Walker Honored for Efforts to Combat Substance Use in American Indians

Walker Honored for Efforts to Combat Substance Use in American Indians

Abstract

Walker Honored for Efforts to Combat Substance Use in American Indians Aaron Levin  Next SectionAn American-Indian psychiatrist is recognized for decades of work to understand and alleviate substance abuse in American Indians. Previous Section A psychiatrist working within a community must understand its history, just as one who works with a single patient understands what brought that person into the office, said Roger Dale Walker, M.D., a professor of psychiatry and of public health and preventive medicine at Oregon Health and Science University in Portland. Roger Dale Walker, M.D., is honored as the American Indian Physician of the Year by the Association of American Indian Physicians at its annual meeting in Arlington, Va. Credit: Aaron Levin Walker is a health services researcher and a clinician who specializes in substance abuse issues. He also directs the One Sky Center, a national resource for programs that have helped American-Indian and Alaska-Native communities prevent and treat substance abuse and other mental health problems. “You need to understand the background and history and why the community is the way it is,” he told Psychiatric News.“ We have to be thorough and careful to establish trust and confidence in offering help, just