Madelyn Gould, PhD, MPH

  • Irving Philips Professor of Epidemiology (in Psychiatry) at CUMC
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Overview

Madelyn Gould, PhD, MPH, is the Irving Philips Professor of Epidemiology in Psychiatry at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, and a Research Scientist at the New York State Psychiatric Institute.  During the past four decades she has conducted extensive research in the area of youth psychiatric epidemiology and suicide prevention, as the Principal Investigator or co-Investigator on over 25 federally funded grants from the National Institute of Health (NIMH), Centers for Disease Control (CDC), and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), as well as numerous grants from private, non-profit organizations, such as the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. 

Dr. Gould has served as a member or consultant on numerous state and federal suicide prevention initiatives, including serving as a Leadership Consultant on the Surgeon General’s Working Group for the development of the first National Suicide Prevention Strategy.  Her research - most notably in the areas of suicide contagion/clusters; screening and assessment of suicide risk; and crisis interventions - has been published in high impact journals, including The New England Journal of Medicine, Archives of General Psychiatry, Journal of the American Medical Association, Lancet Psychiatry, and Lancet Child and Adolescent Health.  Dr. Gould’s research on the evaluation of suicide crisis interventions – including traditional telephone crisis services as well as crisis interventions using new media (e.g., chat and text crisis services) - was used by SAMHSA and the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline to support the passage of the National Suicide Hotline Designation Act of 2020, which designated 988 as the national number in the US for suicide prevention and mental health crisis response. Dr. Gould has a strong commitment to applying her research to program and policy development and over the course of her decades-long career, Dr. Gould’s research has laid the groundwork for many state, national and international suicide prevention programs. 

Dr. Gould has been the recipient of the Shneidman Award for Research from the American Association of Suicidology (AAS) in 1991, the New York State Office of Mental Health Research (NYSOMH) Award in 2002, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) Research Award in 2006, the New York State Suicide Prevention Center’s Excellence in Suicide Prevention Award in 2011, the 2013 Dublin Award from the American Association of Suicidology (AAS), which is a lifetime achievement award for outstanding contributions to the field of suicide prevention, and the 2023 Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

Academic Appointments

  • Irving Philips Professor of Epidemiology (in Psychiatry) at CUMC

Administrative Titles

  • Research Scientist, New York State Psychiatric Institute

Gender

  • Female

Credentials & Experience

Education & Training

  • MPH, 1976 Epidemiology, Columbia University, Mailman School of Public Health
  • PhD, 1980 Epidemiology, Columbia University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, NY
  • Fellowship: 1979 Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health

Committees, Societies, Councils

Societies/Memberships:

American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
American Association of Suicidology
American Public Health Association
American Psychopathological Association, Fellow
International Academy for Suicide Research, Fellow
International Association for Suicide Prevention

Departmental and University Committees (current)

Committee on Appointments and Promotions, Department of Psychiatry
Suicide Task Force, New York Presbyterian Hospital (co-chair of Prevention Subgroup)
NYSPI-Columbia University, Department of Psychiatry, Peer Review Promotions Committee
Executive Committee in Child Psychiatry
NYSPI-Columbia University, Department of Psychiatry, Institutional Review Board for the
Protection of Human Subjects

Honors & Awards

Phi Beta Kappa (awarded at the end of the Junior Year)
Sigma Xi
B.S. with Honors in Psychology
B.S. (Summa Cum Laude)
Ph.D. with Distinction
W.T. Grant Foundation Faculty Scholars Award
Edwin A. Shneidman Award, American Association of Suicidology (for outstanding research contributions in the field of suicidology by a young investigator)
Distinguished Investigator Grant Award, American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
New York State Office of Mental Health 2002 Research Award
Excellence in Suicide Prevention Award, Suicide Prevention Center of New York (SPCNY)
Louis I. Dublin Award, American Association of Suicidology (lifetime achievement award for outstanding contributions to the field of suicide prevention)
Dave Nee Foundation Ray of Light Award
2023 Lifetime Achievement Award, American Foundation for Suicide Prevention

Research

Currently, Dr. Gould leads the evaluation of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (Lifeline), the national network of telephone crisis services. She has obtained NIMH support to evaluate an intervention implemented across the Lifeline, and SAMHSA has funded evaluations of the Lifeline for several years to inform ongoing improvement of suicide prevention hotline services, including its initiative to have crisis centers offer and provide clinical follow up to suicidal hotline callers and other suicidal individuals, including those referred for follow-up upon discharge from emergency department. Dr. Gould's research evaluating the Lifeline has vastly changed the landscape of suicide prevention efforts in the U.S. The Lifeline has emerged as a key component of a range of suicide prevention programs, largely due to her SAMHSA-funded evaluations starting in 2001 and continuing to the present. In contrast to the 2001 U.S. National Strategy for Suicide Prevention in which crisis hotlines were not mentioned at all, the 2010 National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention prominently references Lifeline and telephone crisis services an integral part of the national strategy.Moreover, the findings from Dr. Gould’s research have been used by SAMHSA and the Lifeline to support the recent passage of the National Suicide Hotline Designation Act of 2020. This legislation establishes a new three-digit number (988) for a national suicide prevention and mental health crisis hotline. Now that crisis hotlines are recognized as a critical component of suicide prevention and mental health services, the current work that Dr. Gould is conducting is timelier and more relevant than ever. Given its role as a national “safety net,” her ongoing SAMHSA-funded research evaluating whether the Lifeline is meeting its goal to prevent at-risk individuals from engaging in suicidal behavior continues to be of the utmost clinical and public health relevance.

Research Interests

  • Child and Adolescent Health
  • Child and adolescent psychiatry
  • Epidemiology
  • Mental Health
  • Suicide Prevention

Selected Publications

Port, M.S., Lake, A.M., Hoyte-Badu, A.M., Rodriguez, C.L., Chowdhury, S.J., Goldstein, A., Murphy, s., Cornette, M. & Gould, M.S. (2022). Perceived impact of Covid-19 among callers to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. Crisis:The Journal of Crisis Intervention and Suicide Prevention. Advance online publication. http://dx.doi.org/10.1027/0227-5910/a0008. (Jan 10, 2023)

 

Niederkrotenthaler, T., Laido, Z., Gould, M., Lake, A.M., Sinyor, M., Kirchner, S., Braun, M., Chowdhury, S., Gonzalez, F., Draper, J., Murphy, S., Till, B. (2022).  Associations of suicide-related media reporting characteristics with help-seeking and suicide in Oregon and Washington. Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry. Published online December 2022 doi: 10.1177/00048674221146474

 

Joseph, V.A., Martinez-Ales, G., Olfson, M., Shaman, J., Gould, M.S. & Keyes, K.K. (2022). Trends in methods of suicide in U.S. adolescents by Sex and Race, 1999-2020. JAMA Network Open. 2022;5(10):e2236049. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.36049, October 12, 2022.

 

Pirkis, J.,  Gunnell, D., Shin, S., Del Pozo-Banos, M., Arya, V., Aguilar, P.A., Appleby, L., Arafat, S.M. Y, Arensman, E., Ayuso-Mateos, J.L., Balhara, Y.P.S, Bantjes, J., Baron, A.,  Bertolote, J.M., Borges,G.,  Bray, M., Bre?i?, P., Caine, E….Gould, M…., (2022).  Suicide numbers during the first 9 – 15 months of the COVID-19 pandemic compared with pre-existing trends: an interrupted time series analysis in 33 countries. eClinicalMedicine. Part of The Lancet Discovery Science, 51, September 2022, 101573.

 

O’Riordan, M., Ma, J. S., Mazzer, K., Batterham, P., Kõlves, K., Woodward, A., Klein, B., Larsen, M., Goecke, R., Gould, M., & Rickwood, D. (2022). Help-seeker expectations and outcomes of a crisis support service: Comparison of suicide-related and non-suicide-related contacts to lifeline Australia. Health & Social Care in the Community, 00, 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1111/hsc.13857. (First published: 08 June 2022)

 

Lake, A.M., Niederkrotenthaler, T., Aspden, R., Kleinman, M., Hoyte-Badu, A.M., Galfalvy, H., Gould, M.S. (2022).  Lifeline Crisis Chat: Coding form development and findings on chatters’ risk status and counselor behaviors. Suicide and Life- Threatening Behavior, 52: 452–466. https://doi.org/10.1111/sltb.12835 (June 2022)

 

Pisani, A., Gould, M.S., Gallo, C., Ertefaie, A., Kelberman, C., Harrington, D., Weller, D., Green, S. (2022). Individuals who text Crisis Text Line: Key characteristics and opportunities for suicide prevention. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 52: 567–582. http://doi.org/10.1111/sltb.12872. (First published: 26 May 2022)

 

Gould, M.S., Pisani, A., Gallo, C., Ertefaie, A., Harrington, D., Kelberman, C., Green, S. (2022).  Crisis Text Line interventions: Evaluation of texters’ perceptions of effectiveness. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 52: 583–595.

http://doi.org/10.1111/sltb.12873. (First published: 22 May 2022)

 

Pirkis, J., John, A., Shin,S., DelPozo-Banos, M., Arya, V., Aguilar, P.A., Appleby, L., Arensman, E., Bantjes, J., Baran, A.,  Bertolote, J.M., Borges,G.,  Bre?i?, P., Caine, E., Castelpietra, G., Chang, S., Colchester, D., Crompton, D., Curkovic, M., Deisenhammer, E.A.,  Du, C., Dwyer, J., Erlangsen,A., Faust, J.S., Fortune, S., Garrett, A., George, D., Gerstner, R., Gilissen, R., Gould, M., Hawton, K., Kanter, J., Kapur, N., Khan, M., Kirtley, O.J., Knipe,D., Kolves, K., Leske, S., Marahatta, K., Mittendorfer-Rutz, E., Neznanov, N., Niederkrotenthaler,T., Nielsen, E., Nordentoft, M., Oberlerchner, H., O'Connor, R.C., Pearson, M., Phillips, M.R., Platt, S., Plener, P.L., Psota, G., Qin, P., Radeloff, D., Rados,C., Reif, A., Reif-Leonhard, C., Rozanov, V., Schlang, C., Schneider, B., Semenova, N., Sinyor, M., Townsend, E., Ueda, M.,Vijayakumar, L., Webb, R.T., Weerasinghe, M., Zalsman, G., Gunnell, D.,Spittal, M.J.  (2021).  Suicide trends in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic: Interrupted time series analysis of preliminary data from 21 countries. Lancet Psychiatry, 8(7): 579-588. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(21)00091-2

 (April 13, 2021)

 

Mroczkowski, M.D., Lake, A.M., Kleinman, M., Sonnett, M., Chowdhury, S., Gould, M.S. (2022).  Survey of North American pediatric emergency departments about practices for management of suicidal patients.  Psychiatric Services. Published Online:23 Mar 2022 https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.202100206

 

Platt, J.M., Pamplin, J., Gimbrone, C., Rutherford, C., Kandula, S., Olfson, M., Gould, M., Martinez-Ales, G., Shaman, J., Keyes, K.K.  (2022).  Racial disparities in spatial and temporal youth suicide clusters.  Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2021.12.012  (Available online January 11, 2022)

 

Gimbrone, C., Rutherford, C., Kandula, S., Martinez-Ales, Shaman, J., Olfson, M., Gould, M.S., Pei, S. (2021).         Associations between COVID-19 mobility restrictions and economic, mental health, and suicide-related concerns in the US using cellular phone GPS and Google search volume data. PLOS ONE, doi: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0260931 (Published online December 22, 2021.) 

 

Niederkrotenthaler, T., Trans, U.S., Gould, M., Sinyor, M., Sumner, S., Strauss, M.J., Voracek, M., Till, B., Murphy, S., Gonzalez, F., Spittal., Draper, J. (2021).  Association of Logic’s hip hop song 1-800-273-8255 with Lifeline calls and suicides in the United States: Interrupted Time-Series Analysis. BMJ, 375:e067726 http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmj-2021-067726 (Published 13 December 2021)

 

Martinez-Ales, G., Gimbrone, C., Rutherford, C., Kandula, S., Olfson, M., Gould, M.S., Shaman, J., Keyes, K.M. (2021). Role of firearm ownership on 2001-2016 trends in U.S. firearm suicide rates. American Journal of Preventive Medicine. 61(6): 795 – 803.  doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2021.05.026 PMID: 34420829

(Published online: August 19, 2021)

 

Polanco-Roman, L., Alvarez, K., Corbeil, T., Scorza, P., Wall, M., Gould, M.S., Alegria, M., Bird, H., Canino, G.J., Duarte, C.S. (2021).  Suicide ideation and attempts in Puerto Rican Young Adults:  Childhood adversities and gender differences.  JAMA Psychiatry, 78(8):896-902. doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2021.0480

(Aug 1, 2021)

 

Gould, M.S., Chowdhury, S., Lake, A.M., Galfalvy, H., Kleinman, M., Kuchuk, M., McKeon, R. (2021). National Suicide Prevention Lifeline crisis chat interventions: Evaluation of chatters' perceptions of effectiveness. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 51: 1126-1137.  doi: http://doi.org/10.1111/sltb.12795. (Published online (Open Access), July 31, 2021).

 

Martinez-Ales, G., Pamplin, J., Rutherford, C., Gimbrone, C., Kandula, S., Olfson, M., Gould, M., Shaman, J., Keyes, K. (2021). Age, period, and cohort effects on suicide death in the United States from 1999 to 2018: moderation by sex, race, and firearm involvement. Molecular Psychiatry, 26:3374–3382. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41380-021-01078-1

(July 2021)

 

Gould, M.S., Lake, A.M., Kleinman, M., Galfalvy, H., McKeon, R. (2022). Third-party callers to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: Seeking assistance on behalf of people at imminent risk of suicide. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 52:37-48.  doi: 10.1111/sltb.12769 (First published: 25 May 2021)

 

Halford, E.A., Lake, A.M., Gould, M.S. (2020). Google searches for suicide and suicide risk factors in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic.PLoS ONE15(7): e0236777. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0236777 (Published online (Open Access) July 24, 2020)

 

Hawton, K., Hill, N.T.L., Gould, M., John, A., Lascelles, K., Robinson, J. (2020). Clustering of suicides in children and adolescents: A review.Lancet Child and Adolescent Health,4 (1), 58-67.doi.org/10.1016/S2352-4642(19)30335-9 (First published online October 9, 2019)

 

Busby D.R., King C.A., Brent D., Grupp-Phelan J., Gould M., Page K., Casper T.C.Adolescents' Engagement with Crisis Hotline Risk-management Services: A Report from the Emergency Department Screen for Teen Suicide Risk (ED-STARS) Study.Suicide Life Threat Behav.2020 Feb;50(1):72-82.doi: 10.1111/sltb.12558.Epub 2019 May 31.

 

Labouliere, C., Stanley, B., Lake, A., Gould, M. (2019). Safety planning on crisis lines: Feasibility, acceptability, and perceived helpfulness of a brief intervention to mitigate future suicide risk.Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior. doi: 10.1111/sltb.12554 (First published online May 21, 2019)

 

Sy, K.T.L., Shaman, J., Kandula, S., Pei, S., Gould, M. Keyes, K.M. (2019). Spatiotemporal clustering of suicides in the U.S. from 1999 to 2016.Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 54, 1471-1482. doi: 10.1007/s00127-019-01736-4

 

Pisani, A.R., Kanuri, N., Filbin, B., Gallo, C., Gould, M., Soleymani Lehmann, L., Levin, R., Marcotte, J., Pascal, B., Rousseau, D., Turner, S., Yen, S., Ranney, M. (2019). Protecting user privacy and rights in academic data sharing partnerships: Principles from a pilot at Crisis Text Line.Journal of Medical Internet Research (JMIR), 21 (1). (e11507)doi: 10.2196/11507.

 

Wyman, P., Pickering, T., Pisani, A., Rulison, K., Schmeelk-Cone, K., Hartley, C., Gould, M.S., Caine, E. Brown, C.H., Valente, T. (2019). Peer-adult network structure and suicide attempts in 38 high schools: Implications for network informed suicide prevention.The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 60 (10), 1065-1075. doi:10.1111/jcpp.13102

 

Reyes-Portillo, J.A., Lake, A.M., Kleinman, M., Gould, M.S.(2019). The relation between descriptive norms, suicidal ideation, and suicide attempts among adolescents.Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior,49(2), 535-546.doi: 10.1111/sltb.12446

 

Kuiper, N., Goldston, D., Garraza, L.G., Walrath, C., Gould, M., McKeon, R. (2019). Examining the unanticipated adverse consequences of youth suicide prevention strategies: A literature review with recommendations for prevention programs.Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 49(4), 952-965. doi: 10.1111/sltb.12492 (First published July 12, 2018).

 

Gould, M.S., Lake, A.M., Kleinman, Galfalvy, Chowdhury, S., Madnick, A. (2018). Exposure to suicide in high schools: Impact on serious suicidal ideation/behavior, depression, maladaptive coping strategies, and attitudes toward help-seeking.International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. Special Issue; Advances in Suicide Research,15 (3), 455; doi:10.3390/ijerph15030455

 

Gould, M.S., Lake, A.M., Galfalvy, H., Kleinman, M., Munfakh, J.L., Wright, J., McKeon, R. (2018). Follow-up with Callers to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: Evaluation of Callers’ Perceptions of Care.Suicide & Life-Threatening Behavior.48(1), 75 - 86. doi: 10.1111/sltb.12339 (Posted online: March 6, 2017)

 

Bailey, E., Spittal, M.J., Pirkis, J., Gould, M., & Robinson, J. (2017). Universal suicide prevention in young people.Crisis, 38(5), 300-308. doi: 10.1027/0227-5910/a000465

 

Cross, W.F., Chen, T., Schmeelk-Cone, K., Tu, X., Kleinman, M., & Gould, M.S. (2017). Trainer fidelity as a predictor of crisis counselors' behaviors with callers who express suicidal thoughts.Psychiatric Services, 68(10), 1083-1087. doi: 10.1176/appi.ps.201600417

 

Davaasambuu, S., Batbaatar, S., Witte, S., Hamid, P., Oquendo, M.A., Kleinman, M., Olivares, M., & Gould, M. (2017). Suicidal plans and attempts among adolescents in Mongolia.Crisis.2017 Sep;38(5):330-343. doi: 10.1027/0227-5910/a000447. Epub 2017 Feb 23.

 

Gould, M.S., Lake, A.M., Galfalvy, H., Kleinman, M., Munfakh, J.L., Wright, J., & McKeon, R. (2017). Follow-up with callers to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: Evaluation of callers' perceptions of care.Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior.2018 Feb;48(1):75-86. doi:10.1111/sltb.12339. Epub 2017 Mar 6.

 

Gould, M.S., Lake, A.M., Munfakh, J.L., Galfalvy, H., Kleinman, M., Williams, C., Glass, A., & McKeon, R. (2016). Helping callers to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline who are at imminent risk of suicide: Evaluation of caller risk profiles and interventions implemented.Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 46(2), 172-190. doi: 10.1111/sltb.12182

 

Labouliere, C.D., Kleinman, M., & Gould, M.S. (2015). When self-reliance is not safe: Associations between reduced help-seeking and subsequent mental health symptoms in suicidal adolescents.International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 12(4), 3741-3755. doi: 10.3390/ijerph120403741.

 

McLoughlin, A.B., Gould, M.S., & Malone, K.M. (2015). Global trends in teenage suicide: 2003-2014.QJM, 108(10)765-780. doi: 10.1093/qjmed/hcv026

 

Gould, M.S., Kleinman, M.H., Lake, A.M., Forman, J., & Basset Midle, J. (2014). Newspaper coverage of suicide and initiation of suicide clusters in teenagers in the USA, 1988-96: A retrospective, population-based, case-control study.Lancet Psychiatry, 1(1), 34-43. doi: 10.1016/S2215-0366(14)70225-1

 

Gould, M.S., Cross, W., Pisani, A.R., Munfakh, J.L., & Kleinman, M. (2013). Impact of Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training on the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 43(6), 676-691. doi: 10.1111/sltb.12049

 

Gould, M.S., Munfakh, J.L.H., Kleinman, M., & Lake, A.M. (2012). National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: Enhancing mental health care for suicidal individuals and other people in crisis.Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 42(1), 22-35. doi: 10.1111/j.1943-278X.2011.00068.x

 

Gould, M.S., Marrocco, F.A., Hoagwood, K., Kleinman, M., Amakawa, L., & Altschuler, E. (2009). Service use by at-risk youth after school-based suicide screening.Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 48(12), 1193-1201. doi: 10.1097/CHI.0b013e3181bef6d5

 

Gould, M.S., Kalafat, J., Munfakh, J.L.H., & Kleinman, M. (2007). An evaluation of crisis hotline outcomes, Part II: Suicidal callers.Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 37(3), 338-352. doi: 10.1521/suli.2007.37.3.338

 

Gould, M.S., Marrocco, F.A., Kleinman, M., Thomas, J.G., Mostkoff, K., Cote, J., & Davies, M. (2005). Evaluating iatrogenic risk of suicide screening programs: A randomized controlled trial.Journal of the American Medical Association, 293(13), 1635-1643. doi: 10.1001/jama.293.13.1635

For a complete list of publications, please visit PubMed.gov

Global Health Activities

International Association of Suicide Prevention Media & Suicide Task Force: The Task Force has a number of initiatives, including the development of online best practices for suicide prevention, recommendations for parents on how to respond to concerns regarding offspring online behaviours, and a continued focus on traditional media recommendations. Developing a comprehensive summary of international experiences with media recommendations is a future goal.

Urban Health Activities

Effectiveness of Suicide Hotline Training: The project is evaluating the effectiveness of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, the network of crisis centers in the U.S. Two members of the network are in NYC.