Madelyn Gould, PhD, MPH

  • Irving Philips Professor of Epidemiology (in Psychiatry) at CUMC
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Overview

Madelyn Gould, PhD, MPH, is the Irving Philips Professor of Epidemiology in Psychiatry at Columbia University, Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, and a Research Scientist at the New York State Psychiatric Institute (NYSPI). She directs a research unit within the Division of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry and NYSPI. Her long-standing research interests include the epidemiology of youth suicide, as well as the evaluation of youth suicide prevention interventions. During the past three decades, she has received continuous federal funding from the National Institute of Health (NIMH), Centers for Disease Control (CDC), and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) for her research in the area of suicide prevention. Her seminal articles on youth suicide risk and preventive interventions laid the groundwork for the development of state- and national-level suicide prevention programs. Current projects focus on the evaluation of suicide prevention strategies, including telephone crisis services, chat crisis services, continuity of care enhancements in EDs, and youth suicide screening programs. She is also studying suicide risks related to bullying, contagion, and modeling, and the effect of a peer’s suicide on fellow students.

With a strong commitment to applying her research to program and policy development, Dr. Gould has participated in state and U.S. national government commissions and served as a leadership consultant for the Surgeon General’s Leadership Working Group for the National Suicide Prevention Strategy, contributed to the CDC’s community response plan for suicide clusters and recommendations to optimize media reporting of suicide, and has been a member of national and international workgroups updating these media recommendations, Dr. Gould was a founding member of the New York State Suicide-Prevention Council, and helped organize the New York State Summit on Suicide Prevention

Dr. Gould has been the recipient of numerous awards, a few of which include the Shneidman Award for Research from the American Association of Suicidology (AAS) in 1991, the New York State Office of Mental Health (NYSOMH) Research Award in 2002, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) Research Award, in 2006, the New York State Suicide Prevention Center’s Excellence in Suicide Prevention Award in 2011, the 2013 Dublin Award from the American Association of Suicidology (AAS), which is a lifetime achievement award for outstanding contributions to the field of suicide prevention, and the 2015 Dave Nee Foundation Ray of Light Award.

Academic Appointments

  • Irving Philips Professor of Epidemiology (in Psychiatry) at CUMC

Administrative Titles

  • Research Scientist, New York State Psychiatric Institute

Gender

  • Female

Credentials & Experience

Education & Training

  • MPH, 1976 Epidemiology, Columbia University, Mailman School of Public Health
  • PhD, 1980 Epidemiology, Columbia University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, NY
  • Fellowship: 1979 Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health

Committees, Societies, Councils

Societies/Memberships:

American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
American Association of Suicidology
American Public Health Association
American Psychopathological Association, Fellow
International Academy for Suicide Research, Fellow
International Association for Suicide Prevention

Departmental and University Committees (current)

Committee on Appointments and Promotions, Department of Psychiatry
Suicide Task Force, New York Presbyterian Hospital (co-chair of Prevention Subgroup)
NYSPI-Columbia University, Department of Psychiatry, Peer Review Promotions Committee
Executive Committee in Child Psychiatry
NYSPI-Columbia University, Department of Psychiatry, Institutional Review Board for the
Protection of Human Subjects

Honors & Awards

Phi Beta Kappa (awarded at the end of the Junior Year)
Sigma Xi
B.S. with Honors in Psychology
B.S. (Summa Cum Laude)
Ph.D. with Distinction
W.T. Grant Foundation Faculty Scholars Award
Edwin A. Shneidman Award, American Association of Suicidology (for outstanding research contributions in the field of suicidology by a young investigator)
Distinguished Investigator Grant Award, American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
New York State Office of Mental Health 2002 Research Award
Excellence in Suicide Prevention Award, Suicide Prevention Center of New York (SPCNY)
Louis I. Dublin Award, American Association of Suicidology (lifetime achievement award for outstanding contributions to the field of suicide prevention)
Dave Nee Foundation Ray of Light Award

Research

Currently, Dr. Gould leads the evaluation of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (Lifeline), the national network of telephone crisis services. She has obtained NIMH support to evaluate an intervention implemented across the Lifeline, and SAMHSA has funded evaluations of the Lifeline for several years to inform ongoing improvement of suicide prevention hotline services, including its initiative to have crisis centers offer and provide clinical follow up to suicidal hotline callers and other suicidal individuals, including those referred for follow-up upon discharge from emergency department. Dr. Gould's research evaluating the Lifeline has vastly changed the landscape of suicide prevention efforts in the U.S. The Lifeline has emerged as a key component of a range of suicide prevention programs, largely due to her SAMHSA-funded evaluations starting in 2001 and continuing to the present. In contrast to the 2001 U.S. National Strategy for Suicide Prevention in which crisis hotlines were not mentioned at all, the 2010 National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention prominently references Lifeline and telephone crisis services an integral part of the national strategy.Moreover, the findings from Dr. Gould’s research have been used by SAMHSA and the Lifeline to support the recent passage of the National Suicide Hotline Designation Act of 2020. This legislation establishes a new three-digit number (988) for a national suicide prevention and mental health crisis hotline. Now that crisis hotlines are recognized as a critical component of suicide prevention and mental health services, the current work that Dr. Gould is conducting is timelier and more relevant than ever. Given its role as a national “safety net,” her ongoing SAMHSA-funded research evaluating whether the Lifeline is meeting its goal to prevent at-risk individuals from engaging in suicidal behavior continues to be of the utmost clinical and public health relevance.

Research Interests

  • Child and Adolescent Health
  • Child and adolescent psychiatry
  • Epidemiology
  • Mental health
  • Suicide Prevention

Selected Publications

  • Halford, E.A., Lake, A.M., Gould, M.S. (2020). Google searches for suicide and suicide risk factors in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic.PLoS ONE15(7): e0236777. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0236777 (Published online (Open Access) July 24, 2020)
  • Hawton, K., Hill, N.T.L., Gould, M., John, A., Lascelles, K., Robinson, J. (2020). Clustering of suicides in children and adolescents: A review.Lancet Child and Adolescent Health,4 (1), 58-67.doi.org/10.1016/S2352-4642(19)30335-9 (First published online October 9, 2019)
  • Busby D.R., King C.A., Brent D., Grupp-Phelan J., Gould M., Page K., Casper T.C.Adolescents' Engagement with Crisis Hotline Risk-management Services: A Report from the Emergency Department Screen for Teen Suicide Risk (ED-STARS) Study.Suicide Life Threat Behav.2020 Feb;50(1):72-82.doi: 10.1111/sltb.12558.Epub 2019 May 31.
  • Labouliere, C., Stanley, B., Lake, A., Gould, M. (2019). Safety planning on crisis lines: Feasibility, acceptability, and perceived helpfulness of a brief intervention to mitigate future suicide risk.Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior. doi: 10.1111/sltb.12554 (First published online May 21, 2019)
  • Sy, K.T.L., Shaman, J., Kandula, S., Pei, S., Gould, M. Keyes, K.M. (2019). Spatiotemporal clustering of suicides in the U.S. from 1999 to 2016.Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 54, 1471-1482. doi: 10.1007/s00127-019-01736-4
  • Pisani, A.R., Kanuri, N., Filbin, B., Gallo, C., Gould, M., Soleymani Lehmann, L., Levin, R., Marcotte, J., Pascal, B., Rousseau, D., Turner, S., Yen, S., Ranney, M. (2019). Protecting user privacy and rights in academic data sharing partnerships: Principles from a pilot at Crisis Text Line.Journal of Medical Internet Research (JMIR), 21 (1). (e11507)doi: 10.2196/11507.
  • Wyman, P., Pickering, T., Pisani, A., Rulison, K., Schmeelk-Cone, K., Hartley, C., Gould, M.S., Caine, E. Brown, C.H., Valente, T. (2019). Peer-adult network structure and suicide attempts in 38 high schools: Implications for network informed suicide prevention.The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 60 (10), 1065-1075. doi:10.1111/jcpp.13102
  • Reyes-Portillo, J.A., Lake, A.M., Kleinman, M., Gould, M.S.(2019). The relation between descriptive norms, suicidal ideation, and suicide attempts among adolescents.Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior,49(2), 535-546.doi: 10.1111/sltb.12446
  • Kuiper, N., Goldston, D., Garraza, L.G., Walrath, C., Gould, M., McKeon, R. (2019). Examining the unanticipated adverse consequences of youth suicide prevention strategies: A literature review with recommendations for prevention programs.Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 49(4), 952-965. doi: 10.1111/sltb.12492 (First published July 12, 2018).
  • Gould, M.S., Lake, A.M., Kleinman, Galfalvy, Chowdhury, S., Madnick, A. (2018). Exposure to suicide in high schools: Impact on serious suicidal ideation/behavior, depression, maladaptive coping strategies, and attitudes toward help-seeking.International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. Special Issue; Advances in Suicide Research,15 (3), 455; doi:10.3390/ijerph15030455
  • Gould, M.S., Lake, A.M., Galfalvy, H., Kleinman, M., Munfakh, J.L., Wright, J., McKeon, R. (2018). Follow-up with Callers to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: Evaluation of Callers’ Perceptions of Care.Suicide & Life-Threatening Behavior.48(1), 75 - 86. doi: 10.1111/sltb.12339 (Posted online: March 6, 2017)
  • Bailey, E., Spittal, M.J., Pirkis, J., Gould, M., & Robinson, J. (2017). Universal suicide prevention in young people.Crisis, 38(5), 300-308. doi: 10.1027/0227-5910/a000465
  • Cross, W.F., Chen, T., Schmeelk-Cone, K., Tu, X., Kleinman, M., & Gould, M.S. (2017). Trainer fidelity as a predictor of crisis counselors' behaviors with callers who express suicidal thoughts.Psychiatric Services, 68(10), 1083-1087. doi: 10.1176/appi.ps.201600417
  • Davaasambuu, S., Batbaatar, S., Witte, S., Hamid, P., Oquendo, M.A., Kleinman, M., Olivares, M., & Gould, M. (2017). Suicidal plans and attempts among adolescents in Mongolia.Crisis.2017 Sep;38(5):330-343. doi: 10.1027/0227-5910/a000447. Epub 2017 Feb 23.
  • Gould, M.S., Lake, A.M., Galfalvy, H., Kleinman, M., Munfakh, J.L., Wright, J., & McKeon, R. (2017). Follow-up with callers to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: Evaluation of callers' perceptions of care.Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior.2018 Feb;48(1):75-86. doi:10.1111/sltb.12339. Epub 2017 Mar 6.
  • Gould, M.S., Lake, A.M., Munfakh, J.L., Galfalvy, H., Kleinman, M., Williams, C., Glass, A., & McKeon, R. (2016). Helping callers to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline who are at imminent risk of suicide: Evaluation of caller risk profiles and interventions implemented.Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 46(2), 172-190. doi: 10.1111/sltb.12182
  • Labouliere, C.D., Kleinman, M., & Gould, M.S. (2015). When self-reliance is not safe: Associations between reduced help-seeking and subsequent mental health symptoms in suicidal adolescents.International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 12(4), 3741-3755. doi: 10.3390/ijerph120403741.
  • McLoughlin, A.B., Gould, M.S., & Malone, K.M. (2015). Global trends in teenage suicide: 2003-2014.QJM, 108(10)765-780. doi: 10.1093/qjmed/hcv026
  • Gould, M.S., Kleinman, M.H., Lake, A.M., Forman, J., & Basset Midle, J. (2014). Newspaper coverage of suicide and initiation of suicide clusters in teenagers in the USA, 1988-96: A retrospective, population-based, case-control study.Lancet Psychiatry, 1(1), 34-43. doi: 10.1016/S2215-0366(14)70225-1
  • Gould, M.S., Cross, W., Pisani, A.R., Munfakh, J.L., & Kleinman, M. (2013). Impact of Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training on the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 43(6), 676-691. doi: 10.1111/sltb.12049
  • Gould, M.S., Munfakh, J.L.H., Kleinman, M., & Lake, A.M. (2012). National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: Enhancing mental health care for suicidal individuals and other people in crisis.Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 42(1), 22-35. doi: 10.1111/j.1943-278X.2011.00068.x
  • Gould, M.S., Marrocco, F.A., Hoagwood, K., Kleinman, M., Amakawa, L., & Altschuler, E. (2009). Service use by at-risk youth after school-based suicide screening.Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 48(12), 1193-1201. doi: 10.1097/CHI.0b013e3181bef6d5
  • Gould, M.S., Kalafat, J., Munfakh, J.L.H., & Kleinman, M. (2007). An evaluation of crisis hotline outcomes, Part II: Suicidal callers.Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 37(3), 338-352. doi: 10.1521/suli.2007.37.3.338
  • Gould, M.S., Marrocco, F.A., Kleinman, M., Thomas, J.G., Mostkoff, K., Cote, J., & Davies, M. (2005). Evaluating iatrogenic risk of suicide screening programs: A randomized controlled trial.Journal of the American Medical Association, 293(13), 1635-1643. doi: 10.1001/jama.293.13.1635

For a complete list of publications, please visit PubMed.gov

Global Health Activities

International Association of Suicide Prevention Media & Suicide Task Force: The Task Force has a number of initiatives, including the development of online best practices for suicide prevention, recommendations for parents on how to respond to concerns regarding offspring online behaviours, and a continued focus on traditional media recommendations. Developing a comprehensive summary of international experiences with media recommendations is a future goal.

Urban Health Activities

Effectiveness of Suicide Hotline Training: The project is evaluating the effectiveness of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, the network of crisis centers in the U.S. Two members of the network are in NYC.