Dwain Fehon, PsyD, professor of psychiatry and chief psychologist for psychiatric services at Yale New Haven Hospital, has been awarded the 2026 Sidney J. Blatt Faculty Award by the Yale Department of Psychiatry’s Psychology Section.
The award was presented to Fehon on June 5 for his outstanding contributions to psychotherapy practice, education, and scholarship.
“He (Fehon) is warm, genuine, and very, very caring,” said Rajita Sinha, PhD, deputy chair for psychology in psychiatry. “He has led Yale New Haven Hospital with great care.”
Fehon was a mentee and colleague of Dr. Sidney J. Blatt, for whom the award is named. Blatt came to Yale in 1960 as an assistant professor in the Department of Psychology and joined the Department of Psychiatry in 1963. He was chief of the Psychology Section of the Department of Psychiatry for almost 50 years.
He distinguished himself as an analytic clinician, empirical researcher, personality theorist, and beloved teacher and mentor. He is author or coauthor of more than 220 published articles and approximately 17 books, and has conducted extensive research on personality development, psychological assessment, psychopathology, and psychotherapeutic outcomes.
“My only wish is that he was here today to celebrate this,” Fehon said, as he accepted the award June 5 at the annual Dr. Sidney J. Blatt Lecture.
The lecture, given every year during Department of Psychiatry Grand Rounds, was presented this year by Yoni Ashar, PhD, assistant professor, University of Colorado, Anschutz Medical Campus.
The lecture was attended by Blatt’s daughter, Susan Blatt Goetsch; her husband, Charles Goetsch; and daughter Ruth.
Fehon oversees and coordinates the predoctoral psychology training program within Yale New Haven Hospital and Yale New Haven Psychiatric Hospital. Since completing his internship and postdoctoral training at Yale in 1993, he has devoted his career to psychology training and the development of hospital-based programs for adolescents, families, and adults.
He is the founding director of the Behavioral Medicine Service, a clinical service that provides integrated psychological services to chronically ill adults within the Yale Cancer Center/Smilow Cancer Hospital, Tobacco Treatment Service, Yale New Haven Hospital Transplantation Center, Yale Sleep Center, and Yale Spine Center.
As a member of the Yale Cancer Center's palliative care services, Fehon provides integrated psychological care to aid coping, resilience, and quality of life with patients living with advanced cancer.