César A. Alfonso, M.D.
César A. Alfonso, M.D. is Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Columbia University in New York, Adjunct Professor of Psychiatry at Universitas Indonesia in Jakarta and Visiting Professor of Psychiatry at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur. He also teaches at New York Medical College and Northwell Health. He is a Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and a Fellow of the American Academy of Psychodynamic Psychiatry and Psychoanalysis, Academy of Consultation and Liaison Psychiatry, and of the New York Academy of Medicine.
Dr. Alfonso was born in La Habana, Cuba, and spent his formative years in Madrid and San Juan. He migrated to continental US at age 16 to attend Yale University (BS 1982). He relocated to New York City in 1983, attending New York Medical College (MD 1987, Psychiatry Residency 1991), with additional fellowship training in Consultation and Liaison Psychiatry (1992) and Certification in Psychoanalysis (1997). He is a Board Certified Adult Psychiatrist since 1992 and was among the first in the USA obtaining added qualifications in Addiction Psychiatry (1994) and Geriatric Psychiatry (1996). He had formal training in music through primary and secondary education and studio art through tertiary education.
His earlier research focused on consultation and liaison psychiatry, bioethics, HIV psychiatry, human sexuality, and psycho-oncology. His recent work includes the study of the psychodynamic determinants of treatment adherence, the clinical care of persons with low vision and medical multi-morbidities, and the design and implementation of psychotherapy training programs worldwide. With support from the World Psychiatric Association he piloted advanced psychotherapy training programs for psychiatrists in Asia and Africa. Dr. Alfonso served as President of the American Academy of Psychodynamic Psychiatry and Psychoanalysis (2010-2012). He is currently Chair of the Psychotherapy Section of the World Psychiatric Association. He is the USA Chairperson for the World Association of Dynamic Psychiatry. He has published extensively in a wide range of peer-reviewed high impact factor journals and has contributed 17 book chapters and an edited book, Advances in Psychodynamic Psychiatry, published by Guilford Press. He serves as Editor of the journal Psychodynamic Psychiatry and International Consulting Editor of the ASEAN Journal of Psychiatry. He is the recipient of the Teichner Scholar Award twice, with visiting professorships in Northwell/Staten Island (2015) and the University of Iowa (2019).
Dr. Alfonso has given over 200 international academic presentations in Asia, Europe, Africa, Australia and the Americas.