Charles Dike, MD, MPH, professor of psychiatry, has been appointed chief executive officer of the Connecticut Mental Health Center (CMHC). His appointment will take effect October 1, 2025.
In his new role, Dike will also serve as deputy chair for state affairs for the Yale Department of Psychiatry.
Dike, a leading national figure in public psychiatry, was appointed after a national search for a new CEO of CMHC.
CMHC was founded in 1966 as a collaboration between the Connecticut Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS) and the Yale Department of Psychiatry. CMHC houses innovative clinical programs, supports the training of graduate and professional students and fellows, and has a national reputation for groundbreaking neuroscience, mental health and addiction research, including the development of new treatment approaches.
Dike is currently professor of psychiatry at Yale School of Medicine, medical director for the Office of the Commissioner of DMHAS, immediate past president of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law (AAPL), and a member of the National Advisory Council of the Center for Mental Health Services of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).
Previously he served as chief medical officer and superintendent of the Whiting Forensic Hospital and interim co-director of the Yale Psychiatry Division of Law and Psychiatry.
Vinneth Carvalho, MD, another alumnus of the forensic psychiatry fellowship program at Yale, will serve as interim DMHAS medical director following Dike’s transition to his new role at CMHC.
"Charles is an inspiring clinical leader, a wonderful colleague and an effective chief medical officer for DMHAS. I look forward to working with him in his new capacity as CEO of CMHC," said Nancy Navarretta, MA, LPC, commissioner of DMHAS.
Dike completed medical school at Obafemi Awolowo University in Nigeria and psychiatric residency training at the University of Birmingham, England (UK). After completing additional psychiatric training and a masters of public health degree at the University of Illinois at Chicago, he completed a fellowship in forensic psychiatry at the Yale Division of Law and Psychiatry, based at CMHC.
He obtained a Diploma in Clinical Psychiatry (DCP) from the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ireland and was awarded membership in the Royal College of Psychiatrists of England.
A past president of Connecticut Psychiatric Society, Dike is a Distinguished Fellow of American Psychiatric Association, Fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists (England), and Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives (FACHE). He is also immediate past chair of the American Psychiatric Association (APA) Ethics Committee, and author of “Ethics Corner,” a monthly column discussing ethical issues in psychiatric practice, which appears in the APA Psychiatry News.
"I am thrilled that we were able to recruit such a dedicated and exceptional clinical leader, educator, and scholar to this important position," said John H. Krystal, MD, Robert L. McNeil Professor of Translational Research and chair of the Yale Department of Psychiatry.
Dike is the recipient of many honors including the Zonana Prize of the Division of Law and Psychiatry, the Fleck Award of the Department of Psychiatry, and the Chester Pierce Human Rights Award of the American Psychiatric Association. He served as president of the American Academy of Law and Psychiatry, which established the Charles Dike Scholarship Award in his honor for his tireless work on diversity and inclusion.