Dr. Christine Yu Moutier Receives the ACNP Media Award

The American College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ACNP) has named Christine Yu Moutier, M.D. the recipient of the 2021 Media Award. 

As the Chief Medical Officer for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) and Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Columbia University, Dr. Moutier serves as a leader by advocating for an increase in education and reduced stigma around mental health and suicide prevention in the media, in healthcare and workplaces across industries, as well as citizens’ daily lives. Thomas Stroup, M.D., MPH Vice Chair for Academic Affairs, Columbia University stated, “Through her widespread efforts in multiple media, Dr. Moutier has changed how people think, talk, and respond to the topic of suicide.” 

Since joining the AFSP in 2013, Dr. Moutier has been a resource for national media, including ABC News, Today.com, CNN, among others, as well as medical trades such as JAMA, The Lancet, JAMA Psychiatry, Academic Medicine, Academic Psychiatry, Physicians Weekly, and Psychiatric Times. Dr. Moutier has dedicated herself to educating the public about mental health and suicide prevention and recognizes that media and entertainment play a critical role in shaping culture and behavior. 

Thomas Stroup, M.D., MPH also stated, “Her expertise became even more relevant when the COVID-19 pandemic brought mental health to the forefront of conversations in the workplace, at home, and in the media.” Dr. Moutier made multiple appearances in the media to discuss what COVID-19 could mean for “brain health”. On the topic of COVID-19, Dr. Moutier also provided her perspective in a MarketWatch article titled “‘We can get through this’: Struggling with your mental health during the pandemic? Try these tips and resources.” During the pandemic, she also published an invited article titled “Suicide Prevention in the COVID-19 Era Transforming Threat into Opportunity” in JAMA Psychiatry and two other invited commentaries, “Preventing Clinician Suicide” in Academic Medicine, and “Innovative and Timely Approaches to Suicide Prevention in Medical Education” in Academic Psychiatry. 

After 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. Moutier has authored numerous articles and book chapters for publication, as well as a Stahl's series handbook on Suicide Prevention. 

Click here to view an interview on the Today Show, with Dr. Moutier, about how parents can have open conversations with their children about suicide (interview begins at 3:48). 

Click here to view testimony on the suicide crisis in the US, from Dr. Moutier, at a House of Representatives Subcommittee hearing, entitled “Meeting the Moment: Improving Access to Behavioral and Mental Health Care” (testimony begins at 1:12:38). 

The Media Award, presented at the 60th Annual Meeting of the ACNP is in recognition of major contributions to the education of the public about mental illness and substance abuse research and the positive impact of research on treatment. The award is intended to be an expression of appreciation from the College toward outstanding public education leaders who provide complete, accurate, and unbiased information to our society about brain diseases. 

Media contact: Erin Colladay at [email protected] 

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ACNP, founded in 1961, is a professional organization of more than 1100 leading scientists, including four Nobel Laureates. The mission of ACNP is to further research and education in neuropsychopharmacology and related fields in the following ways: promoting the interaction of a broad range of scientific disciplines of brain and behavior in order to advance the understanding of prevention and treatment of disease of the nervous system including psychiatric, neurological, behavioral and addictive disorders; encouraging scientists to enter research careers in fields related to these disorders and their treatment; and ensuring the dissemination of relevant scientific advances.