Mark Weist, Director  Mark D. Weist obtained a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Virginia Tech in 1991, and is currently a Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. He directs the Center for School Mental Health, a policy and analysis center that aims to promote the expansion and improvement of mental health programs in schools across the country. He also directs the School Mental Health Program, which provides assessment, treatment, and prevention services to youth in 25 elementary, middle and high schools in Baltimore. He provided mental health services to students at Southwestern High School for 13 years, and he currently delivers mental health services to youth at Walbrook High School. He is one of the co-founders of the International Alliance for Child and Adolescent Mental Health and Schools, and currently serves on its advisory board. He is active in the American Psychological Association (APA), the American School Health Association (ASHA), the National Assembly on School-Based Health Care (NASBHC), and the International Union for Health Promotion and Education.
Dr. Weist has served as director or co-chair of Mental Health sections of ASHA and NASBHC, and chaired a task force on Violence and Youth for APA's Division 12 (Clinical Psychology). He serves on a number of editorial boards and has edited two books on school mental health, and with CC Clauss-Ehlers has edited a book on resilience and youth. He serves as the academic editor for an international journal, entitled Advances in School Mental Health Promotion, that began publication in the fall of 2007. This project is a collaborative effort between the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland and the Clifford Beers Foundation in England. The quarterly journal focuses on training, policy, research and practice related to school mental health (SMH), and is aimed towards individuals who have a clinical, professional, academic or personal interest in the promotion of SMH. Mark and his wife Amber have five children and reside on Maryland's Eastern Shore. |
