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Kristopher Kast, MD, Psychiatry, Nashville, TN, Vanderbilt University Medical Center

KristopherAKastMD(He/Him)

Psychiatry Nashville, TN

Addiction

Psychiatrist and Psychotherapist || Assistant Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences | Division Director, Addiction Psychiatry | Program Director, Addiction Psychiatry Fellowship

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Summary

  • Dr. Kast is serving as interim Division Director for Addiction Psychiatry at Vanderbilt for AY2024-25. He has also served as Program Director for the Addiction Psychiatry Fellowship since 2021. From 2020-24, he directed the Tennessee State Opioid Response ECHO Tele-Education Hub at Vanderbilt, providing a CME platform for community clinicians and creating an annual regional conference, the Mid-South Addiction Conference, in partnership with the Tennessee Society for Addiction Medicine in 2022. Dr. Kast works clinically on the Addiction Consult Service in the general hospital, where he has been Clinical Director since 2020, and he cares for outpatients with SUD and co-occurring disorders in the Vanderbilt Recovery Clinic. He has previously worked on the Co-occurring Disorders Unit at the Vanderbilt Psychiatric Hospital and in the Vanderbilt Bridge Clinic for low-barrier post-acute outpatient care. Dr. Kast supervises clinical fellows, residents, and medical students across these levels of care. In addition to this work with individuals with SUD, Dr. Kast teaches and supervises resident psychiatrists in psychodynamic psychotherapy.

Education & Training

  • Psychoanalytic Institute of Northern California (PINC)
    Psychoanalytic Institute of Northern California (PINC)Certificate in Psychoanalysis, 2024 - 2028
  • Massachusetts General Hospital/McLean Hospital/Brigham and Women's Hospital/Harvard Medical School
    Massachusetts General Hospital/McLean Hospital/Brigham and Women's Hospital/Harvard Medical SchoolFellowship, Addiction Psychiatry, 2019 - 2020
  • New York Presbyterian Hospital (Cornell Campus)
    New York Presbyterian Hospital (Cornell Campus)Chief Residency, Psychiatry, 2018 - 2019
  • New York Presbyterian Hospital (Cornell Campus)
    New York Presbyterian Hospital (Cornell Campus)Residency, Psychiatry, 2015 - 2019
  • Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
    Johns Hopkins University School of MedicineClass of 2015, M.D., Alpha Omega Alpha
  • University of Notre Dame
    University of Notre DameB.S., Biological Sciences/Philosophy, summa cum laude, 2007 - 2011

Certifications & Licensure

  • TN State Medical License
    TN State Medical License 2020 - 2026
  • MA State Medical License
    MA State Medical License 2019 - 2021
  • NY State Medical License
    NY State Medical License 2016 - 2021
  • American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology Psychiatry
  • American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology Addiction Psychiatry

Awards, Honors, & Recognition

  • Clinical Teacher Award Psychiatry Residency Program, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, 2022
  • Barchas Prize for Outstanding Work by a Trainee in the Field Clinical Scholars Institute, Department of Psychiatry, Weill Cornell Medical College, 2018-2019
  • APsaA Fellowship American Psychoanalytic Association, 2017-2018
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Publications & Presentations

PubMed

Journal Articles

  • Community as Treatment: The Therapeutic Community Model in The Era of The Opioid Crisis  
    Kast KA, Manella G, Avery J, J Addict Behav Ther Rehabil, 6/30/2019
  • Case study of first-episode schizophrenia in pregnancy and postpartum  
    Kast KA, Agarkar S, Arch Women’s Ment Health, 8/2017

Books/Book Chapters

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Abstracts/Posters

  • The Effect of Specialty Addiction Consultation on Prescribing Medication for Opioid Use Disorder (MOUD) During General Hospital Admission
    KA Kast, D Marcovitz, C Adkins, D Acker, T Reese, 2022 American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry Annual Meeting & Scientific Symposium, Naples, FL, 12/2022
  • Where regional anesthesia and addiction cross paths
    Durning S, Donald R, Kast KA, American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine 47th Annual Meeting, 3/2022
  • So You Want to Do Research? How to Develop a Research Curriculum for Trainees
    Ward HB, Fong T, Kast KA, 2021 American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry Annual Meeting & Scientific Symposium, 12/2021
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Lectures

  • Managing benzodiazepines in the MOUD population 
    TDMHSAS Opioid Treatment Program Provider Meeting, Murfreesboro, TN - 9/14/2023
  • Stimulant Use Disorder and HIV 
    Southeast AIDS Education and Training Center: Webcast Wednesday - 11/30/2022
  • Levels of care for severe substance use disorders: overview of the American system 
    Percorsi di cura nelle dipendenze da sostanze in USA e in Italia, San Patrignano, Italy - 8/26/2022
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Authored Content

  • Jail or Italy? Long-term Addiction Treatment Is Hard To Find7/26/2018

Press Mentions

  • How prescription medications can carry serious consequences behind the wheel
    How prescription medications can carry serious consequences behind the wheelJuly 25th, 2024
  • VUMC co-hosts the 2023 Mid-South Addiction Conference Oct. 27 and 28
    VUMC co-hosts the 2023 Mid-South Addiction Conference Oct. 27 and 28October 23rd, 2023
  • Alcohol Deaths Among Middle-Aged Women Have Surged During the Pandemic
    Alcohol Deaths Among Middle-Aged Women Have Surged During the PandemicNovember 8th, 2022
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Committees

  • Committee Member, Education Committee, American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry 2022 - Present
  • Clinical Advisory Committee, Physician Health Services of the Massachusetts Medical Society 2019 - 2020

Professional Memberships

Hospital Affiliations