David C. Henderson, MD
Professor, Psychiatry
Biography
David C. Henderson, MD, currently serves as Psychiatrist-in-Chief, Division of Psychiatry, at Boston Medical Center and Professor and Chair, Department of Psychiatry, at Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine. Dr. Henderson previously served as Director of The Chester M. Pierce, MD Division of Global Psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), Director of the MGH Schizophrenia Clinical and Research Program, and Medical Director of the Harvard Program in Refugee Trauma. Dr. Henderson serves as Co-Director of the NIMH T32 MGH-BUSM Global Mental Health Clinical Research Fellowship. He has worked internationally for the past 21 years in resource-limited settings, and areas impacted by mass violence, disasters and complex emergencies. Dr. Henderson has conducted research and training programs in Bosnia, Cambodia, East Timor, Ethiopia, Haiti, Liberia, New Orleans, New York City, Rwanda and Peru, South Africa, and Somaliland among other places. His work has consisted of field studies, needs assessments, mental health policy development and strategic planning, quantitative and qualitative surveys, mental health capacity building programs for specialized and primary health professionals, and skill-transfer program evaluation. In the United States, he has conducted more than 30 randomized clinical trials in severely mentally ill populations. Dr. Henderson has also directed a schizophrenia research training fellowship, and mentored trainees and junior faculty who have progressed to K awards and secured other independent funding. He actively mentors 10 psychiatry residents and 4 postdoctoral fellows on data-driven international research projects
Other Positions
- Chair, Psychiatry, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine
- Assistant Dean, Diversity & Inclusion, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine
Education
- University of Massachusetts Medical School, MD
- Tufts University, BS
Publications
- Published on 1/1/2025
Rudolph KA, Beaugard CA, Xu C, Syed S, Duncan A, Brown HE, Henderson DC, Oblath R. Psychiatric Emergency Service Use Trends: Adults Experiencing Homelessness in Massachusetts from 2005-2020. J Health Care Poor Underserved. 2025; 36(1):240-256. PMID: 39957648.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 11/8/2024
Deo AJ, Castro VM, Baker A, Carroll D, Gonzalez-Heydrich J, Henderson DC, Holt DJ, Hook K, Karmacharya R, Roffman JL, Madsen EM, Song E, Adams WG, Camacho L, Gasman S, Gibbs JS, Fortgang RG, Kennedy CJ, Lozinski G, Perez DC, Wilson M, Reis BY, Smoller JW. Validation of an ICD-Code-Based Case Definition for Psychotic Illness Across Three Health Systems. Schizophr Bull. 2024 Nov 08; 50(6):1482-1488. PMID: 38728421.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 5/1/2024
Owusu MB, Ogundare T, Ghebrehiwet S, Sharma M, Henderson MC, Durham MP, Borba CPC, Ojediran B, Henderson DC, Harris BL. Curriculum development in Liberia's first postgraduate psychiatry training programme. BJPsych Int. 2024 May; 21(2):40-43. PMID: 38693958.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 2/29/2024
Deo AJ, Castro VM, Baker A, Carroll D, Gonzalez-Heydrich J, Henderson DC, Holt DJ, Hook K, Karmacharya R, Roffman JL, Madsen EM, Song E, Adams WG, Camacho L, Gasman S, Gibbs JS, Fortgang RG, Kennedy CJ, Lozinski G, Perez DC, Wilson M, Reis BY, Smoller JW. Validation of an ICD-code-based case definition for psychotic illness across three health systems. medRxiv. 2024 Feb 29. PMID: 38464074.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 2/27/2024
Lawal SA, Adedeji IA, Ogunniyi A, Henderson D. Social domains of poor mental health: A qualitative pilot study of community stakeholders' understanding and demarcation of mental illness and its interpretations in rural Nigeria. Health Sci Rep. 2024 Feb; 7(2):e1922. PMID: 38420202.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 9/20/2023
Sharma M, Backman A, Vesga-Lopez O, Zayas L, Harris B, Henderson DC, Koenen KC, Williams DR, Borba CPC. Trauma, risk, and resilience: A qualitative study of mental health in post-conflict Liberia. Transcult Psychiatry. 2024 Aug; 61(4):652-667. PMID: 37731360.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 9/1/2023
Ghebrehiwet S, Ogundare T, Owusu M, Harris BL, Ojediran B, Touma M, Durham MP, Hook K, Borba CPC, Henderson DC. Building a postgraduate psychiatry training program in Liberia through cross-country collaborations: initiation stages, challenges, and opportunities. Front Public Health. 2023; 11:1020723. PMID: 37727607.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 5/11/2023
O'Connor RC, Worthman CM, Abanga M, Athanassopoulou N, Boyce N, Chan LF, Christensen H, Das-Munshi J, Downs J, Koenen KC, Moutier CY, Templeton P, Batterham P, Brakspear K, Frank RG, Gilbody S, Gureje O, Henderson D, John A, Kabagambe W, Khan M, Kessler D, Kirtley OJ, Kline S, Kohrt B, Lincoln AK, Lund C, Mendenhall E, Miranda R, Mondelli V, Niederkrotenthaler T, Osborn D, Pirkis J, Pisani AR, Prawira B, Rachidi H, Seedat S, Siskind D, Vijayakumar L, Yip PSF. Gone Too Soon: priorities for action to prevent premature mortality associated with mental illness and mental distress. Lancet Psychiatry. 2023 Jun; 10(6):452-464. PMID: 37182526.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 8/24/2022
Oblath R, Herrera CN, Were LPO, Syeda HS, Duncan A, Ferguson T, Kalesan B, Perez DC, Taglieri J, Borba CPC, Henderson DC. Long-Term Trends in Psychiatric Emergency Services Delivered by the Boston Emergency Services Team. Community Ment Health J. 2023 Feb; 59(2):370-380. PMID: 36001197.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 8/9/2022
Korte KJ, Hook K, Levey EJ, Cooper-Vince CE, Denckla CA, Ghebrehiwet S, Hock RS, Harris BL, Menyongai J, Baul TD, Borba CPC, Fricchione GL, Henderson DC. A Global-Local Paradigm for Mental Health: A Model and Implications for Addressing Disparities Through Training and Research. Acad Psychiatry. 2023 Apr; 47(2):196-200. PMID: 35941340.
Read at: PubMed
View 177 more publications: View full profile at BUMC