Background

International medicine has been a lifelong interest of Dr. Theodore. Since her earliest years in medical school, she has conducted research and clinical work in countries around the world.

Working, learning and reporting

Dr. Theodore’s early research concentrated on the countries of the former Soviet Union and eastern Europe. She conducted epidemiological research in Russia, Byelorussia, Estonia, and the former Czechoslovakia.

Dr. Theodore provided pyschiatric services to adults and children in Port au Prince, Haiti.

Dr. Theodore’s clinical work abroad includes medical expeditions to refugee camps in Nepal, Vietnam and Thailand.

Specializing in psychiatry for those infected with HIV/AIDS, her concerns have also taken her to the poorest slums of Haiti.

After the Allied bombings in 1991, Dr. Theodore traveled to Kosovo where she contributed to a special report on the region’s mental health conditions.

Serving at home

Immediately following the 9/11 attack, Dr. Theodore concentrated on the treatment of stress disorders suffered by those located at the Twin Towers.

Work under extreme conditions, often conducted far afield, may seem remote from everyday difficulties. Yet the readiness to gain new perspectives, the negotiation of cultural boundaries, the recognition of universal markers within foreign landscapes—all offer insights that enrich and inform daily clinical work.