David Shaffer - Later Years

Later Years

Shaffer retired as director of the Division of Child Psychiatry at the New York State Psychiatric Institute/Columbia University (CU) in May 2008, but retains his academic position and is actively engaged in research on DSM-V, on the determinants and triggers of suicide ideation, and on the categorization of suicide ideation and behavior in adolescents. He thus maintains his ties with the Division of Child Psychiatry at NYSPI/CU, which, under his leadership, grew from a small department with seven hundred visits a year to one with over thirty five thousand; from one without research grants to one that holds a portfolio of over $30 million per annum; and from one with four child psychiatrists in training to one that is now the largest in the country, with five endowed chairs, over twenty-four clinical trainees, eight research trainees, and junior researchers from all continents.

He has served as a consultant on suicide prevention for the U.S. Department of Defense, the Indian Health Service, and the York State Office of Mental Health. He was a member of the Surgeon General’s Advisory Task Force on Suicide Prevention. He is a past president of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and of the Society for Research in Child and Adolescent Psychopathology.