Rick Wolthusen, MD

Rick Wolthusen, MD, MPP, is the Director of Training and Education at the Division of Global Psychiatry. He is a physician-scientist and psychiatrist with clinical interests in psychotic disorders and catatonia, and research interests in neuroscience and global mental health. He works as a staff psychiatrist in the Psychotic Disorders Division at McLean Hospital, is an instructor at Harvard Medical School, and a part-time lecturer at the University of Ghana.

Dr. Wolthusen has trained, practiced, and conducted research in diverse cultural and geographic settings, including Germany, the United States, Ghana, Kenya, Australia, and New Zealand. He serves on the American Psychiatric Association’s Council on International Psychiatry and Global Health, and is the council liaison to the Council on Advocacy and Government Relations. He is also an American Psychiatric Association representative for the Massachusetts Psychiatric Society. He is a representative for the World Psychiatric Association’s Early Career Psychiatrists Section, where he also serves as secretary.

Dr. Wolthusen’s research focuses on improving access to community-based mental health services, advocacy and policymaking, and mutual capacity-building in underserved populations. His work examines the integration of community health workers into the U.S. mental health care system, including their financing, training, certification, and supervision, with an emphasis on bidirectional learning and transferable approaches from African mental health systems. He also directs international exchange programs connecting Germany, Ghana, and Kenya, and McLean Hospital with early career psychiatrists worldwide.

In recognition of his contributions, Dr. Wolthusen received the Order of Merit, the highest tribute awarded by the Federal Republic of Germany for service to the nation.