PaPS welcomes guest editor for March
by Chandra B. Rai, MD
I am deeply honored and excited to serve as the Guest Editor for this
March edition of our newsletter. This month, our contributors challenge
us to look past traditional labels and encourage us to rethink how we
support our patients. As we observe Gambling Awareness Month in March,
Dr. Fischer discusses the need to reframe “awareness” and move beyond
simple ‘awareness’ and towards a more impactful and proactive approach
that includes advocacy, prevention, and early intervention. Dr. Neff
provides an insightful perspective on substance use recovery by
envisioning relapse as a core part of the recovery journey rather than a
“lack of effort” on behalf of the patient. Dr. Kathe and Dr. Wilson
share their personal journeys into organized psychiatry and the critical
role advocacy plays in strengthening the collective voices of clinicians
and patients. We also have Dr. Brenner offering insights into his unique
journey as a solo private practitioner of psychoanalytically oriented
psychotherapy. I hope you enjoy reading this month’s newsletter.
Dr. Chandra B. Rai is a PGY-4 Psychiatry Resident at Tower Health’s
Phoenixville Hospital. A graduate of King George’s Medical University in
India, Dr. Rai previously completed psychiatry residency at PGIMER and
Dr. RML Hospital in New Delhi. His areas of interest include forensic
psychiatry, addiction psychiatry and medical education. He currently
serves on the Senior Resident Education Leadership Track in his
residency program in which he focuses on the mentorship and clinical
instruction of medical students during their psychiatry clerkships. Dr.
Rai also serves as the Resident Representative for the Pennsylvania
Psychiatric Society’s Education Committee (2025–26) and in future, plans
to pursue a career in academic psychiatry.