A new clinic focusing on women’s mood disorders has just been established at the University of North Carolina. Dr. David Rubinow, the chairman of UNC’s psychiatry department, established the clinic.
I reached out to Dr. Rubinow via email to ask him about the new center. He told me he established and was the chief of the Behavioral Endocrinology Clinic at the National Institutes of Health, where he conducted research for more than 25 years on the role of reproductive steroids in mood disorders related to reproductive function: premenstrual dysphoria, perimenopausal depression, and postpartum depression. He moved to UNC as the Chair of Psychiatry in January with the intent of continuing his research and both educating the public about mood disorders in women and providing clinical expertise in the treatment of these disorders. He said he was fortunate enough to have in his department a young investigator, Samantha Meltzer-Brody, who had already established wonderful ties with the OB-GYN community and who had considerable experience in the evaluation and treatment of depression during pregnancy and postpartum.
He said the new clinic is very active and provides individually tailored treatment and education for women with perinatal mood disorders. It also has research protocols that will hopefully tell them more about the relationship between stress sensitivity and the susceptibility to PPD. His goal is to provide world class care, to encourage legislation for the mandatory screening of perinatal mothers, and to identify predictors of the susceptibility to reproductive endocrine-related mood disorders that will permit prevention, early detection, and individualized treatment.
I just love this quote from him in a story from the Associated Press about the new clinic: "’I think it does an enormous disservice to women to say that those who become depressed … should simply learn to live with it,’ he said. ‘It’s a barbaric notion to suggest that people should not get treatment. It’s unconscionably stupid.’"
Hooray, Dr. Rubinow! I feel great hope whenever a new clinic is created that focuses on our illnesses and offers well-trained and highly knowledgeable staff. I had the great fortune to be treated by the Emory University Women’s Mental Health program, and the level of treatment I received was so much better during and after this pregnancy. The women in North Carolina should be thrilled!
