Group for the Advancement of Psychiatry

Group for the Advancement of Psychiatry (GAP) is a think tank of top psychiatric minds whose thoughtful analysis and recommendations serve to influence and advance modern psychiatric theory and practice.

Carol A. Bernstein, M.D., is a Professor and Vice Chair for Faculty Development and Well-being, Departments of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science and Obstetrics and Gynecology and Women’s Health at the Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine. She is a Senior Scholar in the Department of Education and Organizational Development for the ACGME and Past President of the American Psychiatric Association (APA). Dr. Bernstein can be reached on Facebook and Twitter.

Jack Drescher, M.D., a psychiatrist and psychoanalyst in private practice in New York City, is a Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Columbia University, Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, and a Faculty Member at Columbia’s Division of Gender, Sexuality, and Health. He is a Senior Psychoanalytic Consultant at Columbia’s Center for Psychoanalytic Training and Research and Adjunct Professor at New York University’s Postdoctoral Program in Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis. He is a Training and Supervising Analyst at the William Alanson White Institute. He is a Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association, Past President of the Group for Advancement of Psychiatry, and a Past President of APA’s New York County Psychiatric Society.

Dr. Drescher served as Section Editor of the Gender Dysphoria Chapter in the DSM-5 Text Revision (DSM-5-TR) process (2022 publication). He served on APA’s DSM-5 Workgroup on Sexual and Gender Identity Disorders and served on the World Health Organization’s Working Group on the Classification of Sexual Disorders and Sexual Health that revised sex and gender diagnoses in the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11). He served on the Honorary Scientific Committee revising the 2nd edition of the Psychodynamic Diagnostic Manual (PDM-2).

Dr. Drescher is the author of Psychoanalytic Therapy and the Gay Man (Routledge) and Emeritus Editor of the Journal of Gay and Lesbian Mental Health. He has edited and co-edited more than a score of books dealing with gender, sexuality, and the health and mental health of LGBT communities. He has authored and co-authored numerous professional articles and book chapters as well. His publications have been translated into Italian, Portuguese, French, Spanish, Russian, Arabic, Finnish and German. He is a frequent international lecturer and has been invited to speak in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Cuba, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Russia, Spain and the United Kingdom. He is also an experienced media spokesperson on issues related to gender and sexuality.

Dr. Drescher can be reached on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or through his website.

Thomas Franklin, M.D., is a psychiatrist and psychoanalyst. He is the Founder and serves as the President and Chief Executive Officer of MindWork Group based in Baltimore, which provides a full range of outpatient care and is a training site for mental health practitioners. He served as Medical Director of the Retreat at Sheppard Pratt, the premiere program of the Sheppard Pratt Hospital, and was appointed a member of the American College of Psychiatrists and the Group for the Advancement of Psychiatry. Next year, he will serve as President of the Southern Psychiatric Association. Dr. Franklin is a discussion group leader of the American Psychoanalytic Association and has been quoted widely in the areas of substance use disorders, personality disorders, and mental health policy.

Dr. Franklin is board-certified in psychiatry and addiction medicine and is a graduate of the Washington Psychoanalytic Institute and the Johns Hopkins Carey School of Business. He is on the faculty of the University of Maryland School of Medicine and has extensive experience treating professionals, executives, business owners, political leaders, and their families. Dr. Franklin treats adolescents and adults and provides clinical supervision, psychiatric consultation, executive coaching, and organizational consulting.

Dr. Franklin can be reached on Facebook, LinkedIn, or through his website.

Sehba Husain-Krautter, M.D., Ph.D., is a geriatric psychiatrist at the Zucker Hillside Hospital who, with a Ph.D. in molecular biology, currently combines clinical work with research time at the Litwin-Zucker Research Center. She can be reached on Twitter or LinkedIn.

Robert P. Roca, M.D., M.P.H., M.B.A., is a Professor of Clinical Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and Vice Chair for Clinical Business Development of the Department of Psychiatry of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Formerly he was Vice President and Medical Director of the Sheppard Pratt Health System. He is trained and board certified in internal medicine, psychiatry, and geriatric psychiatry.

Dr. Roca has served as President of the Maryland Psychiatric Society and the Baltimore County Medical Association. He is past Chair of the Council of Geriatric Psychiatry of the American Psychiatric Association and President-Elect of the Group for the Advancement of Psychiatry. He is a Fellow of the American College of Psychiatrists and a Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association.