David C. Henderson, MD

Professor, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine

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

Publications

  • Published 1/2/2026

    Beaugard CA, Khan S, Oblath R, Sadatis C, Duncan A, Brown HE, Henderson DC, Yule AM. Co-Occurring Substance Use and Psychiatric Disorders in Psychiatric Emergency Services: Suicidality, Substance Use, and Treatment Utilization. J Dual Diagn. 2026; 22(1):26-36. PMID: 41481572.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 11/25/2025

    Oblath R, Beaugard CA, Herrera CN, Xu C, Syed S, Sadatis C, Duncan A, Gann G, Plange E, Ferguson T, Khan S, Katkhuda F, Henderson DC, Savage J, Morabito MS. Bridging crisis and care: exploring the role of behavioral health professionals in a police co-response model. Health Justice. 2025 Nov 25; 13(1):72. PMID: 41288942.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 5/22/2025

    Halim N, Patel A, Turan JM, Shrikhande AV, Kavanagh PL, Drainoni ML, Henderson D, Anand SM, Agarwal N, Hibberd PL. Intimate partner violence related to disclosure of sickle cell disease during pregnancy: evidence from the sickle cell belt of central India. Front Glob Womens Health. 2025; 6:1525168. PMID: 40475119.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 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 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

View All 191 Publications:   View Full Profile in BUMC

Other Positions

  • Chair, Psychiatry
    Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine
  • Assistant Dean, Diversity & Inclusion
    Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine

Websites

Education

  • University of Massachusetts Medical School, MD
  • Tufts University, BS

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