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Damon Scott Tweedy

Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Adult Psychiatry & Psychology

Overview


Damon Tweedy, MD is a professor of psychiatry at Duke University School of Medicine and a staff psychiatrist within the Durham Veteran Affairs Health Care System. He completed both medical school and his specialty training at Duke. He also graduated from Yale Law School.

Within the VA system, he directs a team of mental health providers working across six primary care clinics. At the medical school, he leads a behavioral health seminar for second-year medical students and is a small group leader for another course that introduces medical students to advanced aspects of the doctor-patient relationship. He is also the faculty advisor for the medical student psychiatry interest group.

Dr. Tweedy has written extensively about the intersection of race, medicine, and mental health, both in academic journals and popular print publications. His 2015 book, Black Man in a White Coat: A Doctor's Reflections on Race and Medicine, made the New York Times bestseller list and was selected by TIME Magazine as a top non-fiction book that year.

Current Appointments & Affiliations


Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences · 2023 - Present Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Adult Psychiatry & Psychology, Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences
Associate of the Duke Initiative for Science & Society · 2018 - Present Duke Science & Society, University Initiatives & Academic Support Units

In the News


Published February 27, 2025
‘Unhealed’: A New Podcast about a Forgotten Duke Story
Published April 11, 2024
Spring Books by Duke Authors: Meditations, Baseball, Rebels and Stomach Pains
Published April 2, 2024
The Challenge of Centering Mental Health Care in Medicine

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Recent Publications


Experiences of Black Adults Evaluated in a Locked Psychiatric Emergency Unit: A Qualitative Study.

Journal Article Psychiatr Serv · October 1, 2023 OBJECTIVE: Evidence shows that Black individuals have higher rates of coercive emergency psychiatric interventions than other racialized groups, yet no studies have elevated the voices of Black patients undergoing emergency psychiatric evaluation. This qua ... Full text Link to item Cite

Association of Black Race With Physical and Chemical Restraint Use Among Patients Undergoing Emergency Psychiatric Evaluation.

Journal Article Psychiatr Serv · July 2022 OBJECTIVE: Few studies have examined the disproportionate use of restraints for Black adults receiving emergency psychiatric care. This study sought to determine whether the odds of physical and chemical restraint use were higher for Black patients undergo ... Full text Link to item Cite
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Education, Training & Certifications


Duke University · 2000 M.D.