60: Deborah Scharf: Leading Mental Health Professional Working To Improve the System

Dr. Deborah Scharf is a clinical health psychologist and behavioral and social scientist at the RAND Corporation. She also is a professor at the Pardee RAND Graduate School. Her work addresses issues related to tobacco use, treatment, and policy; innovations in electronic real-time data capture; behavioral and primary health care delivery systems; and evaluation of, and technical assistance for, civilian and military behavioral health programs. Her research focus embraces the areas of Mental Health and Illness; Primary Care; Program Evaluation; Tobacco and Smoking; and Traumatic Brain Injury. She holds an adjunct appointment in the Department of Psychiatry of the University of Pittsburgh, where she earned her Ph.D. in clinical psychology. Her bachelor’s degree is from McGill University and along with her doctorate, her master’s degree was obtained at the University of Pittsburgh. In this interview, Dr. Scharf discusses many issues around mental health including several initiatives designed to close the gap between focus on the mind and the body in patients with mental health disease.