Caroline Carney, MD, MSc, FAPA, FAPM, CPHQ, is the President of Behavioral Health and Chief Medical Officer at Magellan Health, a clinical first company focused on improving the quality and delivery of behavioral healthcare. An active clinician, she is board-certified in both psychiatry and internal medicine. Prior to joining Magellan, Dr. Carney served as the medical director for the Indiana Office of Medicaid Policy and Planning, where she helped to launch the Medicaid expansion product as well as the behavioral health transformation for the state’s community mental health services and served on the Governor’s Mental Health Commission. Earlier, she was a tenured associate professor of Internal Medicine and Psychiatry at Indiana University, where she developed the psychosocial oncology program for the university’s NCI accredited cancer center. Dr. Carney earned her medical and master’s degrees at the University of Iowa.
Many of those who survive the loss, devastation, and displacement of an extreme climate event — such as a flood, tornado, drought, or wildfire — experience anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and even suicidal thoughts. Similar mental illnesses are often found even when people are indirectly exposed to extreme climate events.