Dr. Carolyn M. Drazinic, MD, PhD

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Get to know Psychiatrist Dr. Carolyn M. Drazinic, who serves patients in Tallahassee, Florida. 

Dr. Drazinic is a board-certified psychiatrist who continues to provide exceptional care and support to her patients within the Florida Mental Health Treatment Facility for the Florida Department of Children and Families in Tallahassee, Florida. There, she holds the position of Chief Medical Officer. 

Prior to her current endeavours, she served as a Chief Medical Officer of Psychiatry at Jackson Behavioral Health Hospital in Miami, Florida, an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine University of Miami, and an attending psychiatrist at the University of Connecticut Health Center in New Haven, Connecticut and the University of Miami Health System University of Miami Hospital.

A translational researcher, Dr. Drazinic has a long-standing interest in investigating the behavioral, cognitive, and neurologic manifestations of genetic syndromes with behavioral manifestations. By establishing a Behavioral Gene Bank at Yale, and again at UConn, she worked with patients with DiGeorge Syndrome, Williams Syndrome, 18p monosomy, and a variety of other disorders with unique behavioral manifestations. When she was serving as Director of the Huntington’s Disease program, she focused on Huntington’s disease, a progressive, neurodegenerative disorder. She developed expertise in treating their behavioral problems of irritability and mood swings, as well as their neurological problems of chorea and dystonia.

As for her academic career, she earned her Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree from the Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology at the University of Florida in Gainesville in 1996. She then went on to earn her medical degree from the University of Florida College of Medicine in Gainesville in 1998. She completed her residency in adult psychiatry at Yale University School of Medicine in 2002, followed by her residency in forensic psychiatry at the same educational venue in 2003. 

Thereafter, she went on to complete a fellowship in neuropsychiatry at West Haven VA Hospital Yale University in 2004, followed by a fellowship in child neurodevelopment at Yale Child Study Center in 2005. She also holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree from the University of Miami.

To keep current with the new developments and technology in her field, Dr. Drazinic remains a member of the American Medical Association, the American Psychiatric Association, the American College of Physician Executives, the Connecticut State Medical Society, and the Connecticut Psychiatric Society, where she previously served as a President. Additionally, she is board-certified in psychiatry and forensic psychiatry by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, a not-for-profit corporation dedicated to promoting high quality patient care for the public through the initial and continuing certification of psychiatrists and neurologists.

Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to diagnosing, preventing, and treating mental disorders. These include various maladaptations related to mood, behavior, cognition, and perceptions. Psychiatrists are medical doctors that evaluate patients to determine whether their symptoms are the result of a physical illness, a combination of physical and mental ailments, or strictly psychiatric. They are qualified to assess both the mental and physical aspects of psychological problems. 

In her free time, Dr. Drazinic enjoys dancing, listening to music, playing the piano, singing, and composing songs. She donates time and funds to the American Red Cross and the United Way. 

With a successful career at hand, she attributes her achievements to her great mentors, her work ethic, her passion for helping others, as well as to her wonderful parents for their guidance, encouragement, and support. 

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