Elias Aboujaoude MD / MA, Clinical Professor, Director, OCD Clinic, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine
Dr. Aboujaoude is a Clinical Professor, researcher and writer at Stanford University's Department of Psychiatry.
His role is Chief of the Anxiety Disorders Section and Director of the OCD Clinic and the Impulse Control Disorders Clinic. He has an Honorary Professorship at the University of York.
Our 60-second interview with Elias:
What do you do in the field of mental health?
I study the intersection of technology and psychology, both in its negative manifestations (e.g. online addiction, cyberbullying, the effects on mental health of online privacy violations) and its promising aspects (eg video-delivered therapy, virtual reality desensitisation, AI platforms). I also study the obsessive-compulsive spectrum of conditions.
What do you find most rewarding and inspiring in this work?
Meeting the international community of scholars in the field and recognizing the similarities across geography of patient and provider experiences.
What is the most challenging or complicated aspect of this work?
Studying technology and mental health comes with the humbling realisation that the pace of technology is much faster than that of research. The effect is to feel perpetually “behind” in being able to make evidence-based judgments.
What impact do you hope your work is having- or can potentially have?
I hope to help people recognize that we all sit somewhere on the wellbeing spectrum and no-one is immune to risks, especially when it comes to the effects of online life on psychology.
Could you share with us one piece of advice that you follow for your own mental health?
Take a step back from the current stressor. Broaden your perspective. Remind yourself that, over the long arc of time, what feels so overwhelming today likely won’t hold nearly the same charge.