On the Mind with The Weill Cornell Medicine Department of Psychiatry

In this episode of On the Mind, host Dr. Daniel Knoepflmacher speaks with Dr. Frank Yeomans, a clinical professor of psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medicine and Director of Training at the Personality Disorders Institute, about how to assess personality in a comprehensive psychiatric evaluation. Dr. Yeomans traces the shift from the DSM-5’s traditional categorical model of personality disorders to its dimensional alternative model, which identifies difficulties in one’s sense of self and relationships with others as the core features underlying all personality pathology. Drawing on decades of clinical experience, he walks through six key dimensions clinicians can assess in any patient: identity, defenses, aggression, reality testing, interpersonal relationships, and moral functioning, illustrating each with vivid case examples. The conversation also addresses how to sensitively discuss a personality disorder diagnosis with patients, the key distinctions between borderline and narcissistic personality disorder, and why understanding personality pathology as existing on a spectrum we all share can reduce stigma in clinical practice.

In this episode of On the Mind, host Dr. Daniel Knoepflmacher speaks with Dr. Frank Yeomans, a clinical professor of psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medicine and Director of Training at the Personality Disorders Institute, about how to assess personality in a comprehensive psychiatric evaluation. Dr. Yeomans traces the shift from the DSM-5’s traditional categorical model of personality disorders to its dimensional alternative model, which identifies difficulties in one’s sense of self and relationships with others as the core features underlying all personality pathology. Drawing on decades of clinical experience, he walks through six key dimensions clinicians can assess in any patient: identity, defenses, aggression, reality testing, interpersonal relationships, and moral functioning, illustrating each with vivid case examples. The conversation also addresses how to sensitively discuss a personality disorder diagnosis with patients, the key distinctions between borderline and narcissistic personality disorder, and why understanding personality pathology as existing on a spectrum we all share can reduce stigma in clinical practice.

In this episode of On the Mind, host Dr. Daniel Knoepflmacher speaks with Dr. Dhruv Khullar, a hospitalist and Associate Professor of Population Health Policy and Economics at Weill Cornell Medicine and a contributing writer for The New Yorker, about the promise and peril of artificial intelligence in mental health care. Their conversation explores the rapid expansion of AI into clinical documentation, diagnostic reasoning, and patient navigation, as well as the risks of cognitive de-skilling, sycophantic chatbots, and profit-driven apps that cloak commercial motives in the language of clinical care. They also discuss how AI's simulation of empathy and relational interaction is hacking the fundamental human bonds of attachment, trust, and genuine connection that lie at the core of effective psychotherapy and healthy human development. Dr. Khullar shares his thinking on the regulatory frameworks and research infrastructure needed to help ensure these technologies serve patients rather than exploit them.

In this episode of On the Mind, host Dr. Daniel Knoepflmacher speaks with Dr. Alyson Gorun, a reproductive psychiatrist and Acting Director of the Aaron Stern, M.D., Ph.D. Program in Psychodynamic Psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medicine, about mental health during the perinatal period. Dr. Gorun discusses the psychiatric conditions most commonly associated with pregnancy and the postpartum months, how pre-existing diagnoses can be destabilized by hormonal and psychosocial changes, and the complex risk-benefit considerations that guide medication decisions. She also addresses the psychological weight of new parenthood, structural disparities in perinatal care, and evidence-based approaches to both pharmacological and psychotherapeutic treatment.

In this episode of On the Mind, host Dr. Daniel Knoepflmacher speaks with Dr. Jeff Ha, Associate Program Director of Weill Cornell Medicine's Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry Fellowship Program, about the diagnosis and treatment of delirium. Their discussion covers the diagnostic criteria for delirium, its clinical presentations across the hyperactive, hypoactive, and mixed subtypes, and the underlying neurobiological mechanisms that produce its characteristic waxing and waning course. Listeners will learn about the significant morbidity and mortality associated with delirium, with particular attention to the underrecognized danger of hypoactive delirium, the often prolonged and incomplete trajectory of recovery, and the demographic and cultural factors that shape both risk and diagnosis. The episode also explores the full spectrum of treatment as well as the psychological sequelae that can persist long after the acute episode resolves, including Post-Intensive Care Syndrome.

Dr. Ha reflects on the therapeutic value of family presence and the importance of psychoeducation for both patients and caregivers. This episode provides a comprehensive and clinically grounded guide to one of the most common and consequential conditions seen by psychiatrists in medical settings.