Carl Petersen, DO

Uniformed Services University of Health

Johns Hopkins university School of Medicine

Bio:

Dr. Carl Petersen joins CHKD as chief of psychiatry and mental health services.

Dr. Petersen is dual board certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology in general and child and adolescent psychiatry.

A retired U.S. Navy captain, Dr. Petersen brings a wealth of experience overseeing mental health initiatives and programs. He spent the last 10 years of his military career at Naval Medical Center Portsmouth, serving the last three as its director of mental health.

As an advocate for children’s mental health, Dr. Petersen led efforts to improve access to evidence-based care for children with behavioral difficulties and created a program to help pediatric residents properly diagnose and treat children with psychiatric illnesses.

He also established initiatives that expanded access to mental health services for military service members.

In his role at CHKD, Dr. Petersen will help lead our hospital’s efforts to provide much-needed inpatient and outpatient mental health services to children throughout Virginia.

Honors and Awards:

• Coastal Virginia Magazine “Top Doc” 2021
• Meritorious Service Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal (2 awards)
• Army Commendation Medal (2 awards)
• Sears Award (2018)

Publications:

• Polk, T. et al., Simulation Training for Operational Medicine Providers, Military Medicine, April
  2018.
• Co-author DOD/VA Suicide Prevention Clinical Practice Guideline 2013.
• Petersen, C.E. et al., Lithium Induced Nephrotic Syndrome in a pre-pubertal child, Journal of
  Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology, May 2008.

Community Involvement and Memberships:

Dr. Petersen holds an academic appointment with the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences and is actively involved in medical student and resident education.

Contact Info:

(757) 668-4673 (HOPE)