A discussion about the impact of the COVID pandemic on the mental health of the US population. Featuring Dr. Debra Houry, Director of CDC’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control and Dr. Christine Moutier, Chief Medical Officer at the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, the session focuses on the critical steps for mitigating suicide risk during these unprecedented times. The presentation also includes newly released CDC suicide data, with reporting on those data collected during the pandemic.  Rebecca Ruiz, senior features writer with Mashable, moderates the program.

More about the panelists:

Debra Houry, MD, MPH is Director of the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control at CDC. In this role, Dr. Houry leads innovative research and science-based programs to prevent injuries and violence and to reduce their consequences. She joined CDC in 2014 having  previously served as vice-chair and associate professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine at Emory University School of Medicine, and as associate professor in the Departments of Behavioral Science and Health Education, and Environmental Health at Emory’s Rollins School of Public Health.

Christine Moutier, MD, knows the impact of suicide firsthand. After losing colleagues to suicide, she dedicated herself to fighting this leading cause of death. A national leader in the field of suicide prevention, Dr. Moutier has testified before the US Congress, presented to the White House, co-anchored CNN’s Emmy Award winning Finding Hope suicide prevention town hall. She has also appeared as an expert in The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN, NBC, CBS and other print, radio and television outlets, and recently authored a piece in JAMA Psychiatry, “Suicide Prevention in the COVID-19 Era.” Dr. Moutier is a member of the international COVID-19 Suicide Prevention Research Collaboration.

Rebecca Ruiz is a Senior Features Writer at Mashable. She frequently covers mental health, science, parenting, and politics for Mashable‘s Social Good coverage. She has also reported on gender and equality for the site. Prior to joining Mashable, Rebecca was a staff writer, reporter, and editor at NBC News Digital, special reports project director at The American Prospect, and staff writer at Forbes.