Alison Mary Duncan, MD

Assistant Professor, Psychiatry

Alison Duncan
617.414.2035
85 E. Newton St

Biography

Dr. Alison Duncan is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at BUSM and a child, adolescent and adult psychiatrist at Boston Medical Center, where she is also the Director of Psychiatric Emergency Services. She has both clinical and research expertise in emergency psychiatry, pediatric consult-liaison psychiatry, family communication, suicide, substance use disorders, severe mental illness, ADHD and quality improvement. Dr. Duncan’s research currently focuses on:

Improving parent-adolescent communication for parents of adolescents with ADHD using Motivational Interviewing
Exploring the feasibility of implicit association testing for suicidality in the emergency department
Understanding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on patients with serious mental illness
Emergency psychiatric services utilization

Dr. Duncan’s research is currently supported by multiple grants, including the AACAP Pilot Research Award for Attention Disorders, supported by AACAP’s Elaine Schlosser Lewis Fund and the Gennaro Acampora Junior Investigator Pilot Award. Dr. Duncan received her Bachelor’s Degrees in Music Theater and Economics from The Hartt School and The University of Hartford in 1998 and her Medical Degree from The Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine in 2013. She completed her General Psychiatry Residency at The University of New Mexico in 2016 and her Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship at Brown University/Bradley Hospital in 2018, during which time she was also awarded the NIDA-AACAP Resident Training Award in Substance Use Disorders. She is Board Certified in both Adult Psychiatry and in Child & Adolescent Psychiatry.

Dr. Duncan sings with Coro Allegro, Boston’s LGBTQ+ and allied classical chorus. She is often accompanied in the hospital by her dog, Cocoa, whose therapeutic skills are in high demand.

Education

  • Geisinger Medical Center School of Nursing, MD
  • University of Hartford, BA
  • University of Hartford, BFA

Publications

  • Published on 6/18/2024

    Hayek W, Oblath R, Bryant V, Duncan A. Risk management or racial Bias? The disparate use of restraints in the Emergency Department of an Urban Safety-Net Hospital. Gen Hosp Psychiatry. 2024 Jun 18; 90:56-61. PMID: 38991310.

    Read at: PubMed
  • Published on 11/24/2023

    Ashraf R, Duncan AM, Darlington G, Buchholz AC, Haines J, Ma DWL. The degree of food processing contributes to sugar intakes in families with preschool-aged children. Clin Nutr ESPEN. 2024 Feb; 59:37-47. PMID: 38220399.

    Read at: PubMed
  • Published on 7/3/2023

    Herrera CN, Oblath R, Duncan A. Psychiatric Boarding Patterns Among Publicly Insured Youths Evaluated by Mobile Crisis Teams Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic. JAMA Netw Open. 2023 Jul 03; 6(7):e2321798. PMID: 37410466.

    Read at: PubMed
  • Published on 2/2/2023

    Oblath R, Oh A, Herrera CN, Duncan A, Zhen-Duan J. Psychiatric emergencies among urban youth during COVID-19: Volume and acuity in a multi-channel program for the publicly insured. J Psychiatr Res. 2023 Apr; 160:71-77. PMID: 36774833.

    Read at: PubMed
  • Published on 2/1/2023

    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; 2(59):370-380.

  • Published on 12/19/2022

    Zolli N, Loubeau JK, Sikov J, Baul TD, Hasan S, Rosen K, Buonocore O, Rabin M, Duncan A, Fortuna L, Borba CPC, Silverstein M, Spencer AE. "If he doesn't buy in, it's a waste of time": Perspectives from diverse parents and adolescents on engaging children in ADHD treatment. Child Psychiatry Hum Dev. 2022.

  • Published on 12/19/2022

    Zolli N, Loubeau JK, Sikov J, Baul TD, Hasan S, Rosen K, Buonocore O, Rabin M, Duncan A, Fortuna L, Borba CPC, Silverstein M, Spencer AE. "If he doesn't buy in, it's a waste of time": Perspectives from diverse parents and adolescents on engaging children in ADHD treatment. Child Psychiatry Hum Dev. 2024 Oct; 55(5):1190-1200. PMID: 36534302.

    Read at: PubMed
  • Published on 12/6/2022

    Duncan A, Herrera CN, Okobi M, Nandi S, Oblath R. . Locked down or locked out? Trends in psychiatric emergency services utilization during the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Health Services Research. 2022.

  • Published on 12/6/2022

    Duncan A, Herrera CN, Okobi M, Nandi S, Oblath R. Locked down or locked out? Trends in psychiatric emergency services utilization during the COVID-19 pandemic. J Health Serv Res Policy. 2023 Apr; 28(2):80-88. PMID: 36475326.

    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

View 2 more publications: View full profile at BUMC

View all profiles