Daniel Dickstein MD, FAAP

Daniel P. Dickstein, MD, FAAP, is a physician-scientist uniquely trained and board-certified in pediatrics, adult psychiatry, and child/adolescent psychiatry. His research lab, the PediMIND Program at McLean Hospital, is focused on identifying the brain and behavior basis behind mental health disorders in children to ultimately improve how these problems are diagnosed, treated, and prevented.

Dr. Dickstein leads the Pediatric Mood, Imaging, & Neurodevelopment (PediMIND) Program at McLean Hospital. This program focuses on identifying the brain and behavior mechanisms underlying child psychiatric disorders, including mood disorders, suicide, and non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI). Ultimately, PediMIND seeks to improve diagnosis, prevention, and care.

Dr. Dickstein is also engaged in research into NSSI in children, including brain and behavior alterations and risk for suicidal behavior. The goal of this work is to understand why children engage in NSSI, including cutting, and what brain/behavior mechanisms can predict which children engaged in NSSI will ultimately try to commit suicide vs. those who will not. For these studies, Dr. Dickstein works with children ages 10-17 who either engage in NSSI but have not attempted suicide, as well as typically developing children without psychiatric illness themselves or their biological first-degree relatives.