Patricia A. Newton, M.D., M.P.H., M.A.

2018 Solomon Carter Fuller Award Recipient

Lecture Title: Mental Health Challenges Facing Patients and Providers of African Descent

Dr. Newton attended the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, where she earned her pre-medicine degree in 1967. Following this, she graduated magna cum laude from George Peabody College of Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN, with a master's in molecular biology. Concurrently, she worked as a microbiologist for the State of Tennessee. Dr. Newton then pursued her medical education and psychiatry training at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, MO. At Washington University, she served as a resident in psychiatry, later becoming chief resident and instructor in clinical psychiatry. Continuing her academic journey, Dr. Newton earned a master's in public health from the Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health and held a position as an assistant professor in the department of psychiatry at its medical school.

During her professional journey, Dr. Newton occupied various distinguished positions, notably serving as the CEO and medical director of the Black Psychiatrists of America (BPA), an organization she helped establish and where she previously held the role of president. Additionally, she received recognition as an APA-NIMH Fellow and was bestowed with the Solomon Cater Fuller Award in 2018. This honor celebrated her distinctive approach as an African-centered psychiatrist, highlighting the crucial roles psychiatry and psychology play in understanding the environmental and chemical origins of trauma within Black communities.

In 2018, Dr. Newton received recognition for her groundbreaking work integrating African spirituality into Black mental health care and for her collaborations with healthcare professionals in Africa, the Caribbean, and the United States. In Ghana, she was honored with the title Nana Dr. Akosua Akyaa and was enstooled as both a queen mother and a female king, cementing her status as an Ashanti Royal.