NEW HAVEN — Dr. Tichianaa Armah, Chief Psychiatry Officer at Community Health Center Inc., assumed the presidency of the Connecticut Psychiatric Society at the society's annual meeting on Tuesday, June 13, at the New Haven Lawn Club.
She succeeds Dr. John Santopietro, Physician-in-Chief, Hartford HealthCare Behavioral Health Network, and Senior Vice President, Hartford HealthCare, who becomes the society's immediate past president.
The society also that evening elected the following officers and councilors:
- President-Elect - Paul Bryant
- Treasurer - Jessica Abellard
- Secretary - Carla Schnitzlein
- Councilors - Ruby Lekwauwa, Ayala Danzig
- APA Assembly Rep. - Tobias Wasser
Read more about all of CPS 2023-24 officers here.
Dr. Armah is the Chief Psychiatry Officer and Vice President of Behavioral Health at the Community Health Center Inc., an organization that provides comprehensive integrated care for the historically under-resourced communities. Most recently, CHC has been a leader in providing COVID-19 testing and vaccinations in Connecticut.
Dr. Armah received her Medical Degree at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, and went on to Yale for her residency in Psychiatry. There, she was named the American Psychiatric Association’s Yale Minority Fellow for 2011, and an early organizer of the department's Social Justice and Health Equity curriculum. Today, she remains an Assistant Clinical Professor at their School of Medicine, actively involved in the advocacy tract.
Driven to increase access to quality mental health care for vulnerable populations, she has been active in educating Physicians & Nurse Practitioners. Dr. Armah approaches local communities and patients with her fundamental value of the mind, body, and spirit connection for overall well-being. She can frequently be found at universities, giving talks that encourage the treatment of mental illness with cultural humility, or at podiums or on Zoom discussing mental health. Additionally, she frequents schools and career fairs to speak to students, encouraging more underrepresented minorities to enter the mental (and general) health fields.
ABOUT CPS: The Connecticut Psychiatric Society is a 600-member District Branch of the American Psychiatric Association. CPS, the voice and conscience of psychiatry in Connecticut, works to ensure access to humane care and effective treatment for people with mental illnesses. It also advocates for an environment where quality psychiatric care is available for all who need it.
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NEW HAVEN -- June 16, 2023 -- Katherine G. "Kiki" Kennedy, M.D., of New Haven
Sukhera, the Chair of Psychiatry at the Institute of Living and Chief of the Department of Psychiatry at Hartford Hospital, is an internationally recognized health professions education researcher and thought leader. His research program explores novel approaches to addressing stigma and bias among health professionals and he has also been involved in advocacy and cross-sectoral work in education, policing, and community services.