about DOCTOR Misch
Overview
After attending Harvard University as an undergraduate and obtaining his M.D. from Rush Medical College in Chicago, Dr. Misch completed residency training in both internal medicine (Rush Medical Center) and psychiatry (Northwestern University). He then practiced both general internal medicine and general adult psychiatry in the Chicago metropolitan area.
Although a psychiatrist who prescribes medication, Dr. Misch was, and is, intensely committed to psychotherapy as a key element in helping patients develop long-lasting, positive change in their lives. For that reason, he accepted a faculty appointment from 1992 to 2003 in the Department of Psychiatry and Health Behavior at the Medical College of Georgia. There he served as the Director of Psychotherapy Education and Psychiatry Residency Training Director for psychiatry residents as well as the Phase I Behavioral Science Course Director and Psychiatry Clerkship Director for medical students. In addition to his many teaching roles focusing on psychotherapy and clinical psychiatry, Dr. Misch published academic papers on psychotherapy, suicide, physician professionalism, empathy, and the scholarship of teaching and learning.
Dr. Misch was honored to be selected as a Carnegie Scholar in 2001-2002 (the only physician ever to be chosen for this national program of higher education faculty dedicated to the art and science of teaching and learning) and a Co-Director of the Georgia Governors’ Teaching Fellows Program from 2001-2003.
In 2003 Dr. Misch returned to his hometown of Chicago in the role of Executive Director of the Northwestern University Health Service where much of his work focused on alcohol and other drug (AOD) abuse and on sexual assault (including a very well-received undergraduate course on “Sexual Assault in America”).
After years of enduring Chicago winters, in 2010 Dr. Misch moved to the University of Colorado Boulder, serving as the Senior Assistant Vice Chancellor for Health and Wellness and Executive Director of the Wardenburg Health Center where, again, alcohol and other drug abuse and health promotion/wellness were central to his work. Dr. Misch was charged with overall responsibility for CU-Boulder’s alcohol and other drug programs, served as a Co-Chair of the campus-community coalition AACT (Addressing Alcohol Concerns Together), and worked with the City of Boulder on a variety of task forces related to alcohol and marijuana issues. He is particularly proud of his role in establishing the CU Collegiate Recovery Center, an on-campus program dedicated to helping college students, high school students, and others live a successful and productive sober lifestyle after a history of alcohol and/or drug abuse.
After retiring from the University of Colorado, Dr. Misch returned to the private practice of psychiatry and also worked at the Colorado Physician Health Program as an Associate Medical Director. Dr. Misch has also served as Vice President of the Boulder County Board of Health.
Dr. Misch has formally presented to a variety of diverse audiences locally and nationally on issues of alcohol and other drug abuse (including, in particular, the health effects of marijuana as well as psychostimulant abuse), and he continues to publish academic papers on these topics in addition to issues related to medical education and medical professionalism.
Education
- Harvard College, A.B., 1974
- Rush Medical College, M.D., 1978
- Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center, Internal Medicine Residency, 1981
- Northwestern University (Evanston Hospital), Psychiatry Residency, 1988
Board and Other Certification
- Diplomate - American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, 1991 and 2012
- Certified by American Board of Independent Medical Examiners, 2019
Academic Positions
- Rush Medical College, Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine, 1982-1986
- Rush Medical College, Instructor of Psychiatry, 1989-1992
- Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Instructor of Clinical Psychiatry, 1989-1992
- Medical College of Georgia, Associate Professor of Psychiatry, 1992-2003
- Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Associate Professor of Clinical Psychiatry, 2004-2010
- Northwestern University, Department of Gender Studies, Affiliated Faculty, 2008-2010
- University of Colorado School of Medicine, Associate Professor of Psychiatry, 2011-2016
- Colorado School of Public Health, Associate Professor in Community and Behavioral Health, 2012-2016
- University of Colorado, Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Professor Attendant, 2015-2016
Publications
- Somatoform Disorders. Misch DA. In Bone RC and Rosen RL (eds.): Quick Reference to Internal Medicine, New York, Igaku-Shoin Medical Publishers, Inc., 1439-1444, 1994.
- Psychosocial Formulation Training Using Commercial Films. Misch DA. Academic Psychiatry 24(2):99-104,2000
- Great Expectations: Mistaken Beliefs of Beginning Psychodynamic Psychotherapists. Misch DA. American Journal of Psychotherapy 54(2):172-203, 2000.
- Basic Strategies of Dynamic Supportive Therapy. Misch DA. The Journal of Psychotherapy Practice and Research 9(4):173-189, 2000.
- Evaluating Physicians' Professional and Humanism: The Case for Humanism "Connoisseurs." Misch DA. Academic Medicine 77(6):489-495, 2002.
- Andragogy and Medical Education: Are Medical Students Internally Motivated to Learn? Misch DA.Advances in Health Sciences Education 7(2):153-160, 2002.
- The As If Faculty/Student Advocate. Misch DA. Educational Management and Administration 30(4):461-467, 2002.
- When a Psychiatry Resident's Patient Commits Suicide: Transference Trials and Tribulations. Misch DA. Journal of the American Academy of Psychoanalysis and Dynamic Psychiatry 31(3):4590475, 2003.
- The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning: Lessons from--Gasp!--Sigmund Freud. Misch DA. The Journal of Scholarship of Teaching and Learning 3(2):21-33, 2003.
- The Interpretative Leap: Helping our Students Read between the Lines.Misch DA. Journal of Excellence in College Teaching 15(3):37-61, 2004.
- Developing Empathy through Confluent Education. Misch DA and Peloquin SM. Journal of Physical Therapy Education 19(3):41-51, 2005.
- The Physician's Counsel. Misch DA. Journal of the American Medical Association 296(3):269-260, 2006.
- Natural Recovery from Alcohol Abuse among College Students. Misch DA. Journal of American College Health 55(4):215-218, 2007.
- On-Campus Programs to Support College Students in Recovery. Misch DA. Journal of American College Health 58(3):279-280, 2009.
- Changing the Culture of Alcohol Abuse on Campus: Lessons Learned from Secondhand Smoke. Misch DA. Journal of American College Health 59(3):232-234, 2010.
- College Student Assessment of the Signs of Alcohol Poisoning: To Dream the Impossible Dream. Misch DA. Journal of Student Affairs Research and Practice 48(2):165-178, 2011.
- Working Through the Trauma of Sexual Assault in an Undergraduate Class. Boehmer CM and Misch DA. Women & Therapy 34:461-480, 2011.
- I Feel Witty, Oh So Witty. Misch DA. Journal of the American Medical Association 315(4):345-346, 2016.
- A Vulnerable Moment Misch DA. Annals of Internal Medicine 165(12):887-888, 2016.
Selected Presentations
- Alcohol Abuse: The Number One Health Hazard on Campus. Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) Summit
- General Principles of AOD Abuse Intervention. Re/Act! From Research to Action in the Creation of a Campus AOD Policy
- Prescription Stimulant Abuse among College Students. U.S. Department of Education National Meeting on Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse and Violence Prevention in Higher Education
- The Future of Alcohol Abuse Prevention and Intervention: Town-Gown Partnerships and More. International Town-Gown Association Annual Meeting
- "A" is for Adderall: Prescription Stimulant Abuse among College Students. International Town-Gown Association Annual Meeting
- Prescription Stimulant Abuse among College Students. Rocky Mountain College Health Association Meeting
- The Dope on Dope or a Potpourri of Pot. NASPA Alcohol & Other Drug Abuse Prevention and Intervention Conference
- Marijuana Update: The Dope on Dope or a Potpourri of Pot. Pacific Coast College Health Association Annual Conference
- Marijuana Update: The Dope on Dope or a Potpourri of Pot. NASPA Annual Conference
- In the Weeds: The Wild and Wacky World of Legal Marijuana. International Town-Gown Association Annual Conference
- Alcohol, Marijuana, and Prescription Drugs: What High School Counselors and Parents Should Know. Colorado School Counselors Association
- The Legalization of Marijuana: What Doctors Need to Know. Rocky Vista University College of Osteopathic Medicine
- Collegiate Recovery Programs: New Hope; Interesting Facts. Young Adult Transitions Association Annual Meeting
- The Wild and Wacky World of Legal Marijuana: What You Should Know about Health Effects. Colorado Municipal Judges Association Fall Conference
- The Impaired Physician. Generalist Physician Conference Series
- The Impaired Physician: Recognition and Intervention. Medical College of Georgia Department of Emergency Medicine Faculty/Resident Teaching Program
- What's Your Drug of Choice? Doctors and Addiction. Medical Center of the Rockies
- Physician Psychology and Stress in Medical Training and Practice. Distinguished Lecture, Creighton University Medical Center
- Physician Work Stress and Burnout. Red Rocks Physician Assistant Program
- Colorado Physician Health Program: The Stressed and Stressful Physician - Disruptive Behavior, Substance Abuse, and Malpractice Stress. Hospital Insurance Forum
- Marijuana Update 2015. ACHA Webinar Series
- When a Medical Student Commits Suicide. American Psychiatric Association Annual Meeting
- Medical School Response to Student Suicide. American Psychiatric Association Annual Meeting
- When your Patient Suicides and You are a Resident. American Psychiatric Association Annual Meeting
- Assessing Physician Empathy. Medical College of Georgia Department of Internal Medicine Grand Rounds
- Assessing Empathy. Lilly Conference on College & University Teaching
- Assessing Physician Empathy. Center for Health Policy and Ethics Roundtable, Creighton University Medical Center
- Assessment of the Art of Medicine by Human Connoisseurs. Southern Group for Educational Affairs Annual Meeting
- Fostering, Teaching, and Assessing Professional Development. Carnegie Colloquium on the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning