Mary Brunette, MD

Dr. Mary F. Brunette is Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Dartmouth Medical School and the Medical Director of the Bureau of Behavioral Health within the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services.  As a board-certified addiction psychiatrist, she has been involved with research and clinical care of patients with severe mental illnesses and co-occurring substance use disorders for over 15 years. She has been active with both psychosocial research and clinical trials studying treatments for people with these co-occurring disorders.  In the past few years, she initiated a program of research on smoking cessation for people with severe mental illnesses. With Dr. Joelle Ferron and her research group, she has developed a web-based, motivational decision support system that is tailored for smokers with severe mental illnesses, who typically have cognitive deficits and low computer experience.  Several pilot studies indicate that this tool improves engagement in evidence-based treatment. Her future work related to technology will involve using technology to engage people into treatment, improve treatment outcomes, and disseminate evidence-based treatments, with a focus on people with severe mental illnesses in general and nicotine addiction in particular.  Dr. Brunette loves to garden, ski, cook and eat great food.