Page 11 - Silver Linings Issue2

Under the direction of Rocco Marotta, MD, PhD, the newly created Center for the Treatment and Study of Neuropsychiatric Disorders seeks to improve outcomes for patients with persistent psychiatric disorders and other forms of severe mental illness. The goal of the Center is to document and share the successful treatment model, developed at Silver Hill, to help more patients with serious psychiatric disorders get the treatment they need to live a productive life.
Dr. Marotta and his team have had unusual success treating patients with complex psychiatric conditions, such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, using intensive clinical intervention along with various medications. Dr. Marotta has found that Clozapine (an antipsychotic medication) and Oxytocin (a peptide hormone and neuropeptide) are highly promising
in treating the varying symptoms of severe psychiatric disorders.
Clozapine is used to treat
the positive symptoms (hallucinations and
delusions), while Oxytocin is
added to allay the negative symptoms, such as social withdrawal and apathy, that
often persist. He has found
that the combination of the medications, used alongside
other therapies, have yielded life-changing results in many cases, enabling patients to
return to school or work and successfully navigate interpersonal relationships in their daily lives.
Numerous testimonials from patients and family members support Dr. Marotta’s uniquely successful outcomes. “Now I see that I am just like other people,” a patient of Dr. Marotta said. “I can be happy.”
A grateful family member wrote: “He is reborn. Not locked up and alone.”
Despite the hospital having to adjust to the many demands and distractions of COVID-19, the new Center accomplished a great deal in the past year, including the completion of a retrospective study of 30 former Silver Hill Hospital patients.
The Center’s research program is overseen by
Dr. Sam Ball, who is both Professor of Psychiatry and Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs at the Yale School
of Medicine as well as the Director of Research for Silver Hill Hospital. The research group also includes Katharine Dougherty and Jolie Gorchov.
A central part of Dr. Marotta’s clinical team is
Dr. Meriwether Brown who was hired this year to provide additional support to patients, along with creating an opportunity for Dr. Marotta to mentor a psychiatrist to continue his extraordinary work.
Dr. Meriwether Brown brings a developmental perspective as a child and adolescent psychiatrist with 17 years of clinical experience.
Working together with a shared vision, Dr. Brown and Dr. Marotta personify a dynamic collaborative approach to patient care with the essential support of the entire residential treatment team at Michael’s House including Wallace Stacy, Senior Clinical Social Worker, Emily Day,
Senior Residential Counselor, and Jackie Ordonez, Social Worker.
Among the goals of the Center are:
Improve early detection, diagnosis, and treatment
of severe mental health disorders, and educate
patients and families about the importance of early
detection.
Increase awareness among parents, families, educators and others who can help identify young
people experiencing mental health issues and find them appropriate assistance.
Advance the use of high-quality, evidence-based, and scalable treatment of these disorders.
Foster and encourage others to emulate the compassionate, highly personal, team treatment approach that is the hallmark of Dr. Marotta’s work.
Silver Hill Hospital’s vision for the Center for the
Treatment and Study of Neuropsychiatric Disorders
is ambitious in scope and its potential impact is considerable. Fundraising efforts were slowed by the pandemic but are accelerating in 2021. The hope is to eventually endow the Director’s position and perhaps 11 the entire Center so that Dr. Rocco Marotta’s legacy of helping Silver Hill Hospital patients and families can continue in perpetuity.
SILVER LININGS MAGAZINE | ISSUE TWO | 2021