Avak Howsepian

Dr. Avak Howsepian, MD, MA, PhD, is a Volunteer Clinical Professor and Health Sciences Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) School of Medicine, specializing in the Fresno campus. He serves as Staff Psychiatrist and Director of Electroconvulsive Therapy at the Veterans Administration Central California Health Care System, and maintains a private consultation practice primarily in forensic psychiatry.

Dr. Howsepian received his B.A. in Psychology from California State University, Fresno (CSUF), his M.D. from the University of California, Davis, and his M.A. and Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University of Notre Dame, with concentrations in Metaphysics, Philosophy of Mind, Ethics, Philosophy of Religion, and the History of Philosophy. His doctoral dissertation focused on the metaphysics of free will. He completed his psychiatry residency at the UCSF Fresno Medical Education Program and is board certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology.

His research interests span across forensic psychiatry, neuropsychiatry, psychotic and dissociative disorders, bipolar spectrum disorders, and psychodynamic psychotherapy. He also has significant scholarly work at the intersection of psychiatry and philosophy, particularly in areas of metaphysics, ethics, and the philosophy of religion. Dr. Howsepian has published over 50 academic works in psychiatry, neurology, and philosophy journals and book chapters.

His recent publications show a strong focus on ethical issues in psychiatry, including gender dysphoria, brain death determination, and the relationship between religion and mental health. He has also published on clinical topics such as electroconvulsive therapy, lithium treatment, and forensic psychiatric evaluations.

• George Sarlo Prize
• Haile T. Debas Academy of Medical Educators Award for Excellence in Teaching
• Henry J. Kaiser Award

Dr. Howsepian teaches courses in Psychopharmacology, Electroconvulsive Therapy, Paraphilias and Perversions, Sexual Dysfunction, Psychiatric Ethics, Psychiatry and Religion, and Forensic Psychiatry at UCSF Fresno. He also teaches Psychopharmacology at CSUF and has taught Philosophy classes at Fresno Pacific University. He conducts weekly supervision with psychiatry residents and has a particular interest in the integration of philosophical and theological perspectives in psychiatric practice.

He serves on the editorial board of The Journal of Medicine and Philosophy and The Journal of Human Sexuality and is a peer reviewer for several psychiatry and philosophy journals. His current projects include papers on free will, sexual ethics, counterpossibles, various topics in the philosophy of psychiatry, and book-length manuscripts on psychotherapy's capacity to heal and harm.