Stuart C. Yudofsky, M.D.
D.C. and Irene Ellwood Professor and Chairman of the Menninger Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences of Baylor College of Medicine and Chairman of the Psychiatry Department of The Methodist Hospital. He is also responsible for oversight of academic activities in psychiatry at the Menninger Clinic, the Ben Taub General Hospital, the Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center, the MD Anderson Cancer Center and the Texas Children's Hospital.

Practice Location: Houston, TX

How did you first get involved with Diamond?
I have known George White for over thirty years, stemming from my years in Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, where I served as Vice Chairman of the Department of Psychiatry at Columbia and as the Deputy Director at the New York State Psychiatric Institute.

Over these many years, George has always maintained an abiding interest in critical advances in behavioral science and how these innovations affect the practice of psychiatry and influence the optimal caring for people with mental disorders. When George had projects in the mid-80s, we would work together to ensure that the healthcare that was being provided was of the highest caliber and included the latest medical and scientific advancements.

George, Dr. James Stevenson, (Diamond board member), and I worked together on several projects prior to Diamond. It was during this time that Diamond was being conceptualized. George involved Dr. Stevenson and me from the conceptualization to the founding of Diamond.

What are some noteworthy mentions in the behavioral health field from your first five years as a board member to the past five years?
The fundamental element and principle that has remained the same since the founding of Diamond is our prioritization of patients and the families whom we serve in everything we do. From the very beginning, we have been committed to being a patient-centered and focused organization. We are dedicated to basing our direct patient care and healthcare-related services on evidence-based medicine that is delivered in the safest, most respectful, most effective, and most cost-effective ways.

Dr. James Stevenson and I are asked on a regular basis to become members of many corporate, life-science-related boards of trustees. Over the past twenty-five years, I have only accepted two such offers, and one is with Diamond Healthcare Corporation. My decision to be with Diamond was based exclusively on the values of the organization and its leadership. I believe there is a clear focus at Diamond of what we can do and what we can’t do regarding mental health services. We don’t believe that we can provide every type of medical service to every patient, in every possible setting; that is just too broad for us to accomplish and maintain our commitment to quality and optimal outcomes. In our focus on the behavioral health field, we utilize data, information, and practices that the scientific community has demonstrated and proven to be effective and safe for our patients. Our hope has always been to make a difference, to serve people in need who might fall through the cracks and who, otherwise, might not be served by other systems, and that pathway has led us to very productive enterprises through Diamond.

Just like the heart is the organ of cardiology, the kidney is the organ of nephrology, the brain is the organ of behavioral health. Through neuroscience discoveries, we have new medicines and behavioral interventions that we titan’t have a quarter of a century ago that we employ for increasingly more save and effective treatment of our patients. We also know much more about providing psychosocial milieu in both inpatient and outpatient settings. There have been extraordinary advances in all elements of the biopsychosocial model of diagnosis and treatment; and Diamond has kept up with these advances and applies them daily in all of our healthcare settings.

What do you think are some of the biggest challenges happening in behavioral health today?
Twenty-five years ago the enormous stigma associated with having a mental health disorder discouraged people with mental and addictive disorders and their families from seeking care. Tragically, countless people with highly-treatable conditions went undiagnosed and treated, and they suffered unfathomable losses in social, occupational, personal and interpersonal spheres.

Two major changes since the founding of Diamond twenty-five years ago have reduced stigma significantly: 1) the application of science and evidence-based medicine in psychiatry; and 2) the advent of mental health advocacy groups that support patients and families, disseminate information to communities about mental illness, lobby for research in the behavioral sciences and and fight stigma on all fronts. Both changes have demonstrated to the public that to have a psychiatric condition is not different than having any other kind of medical condition.

You have an extremely impressive resume with numerous academic and clinical appointments, memberships, professional activities, books and publications; what inspires you to be so dedicated and passionate about psychiatry?
My patients and their families inspire me. My students—medical students, psychiatry residents, psychology interns, nursing and social work students and research fellows--inspire me. I regard it as a great privilege to be a physician and educator. I regard it as a great privilege and pleasure to engage in and support research and education that can train a new generation of health care professionals who can reach out and provide care to others. Every day, I wake up and feel like I just started out in the field of psychiatry, and Diamond has been an important part of this cherished experience for the past quarter of a century.

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