Mai Uchida, MD, Author at Clay Center for Young Healthy Minds

Articles by Mai Uchida, MD

Dr. Mai Uchida is a board certified child, adolescent and adult psychiatrist and the Director of the Child Depression Program at the Massachusetts General Hospital. She is the Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, and Attending Physician at Massachusetts General Hospital in the Pediatric Psychopharmacology and Adult ADHD Program. As a clinician-researcher, her focus has been on the early identification of pediatric psychopathology. In collaboration with Dr. John Gabrieli at MIT, she has published on the fMRI based biomarkers of the risk for development of major depression, and received the First Prize Department of Psychiatry Award of MGH, MassGeneral for Children Innovation and Feasibility Award as well as the Dupont Warren Fellowship and Livingston Award for her works on this topic. She has done clinical and neuroimaging based investigation of emotional dysregulation, and has received the Louis V Gertsner Award for this work. She is a current K awardee from the National Institute of Mental Health to investigate clinical and neural indicators of the risk for developing ADHD. Dr. Uchida’s clinical expertise is in diagnosing and in the medication management of children with mood disorders, anxiety disorders, and ADHD, as well as adult ADHD. She loves interacting with children and trying to help families through the difficulties of emotional and behavioral challenges. In addition, Dr. Uchida is a committed advocate for mental health. She has articulated her thoughts in a number of international publications, including the International Herald Tribune, Asahi Shimbun, and Boston Globe on topics ranging from suicide prevention, informed consent to the experience of being a Japanese female physician in America. As a mother of two sons, her commitment in helping children and their families’ emotional well-being is not only professional, but also deeply personal as well. When she is not working, she is 99% mom, but in the 1% of her time, she enjoys creating visual art, skiing, figure skating, dancing flamenco, and singing along to Broadway show tunes.

Youth Athlete Mental Health ft. Dr. Mai Uchida, MD – Shrinking It Down

April 14, 2022

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Youth Athlete Mental Health ft. Dr. Mai Uchida, MD – Shrinking It Down

At what point are we pushing our young athletes too hard? We all watched 15-year-old Russian Olympic skater, Kamila Valieva, exit the ice in tears after a doping scandal. Where did the adults in her life fail her? What can be done to make sure situations like this don’t happen again? These are the questions […]

Figure Skating’s Identity Crisis: Supporting Our Young Athletes

March 14, 2022

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Figure Skating’s Identity Crisis: Supporting Our Young Athletes

It’s been a few weeks since the 2022 Olympics in Beijing, and while the world has moved on to larger news and grief surrounding the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the images of young female figure skaters – children – weeping, throwing their hands up in distress and storming away from cameras, continue to perpetuate a […]

Simone Biles – Choosing Mental Health Over Defending Olympic Gold

July 29, 2021

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Simone Biles – Choosing Mental Health Over Defending Olympic Gold

This piece on Simone Biles is one in a series by Dr. Uchida on athlete mental health. Watch more with figure skater Mirai Nagasu, and read more on tennis player Naomi Osaka. Simone Biles shocked the world when she withdrew from the Tokyo 2020 Olympics Team event after completing her vault performance, and eventually pulling […]

Naomi Osaka – Shining Light On Athlete Mental Health

June 29, 2021

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Naomi Osaka – Shining Light On Athlete Mental Health

This piece on Naomi Osaka is one in a series by Dr. Uchida on athlete mental health. Watch more with figure skater Mirai Nagasu, and read more on gymnast Simone Biles. Naomi Osaka shocked the athletic world when she announced she was withdrawing from major competitions such as the French Open and Wimbledon, citing her […]

How We Talked About Racism With Our Very Young Kids: A Child Psychiatrist Mom’s Conversation With Her 5- and 3-Year-Old Sons

June 26, 2020

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How We Talked About Racism With Our Very Young Kids: A Child Psychiatrist Mom’s Conversation With Her 5- and 3-Year-Old Sons

Like many people in the world, I’ve been very emotionally affected about how the recent news on police brutality towards the Black community exposed the racism that continues to prevail. I became nauseous seeing social media comments that supported racism (many without the awareness of the impact of their statements), and how those that hold […]