Championing access to mental health treatment: A conversation with Dr. Laura Vater

Laura Vater, MD, MPH, began her intern year with a one-year-old daughter. Being a mother and completing her training was challenging, to say the least, and now she wants to support other parents and those trainees suffering under the intense, unforgiving pressures she experienced.  

“I started having thoughts of I've lost my vitality. I journal about this, and a lot of what I write is about what it really feels like to feel that tired and to be that depleted, but really it's a loss of vitality, a loss of self,” says Vater. “And I started having all of these really dark thoughts about ways that I could end my life, and when I would rest, and I would be adequate in sleep, those things would go away.”

Now as an attending, Vater is getting treatment for her mental health, but she doesn’t want others to delay care because of the fear of repercussions. She’s created a platform with more than 100,000 followers to encourage other physicians and trainees to get the help they need. She hopes by talking about the negative impact of sleep deprivation, stress, and more; there will be a systemic change in medicine.   

“It's been a really, really slow and gradual process of finding my voice, and I really believe it's going to be a collective raising of our voices and advocating together that's going to really change the field of healthcare.”

She urges others to find support, whether friends, family, colleagues, or a professional. 

“I really believe that understanding how to find spaces and places to grieve and to cope and to restore yourself is just as important as learning the clinical skills of medicine. That is something that should be so foundational to our medical training is talking about these things, bringing them to light, and allowing us to create strategies that are not covered in shame and stigma to allow us to survive,” says Vater. 

Vater knows it can be challenging to take that first step in seeking treatment or even talking about mental health issues. But she has some advice. 

“I mean when someone, when they come to me, and they say, this is what's going on, often I tell them, seek mental health support. Go through psychology today. Do it anonymously outside of your hospital system. See if you can even find someone that's across state lines. Do it virtually.”