In this episode of Resonance: Conversations in Psychiatry, Dr. Aldwin Soumare sits down with Dr. Helen Kales, Chair of the UC Davis Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and a nationally recognized leader in geriatric psychiatry and dementia care.

Dr. Kales shares her journey into psychiatry, what drew her to caring for older adults, and how her work has shaped the way she approaches dementia, depression, and the complexities of the aging mind. The conversation also gets personal as she reflects on her own experience with depression and how vulnerability can shape the way physicians understand their patients and themselves.

Together, they explore behavioral symptoms of dementia, the importance of looking beyond medications, the role of caregivers, and what the future may hold for geriatric psychiatry and dementia care.

Beyond the science and diagnoses, this is a conversation about memory, mood, vulnerability, leadership, and the human experience behind medicine.