Leading with Compassion: Five Women Who Reimagined Emotional Care
Honoring Doctors Who Pioneered Progress in Mental Health
In honor of Mental Health Awareness Month, we recognize five extraordinary women whose contributions advanced the fields of psychiatry, psychology, and public health. Dr. Carola Eisenberg championed human rights and student advocacy in academic medicine. Dr. Myrna Weissman developed groundbreaking treatments for depression. Dr. Carol Nadelson transformed psychiatric education and policy for women. Dr. Ellen Gritz led pioneering research in behavioral science and cancer prevention. Dr. Christine Huddleston improved access to care for children and underserved populations. These remarkable women have not only expanded the frontiers of mental health care but have also inspired future generations to lead with compassion, evidence, and purpose.
“I just felt that I had to tell, at the larger level, how I felt about medicine, and I felt and I feel and I will always feel that it is a privilege to be a physician. I have experiences, so many and many of them, where I felt that an individual has opened their heart and they were telling me things that they never told any human beings, that they were trusting me, they have hopes that I will be able to help them. They became individuals that were suffering, but gave me the opportunity to help them, and by helping them, I help myself in some ways or reinforced my compassion in that way and my empathy for the suffering. That's a better way. It wasn't because they were helping me because I extracted from them something that I needed, but I felt that trust in that way was just an enormous privilege.” -Dr. Carola Eisenberg’s Oral History, transcript page 310-311
Dr. Carola B. Eisenberg (1917–2021) was a pioneering psychiatrist whose work significantly advanced mental health awareness and care within both academic and humanitarian spheres. As the first woman to serve as Dean for Student Affairs at MIT and Harvard Medical School, she championed mental health support systems for medical students, emphasizing the importance of emotional well-being alongside academic excellence. Her psychiatric expertise informed her lifelong advocacy for the psychological health of marginalized populations, including survivors of torture and political violence. After retiring, she co-founded Physicians for Human Rights, where she led investigations into mental and physical health abuses in Latin America, elevating the role of mental health documentation in human rights work. Dr. Eisenberg’s integration of psychiatric principles into medical ethics and education helped shape a generation of physicians who value psychological care as essential to human dignity.
For Further Reading: Women in Medicine Legacy Foundation. (2017, July 5). The first word in becoming a leader: Yes. https://www.wimlf.org/blog/the-first-word-in-becoming-a-leader-yes
“The conventional wisdom was that children didn’t get depressed because they didn’t have sufficient ego development...but I’ve been around a lot of children and adolescents.” “We showed that if you had a depressed mother or father, you had about a two- to three-fold increased risk of getting depression. We also showed that depression wasn’t a disorder of menopausal women; it was something that started in youth. That study has taken a good part of my time. It’s not the only thing I do, but it’s the one I’m most invested in.”
-Dr. Myrna Weissman, 2024
Dr. Myrna Weissman is a Professor of Epidemiology in Psychiatry at Columbia University and Co-Director of the Division of Translational Epidemiology and Mental Health Equity at NYSPI. She has made groundbreaking contributions to the study of mood and anxiety disorders, particularly in the development of Interpersonal Psychotherapy, a globally recognized, evidence-based treatment for depression. Dr. Weissman has authored over 800 scientific publications and received numerous awards, including the 2020 Brain and Behavior Pardes Humanitarian Prize and the 2021 Research Prize from the American Psychiatric Association. Her work continues to influence both clinical practice and public health policy.
For More Information: 2024 Alma Dea Morani, MD Renaissance Woman Event - Myrna M. Weissman, PhD
“So, I took on issues that nobody took on as serious psychiatric issues. It was not part of the field. Women’s mental health was not even in existence. We started it, the whole idea that men and women were different, ...People were just beginning to think about that. Every drug that we gave was standardized on men, not on women. I mean, it’s still going on. That’s still the issue. But, you know, it takes a long time to get a change like that.”
Dr. Carol C. Nadelson, a pioneering psychiatrist, has significantly advanced women's mental health and championed gender equity in medicine. As the first female president of the American Psychiatric Association and editor-in-chief of its press, she broke gender barriers in psychiatry. Her research illuminated the psychological impacts of trauma, including rape and postpartum depression, reshaping treatment approaches. At Brigham and Women's Hospital, she founded the Office for Women's Careers, mentoring countless women physicians. A dedicated educator and prolific author, Dr. Nadelson's legacy endures in her transformative contributions to psychiatry and unwavering support for women in medicine.
For Further Reading: The Women in Medicine Legacy Foundation. (2017, July 5). The ladder to leadership starts with stepping up. https://www.wimlf.org/blog/the-ladder-to-leadership-starts-with-stepping-up
“...balance in life, and quality of life are very important components, and that success is not defined only by what’s on your curriculum vitae, and your number of publications...and life is much bigger than only your career…So, I believe very, very strongly in that, in mental and physical balance, and relationship balance, and work life balance.... I hope that I have helped show people how much work can be done, and what can be done in preventing cancer, …and to try to see how they can make a difference.
And I have found it marvelous to associate with people whose training is tremendously different from mine,... it’s very interesting to be a scientific professional in the arts. Because you bring to those a kind of dance and opera, you bring to it a sort of a different eye, a different kind of way of approaching it, ... So, it’s sort of putting your own personal touch on these wonderful fields that you get interested in.” -Dr. Ellen Gritz Oral History, pgs 213-214
Dr. Ellen R. Gritz is a pioneering psychologist whose work bridges behavioral science and mental health within oncology. As founding Chair of the Department of Behavioral Science at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, she has led research on smoking behavior, cessation, and the psychosocial effects of cancer. Her studies have explored how mood disorders, anxiety, and alcohol use impact smoking cessation in cancer patients, revealing that depression and alcohol abuse can hinder quitting success. Dr. Gritz has also addressed quality of life in cancer patients and survivors, emphasizing mental health's role in comprehensive cancer care.
For Further Reading: Women in Medicine Legacy Foundation. (2017, July 5). On being a human and a true mover and shaker. https://www.wimlf.org/blog/on-being-a-human-and-a-true-mover-and-shaker
“I think I make a difference on two levels. First is in my daily practice of medicine. I see patients all day long and together we work to heal their wounds, resolve the obstacles in their lives, and to improve their sense of well-being. Second is through teaching and mentoring of medical students and residents. With students and residents, I try to impart a way of thinking which allows for the complexity of the problems they will face with their own patients but also show them a way to strive for clarity without losing their own humanness and that of their patients.”
-Dr. Christie Huddleston, National Library of Medicine, (n.d.)
Dr. Christie Huddleston, MD, is a distinguished psychiatrist and psychoanalyst based in Philadelphia, renowned for her extensive contributions to mental health care, particularly for adolescents and young adults. With over four decades of clinical experience, she has specialized in treating complex psychological conditions and has been instrumental in mentoring future mental health professionals. As an assistant clinical professor at the University of Pennsylvania, she coordinates the Applied Psychoanalytic Curriculum for Child Fellows at CHOP. Dr. Huddleston also serves as the director of the Child Psychoanalytic Training Program at the Psychoanalytic Center of Philadelphia. Beyond her clinical and academic roles, she co-founded and led the Women in Medicine Legacy Foundation, advocating for the preservation and recognition of women's contributions to medicine.
For Further Reading: Women in Medicine Legacy Foundation. (2023, January 25). Remembering Our History. https://www.wimlf.org/blog/remembering-our-history
Sources and for further reading:
Harvard University. (n.d.). Carola Eisenberg. Retrieved from https://collections.countway.harvard.edu/onview/exhibits/show/fhwim-oral-histories/renaissance-women-in-medicine-/carola-eisenberg
Physicians for Human Rights. (2021, March 11). Dr. Carola Eisenberg, Founding Member and a Past Vice-President of PHR. Retrieved from https://phr.org/our-work/resources/dr-carola-eisenberg-founding-member-and-a-past-vice-president-of-phr/
Foundation for the History of Women in Medicine. (2008, June 10–11). Oral history interview with Carola Eisenberg (audio and transcript). Center for the History of Medicine, Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine. https://collections.countway.harvard.edu/onview/items/show/13402
Women in Medicine Legacy Foundation. (n.d.). Carola B. Eisenberg, MD. https://www.wimlf.org/carola-b-eisenberg-md
Women in Medicine Legacy Foundation. (n.d.). Myrna Weissman, PhD. https://www.wimlf.org/myrna-m-weissman-phd
Women in Medicine Legacy Foundation. (n.d.). Carol Nadelson, MD. https://www.wimlf.org/carol-c-nadelson-md
Jewish Women's Archive. (n.d.). Carol Nadelson. https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/nadelson-carol
Women in Medicine Legacy Foundation. (2016, February 5). Oral history interview with Carol C. Nadelson. Center for the History of Medicine, Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine. https://collections.countway.harvard.edu/onview/items/show/17854
Women in Medicine Legacy Foundation. (n.d.). Ellen Gritz, PhD. https://www.wimlf.org/ellen-r-gritz-phd
Blalock, J. A., Lam, C., Minnix, J. A., Karam-Hage, M., Gritz, E. R., Robinson, J. D., & Cinciripini, P. M. (2011). The effect of mood, anxiety, and alcohol use disorders on smoking cessation in cancer patients. Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy, 25(1), 82–96. https://doi.org/10.1891/0889-8391.25.1.82
Foundation for the History of Women in Medicine. (2009). Oral history interview with Ellen R. Gritz. Center for the History of Medicine, Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine. https://collections.countway.harvard.edu/onview/items/show/13403
National Library of Medicine. (n.d.). Biography: Dr. Christie Ann Huddleston. https://www.nlm.nih.gov/exhibition/changing-the-face-of-medicine/physicians/biography_christie_huddleston.html