Helen Kales, MD

Dr. Kales is a fellowship-trained, board-certified geriatric psychiatrist. She is a geriatric mental health services researcher, and is recognized as a national and international expert in outcomes related to later-life depression, racial disparities in later-life mental health treatment, the risks of use of antipsychotic and other psychotropic medications in older adults, and in researching ways to improve dementia care. In recognition of her work in the field of dementia care, Dr. Kales was named to the Lancet Global Commission on Dementia Care in 2015, one of two US geriatric psychiatrists, which has now become a standing Lancet Commission. The DICE Approach was cited prominently in the Commission’s report in 2017. Dr. Kales is currently Chair of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at UC Davis.