Clinician Experiences Related Content

Compassionate Caregiving Born From Childhood Experience

“Compassionate curiosity.” It’s a philosophy that has guided Sophia L. Maurasse, MD , along her journey from a 10-year-old in war-torn Liberia—who was trying to understand why some soldiers could be helpful while others were threatening—to her current role working with children and adolescent girls...

How One Clinician Helps People Find Their Path

Teaching, mentoring, and helping others comes naturally to Fairlee C. Fabrett, PhD . As director of clinical training for McLean Hospital’s Adolescent Acute Residential Treatment (ART) Program , she supervises and supports post-doctoral fellows and clinical trainees, helping them gain the experience...

One Nurse’s Commitment to Learning and Teaching Every Day

“At our program, you learn from your coworkers and you learn from your patients every day,” said Florence Morin, RN, a clinical coordinator for McLean Hospital’s Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder Inpatient Program , known as AB2. “Also, in our job, you’re always educating people—coworkers, patients...

Beloved Nurse Director Cindy Ruscitti, MSN, RN, Retires

On October 30, 2020, a beloved and respected nurse retired from McLean Hospital. Cindy Ruscitti, MSN, RN, the Older Adult Program’s nurse director, started working at McLean as a staff nurse on December 3, 1975. And—fortunately for its staff and patients—she continued to work at McLean for more than...

Dr. Joseph Gold Is a Man on a Mission

When Joseph Gold, MD , arrived at McLean Hospital in 1979 as a fellow in child psychiatry, the child and adolescent program was in its infancy. Founded in 1973 by Gold’s mentor, Silvio “Skip” Onesti, MD, the Hall-Mercer Center for Children and Adolescents practiced under the standards of the era...

Podcast: Living a Life of Empathy and Experience

On today’s episode, Trevor discusses his perception of self and feeling that he is useless. He is joined by Sophia L. Maurasse, MD , medical director of McLean’s 3East Girls Intensive and Step Down Programs . Sophia discusses her difficult childhood experience fleeing from war-torn Liberia and how...

Yale Hicks: His Journey to Becoming a Peer Specialist

Yale Hicks told his college friends in New Orleans that he cut short his junior year abroad in Ghana because of malaria. “I lied to everybody, including myself,” said Hicks, who was experiencing hallucinations associated with what was eventually diagnosed as bipolar disorder . “I was about 21, and...

A Passion for Improving the Process of Mental Health Care

When Susan Szulewski, MD , was a medical student, she noticed how difficult it was for patients to navigate the cumbersome and confusing processes of the health care system—and she was inspired to do something about it. “I was on rotation at Mass General in their acute psychiatric service,” she...

McLean Celebrates Women’s History Month

1,631 of McLean’s 2,369 employees are women. McLean is proud of the contributions women make each day to ensure that the hospital delivers compassionate psychiatric care, innovative research, and unparalleled public and professional education throughout the United States and beyond. These women are...

A Case of Pulmonary Embolism

My name is Katherine Athens and I am a nurse in the electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) clinic. It was a busy Friday in the clinic in March, a year ago. We were preparing to treat over 50 patients that day. Our practice had been expanding over the years, and it was hardly unusual to treat 50-plus...

Sustainable Compassion Meditation

Last year I wrote an article for the McLean nursing newsletter about traveling to India and my journey with global health nursing. This year I am writing about another journey, an inner journey. A journey of burnout and creating resilience which has brought me to teach a class in compassion...

A TMS Patient Loses Hope Midway Through Her Treatment

My name is Amy Widding, and I have been working as a nurse in the Psychiatric Neurotherapeutic Program (PNP) for almost three years. I work two days a week in the electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) clinic and once a week in the transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) clinic. I began here as a new...

Elyn Saks: Making Peace with Mental Illness

When Elyn Saks spoke to a standing-room only crowd during a recent event at McLean Hospital, the crowd remained riveted for the full hour as she vividly recounted her unprecedented journey as a person living with schizophrenia. During her talk, Saks emphasized the need for more compassion and...

A Nursing Veteran Replaces Judgment with Compassion

My name is Julie Twohig, RN. I’m the clinical coordinator of the Dissociative Disorders and Trauma Inpatient Program (Proctor II), a women’s unit specializing in dissociative disorders and trauma. I came into work on a Wednesday morning in November 2012 and was told that a patient who had made a...

Building Trust Slowly With a Longtime Patient

My name is Sandra Feehan. I have worked at McLean for 15 years and feel very fortunate to have a job I look forward to every day. I work primarily in the Neurotherapeutics department with patients undergoing electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) for disorders such as chronic depression, mania, catatonia...

Nursing Care Extends to Families in Crisis

My name is Amanda Casparriello, and I have been a nurse for six years. I work in the Geriatric Psychiatry Inpatient Services on South Belknap 2, which is a geriatric neuropsychiatry floor. Our patients present with some sort of cognitive decline mixed with changes in behavior. Dementia is our most...