AFSP’s groundbreaking Interactive Screening Program.

Since earning her medical degree and training in psychiatry at the University of California, San Diego, Moutier has been a practicing psychiatrist, professor of psychiatry, dean in the UCSD medical school, and medical director of the Inpatient Psychiatric Unit at the VA Medical Center in La Jolla, treating diverse patient populations from Asian refugees to veterans to corporate and academic leaders. She also served as co-investigator for the Sequenced Treatment Alternatives to Relieve Depression study (STAR*D), a large National Institute of Mental Health trial on the treatment of refractory depression.

Moutier has authored Suicide Prevention, a Stahl's series handbook, articles and book chapters for publications such as the Journal of the American Medical Association, the Lancet, Academic Medicine, the American Journal of Psychiatry, the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, Depression and Anxiety, and Academic Psychiatry.

You can follow Dr. Moutier on Twitter at @cmoutierMD.