Author: Jack W. Barber

Nirbhay N. Singh, PhD, BCBA-D, is Clinical Professor of Psychiatry and Health Behavior at the Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, Augusta, GA and CEO of MacTavish Behavioral Health, in Raleigh, NC. Prior to his current appointments, he was a Professor of Psychiatry, Pediatrics and Psychology at the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine and Director of the Commonwealth Institute for Child and Family Studies, Richmond, Virginia. His interests include mindfulness, behavioral and psychopharmacological treatments of individuals with diverse abilities, assistive technology, and mental health delivery systems. He is the Editor-in-Chief of three journals: Journal of Child and Family Studies, Mindfulness, and Advances in Neurodevelopmental Disorders, and Editor of three book series: Mindfulness in Behavioral Health, Evidence-Based Practices in Behavioral Health, and the Springer Series on Child and Family Studies.Jack W. Barber, MD, is the Interim Commissioner and Medical Director for Virginia’s Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services and Associate Clinical Professor in the University of Virginia Department of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Sciences.  He has served as a member of the Designated Consultant teams for United States Department of Justice Settlement Agreements with the states of Kentucky and Connecticut and provided consultations to the states of California and Georgia. His clinical and educational interests include the application of recovery principles in inpatient psychiatric and forensic settings, treatment planning for complex individuals, and leadership within behavioral health systems.Scott Van Sant, MD, is a Clinical Assistant Professor at the Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, Augusta, GA. He obtained his medical degree from the University of South Florida and completed his psychiatry residency training at Emory University in Atlanta. He is board-certified in general adult and forensic psychiatry. He has spent his entire career in the public sector behavioral health field, including formerly serving as medical director of DeKalb Crisis Center in Atlanta Georgia, chief medical officer of Central State Hospital in Milledgeville, Georgia, medical director of MCG”s adult and geriatric inpatient psychiatric units, and associate training director of MCG’s general psychiatry residency training program. Presently, he is Clinical Director of Benchmark Human Services, Georgia Crisis Programs, which provides emergency mobile crisis interventions for individuals with mental health and developmental disability diagnoses across the state of Georgia. His particular interests include psychopharmacology, treatment of persons with chronic severe mental illness, management of co-occurring psychiatric and intellectual disabilities, and improvement of mental health delivery systems.