Robert L. Trestman

About

Robert L. Trestman, PhD, MD, is the Chair of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine at Carilion Clinic and joined the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine in April 2017. He is a nationally recognized expert in psychiatry and population health with an extensive background in education and research. Prior to his current role, Dr. Trestman was a tenured professor of Medicine and Psychiatry at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine, with a joint appointment in Nursing. He served as the executive director of Correctional Managed Health Care, overseeing a health system providing comprehensive healthcare to inmates within the Connecticut Department of Correction. His previous academic and leadership roles include positions at the University of Connecticut, Mount Sinai Medical Center, and the Bronx Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Dr. Trestman has lectured and consulted nationally and internationally, authored or coauthored over 180 peer-reviewed articles, book chapters, and commentaries. He is actively involved in professional organizations, serving as Chair of the American Psychiatric Association’s Council on Healthcare Systems and Financing, a Board member of the American Hospital Association, and as a Councilor to the American Association of Chairs of Departments of Psychiatry. Additionally, he chaired the 2023 APA Workgroup on the Future of Psychiatry and sits on various boards and committees related to healthcare and behavioral health. Dr. Trestman enjoys cycling…

Research topics

• Clinical psychology
• Psychiatry
• Medicine
• Psychology
• Internal medicine
• Medical emergency

Selected publications

• Functional disability, depression, and suicidal ideation in older prisoners

  Journal of Affective Disorders · 2020 · 40 citations

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Benzodiazepine use for anxiety disorders is associated with increased long-term risk of mood and substance use disorders: A large-scale retrospective cohort study

  Drug and Alcohol Dependence Reports · 2024-08-13 · 14 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior authorCorresponding

  Background: Benzodiazepines (BZDs) are widely prescribed for anxiety disorders. However, the long-term implications on mental health remain uncertain, especially the potential association between chronic BZD use and subsequent diagnosis of mood and substance use disorders (SUDs). Method: We conducted a 5-year retrospective cohort study by analyzing the TriNetX database, a real-time electronic medical record network. The study population was defined as patients aged 18-65 with anxiety disorders (…

  PublisherDOI

• <scp>START NOW</scp> : a cognitive behavioral skills training for adolescent girls with conduct or oppositional defiant disorder – a randomized clinical trial

  Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry · 2023 · 12 citations

  BACKGROUND: Conduct disorder (CD) and oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) both convey a high risk for maladjustment later in life and are understudied in girls. Here, we aimed at confirming the efficacy of START NOW, a cognitive-behavioral, dialectical behavior therapy-oriented skills training program aiming to enhance emotion regulation skills, interpersonal and psychosocial adjustment, adapted for female adolescents with CD or ODD. METHODS: A total of 127 girls were included in this prospectiv…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Psychiatric comorbidities in children with conduct disorder: a descriptive analysis of real‐world data

  General Psychiatry · 2024-04-01 · 6 citations

  articleOpen access
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• The prevalence of comorbidities in people with psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (2013–2023)

  Epilepsy & Behavior · 2025-04-17 · 3 citations

  articleOpen access
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Recent grants

• NIH Grant R24MH067030

  NIH · $2.8M · 2010

• NIH Grant R29MH050859

  NIH · $530k · 1998

Frequent coauthors

• Larry J. Siever

  Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

  33 shared

• Vivian Mitropoulou

  Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

  28 shared

• L.J. Siever

  Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

  25 shared

• Emil F. Coccaro

  The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center

  20 shared

• Deborah Shelton

  20 shared

• Antonia S. New

  Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

  16 shared

• Julián D. Ford

  UConn Health

  14 shared

• Jayesh Kamath

  UConn Health

  14 shared

Labs

• Communications TeamPI

Education

• M.D.

  University of Virginia

• B.S.

  University of Virginia

Awards & honors

• Chair of the American Psychiatric Association’s Council on H…
• Board member of the American Hospital Association
• Chair of the APA Workgroup on the Future of Psychiatry (2023…
• Chair of the Behavioral Health Committee of the Bradley Free…

Similar researchers at Virginia Tech

• Pendleton R. Montagueh-77
• Michael J. Friedlanderh-42
• Alexei Y. Morozovh-41