Professor Dr. Joshua Wortzel

Biography

Joshua R. Wortzel is an Assistant Professor Adjunct at the Yale Department of Psychiatry with a focus on child and adolescent psychiatry. He completed his fellowship at Brown University and is actively involved in a range of roles advocating for climate change and mental health. Dr. Wortzel works primarily with young adults in an intensive outpatient program while dedicating half of his time to research and advocacy. He chairs the American Psychiatric Association's Committee on Climate Change and Mental Health, and serves as co-chair of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry's Committee on Climate Change. His research interests lie in the intersection of climate change and mental health, with a specific focus on the mechanisms linking temperature and mental health outcomes, including the impact of heat waves on suicide rates and psychiatric hospitalizations. Dr. Wortzel also explores qualitative methods in public health, child and adolescent health, and planetary health, looking to mitigate the mental health impacts of climate change. His work involves using wearable devices to assess the association between ambient temperature and mood fluctuations, and investigating potential underlying mechanisms such as neurotransmitter levels and functional connectivity.

Research Interests

Experience

Awards