Lise Van Susteren (born March 7, 1951) is an American
psychiatrist
A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry, the branch of medicine devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, study, and treatment of mental disorders. Psychiatrists are physicians and evaluate patients to determine whether their sy ...
, commentator, author and
environmental activist
The environmental movement (sometimes referred to as the ecology movement), also including conservation and green politics, is a diverse philosophical, social, and political movement for addressing environmental issues. Environmentalists advoc ...
.
Van Susteren has founded several national organizations to raise public awareness of climate change and to advocate for environmental policies.
Background
Van Susteren received her medical degree in 1982 from the
University of Paris
, image_name = Coat of arms of the University of Paris.svg
, image_size = 150px
, caption = Coat of Arms
, latin_name = Universitas magistrorum et scholarium Parisiensis
, motto = ''Hic et ubique terrarum'' (Latin)
, mottoeng = Here and a ...
. She interned at the Hospital St. Anne and the
American Hospital of Paris
The American Hospital of Paris (''Hôpital américain de Paris''), founded in 1906, is a private, not-for-profit hospital that is certified under the French healthcare system. Located in Neuilly-sur-Seine, in the western suburbs of Paris, Franc ...
and at Hospital Tokoin in
Lomé, Togo. She completed her residency training in psychiatry at
St. Elizabeths Hospital in Washington, D.C. Van Susteren is board certified in general and
forensic psychiatry
Forensic psychiatry is a subspeciality of psychiatry and is related to criminology. It encompasses the interface between law and psychiatry. According to the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, it is defined as "a subspecialty of psychiat ...
. She has worked as an assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...
Department of Psychiatry, and as a consultant to the
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...
. conducting psychological assessments of world leaders, and at community mental health centers in the metropolitan Washington, D.C., area.
Van Susteren is a volunteer with
Physicians for Human Rights
Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) is a US-based not-for-profit human rights NGO that uses medicine and science to document and advocate against mass atrocities and severe human rights violations around the world. PHR headquarters are in New ...
., evaluating and testifying on behalf of torture victims seeking political asylum in the United States. She has been a volunteer reader for the Metropolitan Washington Ear., an organization that records written material for the blind, and as a volunteer provider at homeless shelters, for victims of
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...
, and the
2010 Haiti earthquake
A disaster, catastrophic Moment magnitude scale, magnitude 7.0 Mw earthquake struck Haiti at 16:53 local time (21:53 UTC) on Tuesday, 12 January 2010. The epicenter was near the town of Léogâne, Ouest (department), Ouest department, a ...
. In 1984, Van Susteren co-founded The Friends of St. Elizabeths., a nonprofit organization dedicated to the humane treatment of the mentally ill and the historic preservation of St. Elizabeths Hospital.
Climate change activism
In 2006,
former Vice President Al Gore trained Van Susteren at
The Climate Project
The Climate Reality Project is a non-profit organization involved in education and advocacy related to climate change. The Climate Reality Project came into being in July 2011 as the consolidation of two environmental groups, the Alliance for Cli ...
to educate the public about
climate change
In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...
. She was named to the board of directors of The Climate Project in 2009. Van Susteren speaks frequently to civic, educational, religious, labor, and environmental groups about the impacts of climate change, particularly the health impacts, in the Washington, D.C., area, nationally, and abroad. In 2009, she organized the first conference to focus on the psychological impacts of climate change. She co-authored “''The Psychological Effects of Global Warming on the United States: And Why the U.S. Health Care System is Not Adequately Prepared''”.
Van Susteren serves on the boards of
Earth Day Network
Earth Day is an annual event on April 22 to demonstrate support for environmental protection. First held on April 22, 1970, it now includes a wide range of events coordinated globally by EarthDay.org (formerly Earth Day Network) including 1 b ...
,
Physicians for Social Responsibility
Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR) is a physician-led organization in the US working to protect the public from the threats of nuclear proliferation, climate change, and environmental toxins. It produces and disseminates publications, p ...
, ecoAmerica, Chesapeake Climate Action Network, and Climate Mobilization. She is a past member of the boards of the
Center for Health and the Global Environment at Harvard University's T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and the
National Wildlife Federation
The National Wildlife Federation (NWF) is the United States' largest private, nonprofit conservation education and advocacy organization, with over six million members and supporters, and 51 state and territorial affiliated organizations (includin ...
. She also served on the Climate Energy and Environmental Committee of the
Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments
Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (MWCOG) is an independent, nonprofit association where area leaders address regional issues affecting the District of Columbia, suburban Maryland and Northern Virginia. Metropolitan Washington Council ...
in Washington, DC and the Policy Advisory Board of Gender Rights Maryland.
Van Susteren is the expert witness on the psychological damages to children in the case of
Juliana vs US.
Van Susteren is a co-founder of Interfaith Moral Action on Climate, a multi-faith coalition dedicated to organizing people of religion and spirituality to speak out against climate change. She is also a co-founder of the Climate Psychiatry Alliance and the Climate Psychology Alliance, both of which are dedicated to the education of mental health professionals and the public about the impacts of climate disruption on our mental health and the need for systemic change to address the threat to public health.
Van Susteren ran for the US Senate seat in Maryland held by retiring Senator
Paul Sarbanes
Paul Spyros Sarbanes (; February 3, 1933 – December 6, 2020) was an American politician and attorney. A member of the Democratic Party from Maryland, he served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1971 to 1977 a ...
in the Democratic primary in 2006.
Van Susteren is the founder and CEO of “Lucky Planet Foods,” a company dedicated to providing low-carbon, plant-based, healthy foods for sustainable living.
Publications
In 2020, Van Susteren released a book, ''Emotional Inflammation: Discover Your Triggers and Reclaim Your Equilibrium During Anxious Times'', to speak to the feelings of anxiety people have experienced due to the
Coronavirus-19 pandemic of 2020–2021.
She co-authored the 2013 piece, “Assessing ‘Dangerous Climate Change’: Required Reduction of Carbon Emissions to Protect Young People, Future Generations and Nature”, an open access peer-reviewed scientific journal published by the
Public Library of Science
PLOS (for Public Library of Science; PLoS until 2012 ) is a nonprofit publisher of open-access journals in science, technology, and medicine and other scientific literature, under an open-content license. It was founded in 2000 and launc ...
with Dr.
James Hansen as the principal author.
Van Susteren has contributed an article to the ''
British Journal of Psychiatry
The ''British Journal of Psychiatry'' is a peer-reviewed medical journal covering all branches of psychiatry with a particular emphasis on the clinical aspects of each topic.
The journal is owned by the Royal College of Psychiatrists and publis ...
'' in 2018, where she wrote an opinion piece titled “The Psychological Impacts of the Climate Crisis: A Call to Action”.
Van Susteren has written chapters for books such as ''Health of People and Planet: Our Responsibility'', where she speaks about the psychological impacts of climate change and recommendations for solutions in her chapter “The Global Climate Crisis: Psychological Aspects”, which was published in May 2020 by Springer Publishing,. Van Susteren has also contributed to the book titled: ''The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump'', writing a chapter titled “The Age of Thanatos: Environmental Consequences of the Trump Presidency”.
Van Susteren is a frequent commentator on television and published a blog at the ''
Huffington Post
''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...
''. She hosted a weekly radio segment on
WTNT (AM)-570’s ''
The Paul Berry Show'' called The Doctor Is In. Her publications in professional journals include articles on the
Insanity Defense
The insanity defense, also known as the mental disorder defense, is an affirmative defense by excuse in a criminal case, arguing that the defendant is not responsible for their actions due to an episodic psychiatric disease at the time of the cr ...
,
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental and behavioral disorder that can develop because of exposure to a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, warfare, traffic collisions, child abuse, domestic violence, or other threats on ...
, and Psychiatric Abandonment.
Family
Van Susteren's father, Urban Van Susteren, was an elected judge in
Appleton, Wisconsin
Appleton ( mez, Ahkōnemeh)
is a city in Outagamie, Calumet, and Winnebago counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. One of the Fox Cities, it is situated on the Fox River, southwest of Green Bay and north of Milwaukee. Appleton is the c ...
.
She has two siblings: Dirk Van Susteren, a journalist, and broadcast journalist
Greta Van Susteren
Greta Conway Van Susteren (born June 11, 1954) is an American commentator, lawyer, and television news anchor for Newsmax TV. She was previously on CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC. She hosted Fox News's ''On the Record w/ Greta Van Susteren'' for 14 ...
.
Van Susteren's husband is Jonathan Kempner, president emeritus of TIGER 21. He was a Harvard Advance Leadership Initiative Fellow in 2019.
They have three daughters.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Van Susteren, Lise
American forensic psychiatrists
Maryland Democrats
People from Bethesda, Maryland
Politicians from Appleton, Wisconsin
Living people
University of Paris alumni
American expatriates in France
Women in Maryland politics
American women psychiatrists
American expatriates in Togo
1951 births
21st-century American women