The Mental Health Toll of the COVID-19 Pandemic

We’re all facing new levels of uncertainty as we navigate this time. It doesn’t matter whether you’re in close touch with CBU or haven’t talked to CBU in years. The Black Alumni Association wanted to bring the CBU alumni community together to connect about mental health and wellness.

Dr. Altha Stewart grew up in South Memphis and was among the first class of women admitted to what is now Christian Brothers University, graduating in 1973 with a bachelor’s degree in Biology. She earned her medical degree at Temple University. She has dedicated her life to public medicine and in the process has become a nationally and internationally recognized expert in minority issues in mental health care.

Dr. Stewart is an Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Chief of Social and Community Psychiatry at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center. She served as President of the American Psychiatric Association from 2018 to 2019, the first African American elected to lead the 38,000-member organization since its start in 1844. She has also served as President of the Association of Women Psychiatrists and the Black Psychiatrists of America. Dr. Stewart served as Executive Director of the Just Care FamilyNetwork, a federally funded program in Memphis for children with serious emotional disorders and their families. Additionally, she has served as Director of Systems of Care for the Shelby County Office of the Public Defender and Executive Director of the National Leadership Council on African-American Behavioral Health.