Cecilia Margret is an acting assistant professor in the UW Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences and is a psychiatrist at Seattle Children’s Hospital. Originally from Madras, India, where she completed medical school, she moved to the United States to pursue developmental neuroscience and advanced psychiatric training. Her primary interests are consultation psychiatry, addressing diversity, preventive and collaborative child and adolescent psychiatry (CAP) care, and global mental health. Dr. Margret teaches CAP collaborative care for both the fulltime Integrated Care Fellowship and the Community-Based Integrated Care Fellowship.
Tell us about your work on the Integrated Care Training Program (ICTP). What do you find satisfying and what do you consider to be some goals, successes, and future directions of the program?
The most satisfying part of working on ICTP is promoting integrated mental health care for children and their families and evidence-based mental health knowledge for primary care peers in the community. Goals include improving early screening and mental health treatment by peer education and expert consultation; successes are increased awareness and interest among advanced clinicians and primary care providers in integrated care; and future directions could include increased case-based learning and expert consultations using technology to dictate improvement(s) in decision making for clinicians and patient outcomes.
What is your greatest achievement?
Applying research and clinical advances in neuroscience in daily patient care and in population health with the goal to improve quality of life.
What led you to where you are today professionally?
My dreams and guidance by mentors, family, and faith.
Who was your favorite teacher and why?
My high school English teacher, who introduced me to classical literature. My favorite poem is “If” by Rudyard Kipling.
What book are you reading and what do you like about it?
Revisiting Moby Dick which elucidates the limits of human wisdom and pride, ambivalences of life, and humility that helps self-preserve.
Which person from history would you most like to meet? Why?
Mother Teresa, to be inspired by her ability to uphold the humanness of the other and to embrace her limits.