Jonathan Shepherd, M.D., is a board-certified child, adolescent, and adult psychiatrist. Dr. Shepherd is the Chief Clinical Officer for the District of Columbia Department of Behavioral Health. He is also a part-time staff psychiatrist at The Ross Center. Dr. Shepherd serves as President of the APA Black Psychiatrists Caucus; as Co-Chair of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Black Caucus; and as President of the Board of Directors of the Black Mental Health Alliance, a nonprofit organization that advocates for the mental health needs of the African American community. In February 2024, Dr. Shepherd was inducted into the American College of Psychiatrists. He was bestowed the honor of Fellow by the American Psychiatric Association in 2020 and Distinguished Fellow by the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry in 2019.

I went into psychiatry because I was fascinated by the brain and by the behavior of people that causes them to do the various things that they do. Why does a person handle a situation in a certain way when they are angry, when they are upset, or when they are frustrated? What may be the source of their anger? What may be the source of what is frustrating them more than just the initial incident? Sometimes people do things, and you can't identify why that person is doing that. [I elected my career] to be able to understand what is happening inside of that person's mindset as to why they are behaving in that way. Also, I am interested in how the physical health and mental health and emotional health of a person collide and intersect.

I have always had an interest in working with children. When I went into medical school, I thought I was going to become a pediatrician because I wanted to work with children and families. When I looked at my passion for learning about the brain, behavior, the mental well-being of people, and then the subset of people being children, it was a pretty good match, being able to specialize in children and adolescents. I also recognize that when you are treating families, most of the time, you are going to have to treat both the child and the parent. Very rarely, even when I am treating children, is there a time when the parent is not receiving some type of help or is not in need of help themselves. I really like working with families. I like seeing children do better. I get joy out of children coming back and telling me that that they are able to learn now that their ADHD symptoms are under control, or their depression has lifted. I see some really impactful stories that fuel my love for doing child and adolescent psychiatry.

In this role, it is my honor and responsibility to make sure that behavioral health services are available for the residents of the District of Columbia. I oversee the direct care facilities where residents can come. We have made improvements in various areas of those facilities since I have been here. We have opened the first stabilization center where adults who are intoxicated can come and receive resources, be able to stay there for a limited amount of time to get back on their feet, and be able to move into long-term treatment services if they desire. I have been able to work with workforce recruitment and bring in a diverse group of physicians with specialized expertise to our psychiatric emergency program. I have been able to work with various agencies throughout the District, with our community mental health organizations, providing consultation on complex cases. I have been able to represent the department in court hearings so that we can make sure that our neighborhoods and our communities stay safe for those who are mentally ill and refuse to participate in treatment and are just a danger to themselves. And I have been able to advocate for more services for those persons.

It is a distinct honor and privilege to serve as President for the American Psychiatric Association’s Black Caucus, which is a position elected by my peers. We are there to make sure that the voices of the Black psychiatrists who belong to the APA are heard. It is a body of people who are concerned also about the services that our residents receive. We look for opportunities to share our wealth, to share our expertise. We look for opportunities to be able to collaborate with our other brothers and sisters of minority descent or of majority descent. It is quite a group of people whom I am able to lead. We are influential in our programming. During the annual meetings, we make sure that we take part in the policy making that occurs. We have representatives in the APA Assembly, which is the legislative body that makes the rules. I love doing that for APA.

The Black Mental Health Alliance is a not-for-profit organization. We focus on education and advocacy work. We have various programming that allows the community to see efforts that may not be otherwise be lifted up in our communities. We help bring up those areas to provide those services and education. We don't provide any direct care services. It is mainly for education and consultation, to make sure that the lives of Black residents are better suited for what we are encountering in our communities. We work with other agencies providing some cultural competency training. We work with the Department of Justice and other agencies through grants to make sure that we are appropriately treating and representing Black residents who deal with mental health disorders.

Number one: Be bold about what you stand for. You must be bold, and you must be courageous. That alone will make you a mental health equity champion. Your boldness, your courage, will allow you to let people know what your standards are. And your standard is no less or no greater than anybody else's standard, regardless of what position they serve in, and you should never forget that. When you stand for self-awareness, when you stand for making people better, when you stand for making sure that there are services that are provided within a reasonable amount of time and that people have access to those services, you should be proud of what you are doing.

That was such an interesting discussion. I think the key takeaway is that we all must play a part in reducing the health care disparities that occur within this country. Health care disparities are real, and something must be done about them. I really believe that most people are good-natured and look out for their fellow man or fellow woman. But again, you have to demonstrate some courage to be able to say that you are going to be a champion to reduce health care disparities. I think the other takeaway from the discussion is that it provided education on systems that were put in place to hinder Black people and other minorities from being able to excel in medicine. I don't think people really understand how coordinated of an effort it was and still continues to be. That education should hopefully provide some insight so that people understand the impact of these situations and how institutional racism has been set up for Black people to fail.

When I do an initial intake, I ask about their spiritual beliefs. I think that is an important part of understanding who they are and how they think. For many people, religion is a way to relieve themselves of some of the stressors that are causing the furtherance of their mental distress. Being able to practice their faith is a way of helping them to identify those areas that they need help in. I see that as a way of pulling in a positive support, a positive resource. And some people tell me, “Dr. Shepherd, I'm not into religion. I don't have faith-based organizations to lean on.” And I say, “That's okay. That’s just part of the repertoire of services that you could potentially rely on.” When you don't ask about it, you are shortchanging yourself. You are cutting off that list of resources that could benefit that person. Some people think that the two collide or the two are at war. But you want to let people know you can have both. You can have both interacting. They need to hear that from the physician. They need to hear that from the person who is providing their care, so they can feel comfortable.

Shepherd Wellness Ministry is a not-for-profit organization that I started that provides funds for missions and funds for educational scholarships. It is my way of being able to give back to people and to help promote their academic achievements, whether it be elementary, high school, or graduate, or postsecondary graduate work. The educational arm of Shepherd Wellness Ministry provides resources for that cause. The mission work is near and dear to my heart. I have done international mission work through various countries, including the Philippines, Brazil, Jamaica, Mozambique, and Kenya. This allows me to be able to give financial resources to those countries, whether it be medical supplies, whether it be in educational scholarships or materials, or clothing.

My motto is “Where ministry and medicine flourish.” This is the intersection between ministry, which is the life-giving word and ability to help, and medicine, which is the tool that many people receive that help through. When you combine the two, you see them flourish. Flourish means that not only is it productive, but it is productive on a higher level. That it continues to keep giving back.