Mara Pheister

Dr. Mara Pheister is an Associate Professor of Psychiatry & Behavioral Medicine at the Medical College of Wisconsin. She holds dual clinical and academic roles, serving as Director of Residency Education since 2009 and maintaining an outpatient clinical practice focused on OCD and Borderline Personality Disorder. Her professional affiliations include leadership roles in the Wisconsin Psychiatric Association and Association for Academic Psychiatry.

Dr. Pheister’s education includes a BS in Molecular Biology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (1996), MD from UW Medical School (2000), and psychiatric residency at Montefiore Medical Center (2004). She has completed additional training in psychoanalytic studies and has practiced in Chicago and New York before returning to Milwaukee in 2009.

Her research focuses on psychiatry education, suicide prevention in residency training, and workforce development. Notable contributions include studies on residency expansion strategies and mental illness disclosure in medical training. She has authored over 10 peer-reviewed articles addressing clinical education, simulation-based training, and psychiatric patient care models.

Professional accolades include the Distinguished Fellow Award from the American Psychiatric Association. She actively participates in national committees shaping psychiatry residency standards and advocates for women’s mental health issues.