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About Me

Portrait of Debra Forrest, MD

My Qualifications:  I have been practicing psychiatry for over 20 years and I am licensed to practice in the State of Connecticut. I am a diplomat of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN), and I am in good standing with their Maintenance of Certification process. 

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My Affiliations:  I lead the Women Psychiatrists of Greater Hartford (WPGH), and I have been a member of various organizations, including the American Psychiatric Association, the American Academy of Psychodynamic Psychiatry and Psychoanalysis, the American Association of Directors of Psychiatry Residency Training, and the Connecticut Psychiatric Society.  I am also an Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at UConn Health Center, where I provide psychotherapy supervision for Psychiatry Resident Trainees.

Education:

  • 2022:  The Western New England Psychoanalytic Society, Studies in Psychodynamic Psychotherapy Certificate Program

  • 2007: UConn Psychiatry Residency Training  Program

  • 2003: M.D. SUNY Health Science Center at Brooklyn (Downstate)

  • 1998: B.S. SUNY at Albany (Interdisciplinary Major: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology)

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Current and Past Work Experience

  • 2017- present: Debra Forrest, M.D., LLC- Owner and Psychiatrist

  • 2025-present: UConn Health - Assistant Clinical Professor

  • 2010-2025: UConn Health Department of Psychiatry- Assistant Professor of Psychiatry,  Assistant/Associate Training Director, and Diversity Officer for the Psychiatry Residency Program

  • 2013-2018: Hartford Behavioral Health- Medical Director

  • 2007-2010: DMHAS’s Cedarcrest Hospital (and Connecticut Valley Hospital) Young Adult Services- Principal Psychiatrist

  • 2009: Psychiatrist -  Natchaug Hospital’s Journey House Adolescent Residential Treatment Center

What Is Psychiatry?  Click here to learn about Psychiatry from the American Psychiatric Association's psychiatry.org website.   As a Psychiatrist, I am a physician who specializes in mental health.  If you have never worked with a psychiatrist, or if you want to understand the difference between Psychology and Psychiatry, you can learn more at this site.

What is Psychodynamic Psychiatry?  Click here to open a one-page PDF document from The American Academy of Psychoanalysis and Dynamic Psychiatry about Psychodynamic Psychiatry.  I practice Psychodynamic Psychiatry with all patients.  Even if we don't meet for formal "therapy" sessions, and even if you are looking primarily to medications for relief, this page reflects how I think, how I work, and how I can help you.

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