Dr. Ivan Goldberg Outstanding Service Award

Congratulations to Dr. Jack Drescher, 2024 Ivan Goldberg Award Recipient!

NYCPS is pleased to announce Jack Drescher, M.D. as the recipient of the 2024 Ivan Goldberg Outstanding Service Award. He was nominated by Dr. Jacob Appel, one of his former mentees.

Dr. Drescher is well-known to NYCPS. He previously served in multiple leadership roles including two terms as Secretary and as President of NYCPS from 2000 to 2001. He is known nationally and internationally as one of the leading voices in LGBT+ mental health. He has mentored countless trainees and junior faculty members with boundless enthusiasm and generosity. All of that being said, we would like to highlight one of his recent service endeavors, one that has required considerable effort and has greatly benefited both providers and patients.

Dr. Drescher is a former president of the Group for the Advancement of Psychiatry and a long time member of their Publications Board. In that capacity, he single-handedly spearheaded the creation of the GAP blog on the Psychology Today website, a partnership that has produced several articles each month on a range of topics designed to keep the lay public informed about issues in mental healthcare. Jack personally solicits and edits each of these pieces, working closely, and often painstakingly, with the authors to shape their commentaries.

Dr. Drescher is a legendary figure in NY psychiatry. His legacy of service and mentorship runs long and deep. NYCPS is pleased to honor him as the recipient of the 2024 Ivan Goldberg Outstanding Service Award.

About the Dr. Ivan Goldberg Award

The New York County Psychiatric Society invites its members to nominate potential candidates for the Dr. Ivan Goldberg Outstanding Service Award. This award, given by the New York County Psychiatric Society, commemorates the unique and novel contributions made by the late Dr. Goldberg to the field of psychiatry. Dr. Goldberg was the consummate New York City psychiatrist; an expert psychopharmacologist, and a psychotherapist in private practice, who held various academic appointments and was the medical director of the New York City Mood Disorders Support Group. He was a pioneer in disseminating psychiatric knowledge to mental health professionals and to the lay public. He established an encyclopedic website, Depression Central, as well as several renowned psychiatry listservs, which continue to educate mental health professionals worldwide today.

Nominees should demonstrate the pioneering spirit of Dr. Goldberg’s work; to make psychiatric knowledge accessible to all. We welcome candidates from all backgrounds, who work in any type of setting, clinical or non-clinical, and whether or not they are affiliated with any academic institution. The ideal candidate will be someone who has found innovative ways to treat and educate others about psychiatry. We define this as broadly as possible to include those with expertise in neuroscience, to those with expertise in psychotherapy. A nominee may be someone who is using the latest technological advances in teaching psychiatry to future physicians, or someone who began a grassroots movement that is changing how society perceives mental illness, or someone working to change the public perception of psychiatry.

Our ideal candidate is one whom, in the words of Dr. Goldberg’s favorite author, William Osler, exemplifies the practice of medicine:

The Science of Uncertainty
The Art of Probability
To Relieve Often
To Comfort Always

Nominations

Eligibility Requirements

Nominees must be a current General Member, Fellow, Distinguished Fellow, or Life Fellow of the APA from one of the New York City District Branches, including the New York County Psychiatric Society, the Bronx District Branch, the Brooklyn Psychiatric Society, or the Queens Psychiatric Society. Candidates for the award may be self-nominated or nominated by a member of the New York County Psychiatric Society.

Submission Instructions

Please send us the full name, contact information, and current resume or curriculum vitae of the nominee. Also, please include your name, contact information, and a brief statement, of one page or less, explaining why you think the person you are nominating would be suitable for this award. All submission materials and questions should be emailed to [email protected] with Ivan Goldberg Award in the subject line. Submissions are accepted on a rolling basis throughout the year and the winner will be presented the award at the NYCPS Annual Presidential Reception in the spring. To download this information, including the instructions, please click here.

Submissions for the 2024 Ivan Goldberg Award are now closed.