As described by herself and her father, Gillian Herald Friedman was an empathetic, curious child, and team player, all of which made her the medical director of Patton State Hospital in San Bernardino, California. led to a new position as
Patton Hospital is one of five state hospitals in California, with more than 1,500 beds and both the largest forensic and psychiatric hospital in the United States. Most of the patients are in treatment to be able to stand trial, or after being acquitted on the grounds of insanity after committing a felony.
As Medical Director, Friedman is the executive leader of all of Patton’s medical, psychiatric and psychological services.
“She was and still is a very empathetic person,” said her father, Steve Herald. “I remember when she was very, very young. I started crying out of pity.”
A Jacksonville native who graduated from Jacksonville High School in 1984, Friedman is the wife of James Dukat Sr. and the daughter of James Dukat Jr.’s stepmother, Sandra Herald of Jacksonville.
While she may not specifically see herself leading Patton, she said it’s a perfect role for her.
“It’s a team-based approach at the executive level,” she said. “I like working in teams.”
Mr. Friedman works closely with the hospital’s executive director, clinical and nursing administrators, each of whom has a unique role in keeping Patton’s operations running.
She is also someone who has the “big picture”.
“I like to look at things at the system level,” says Friedman. “You can be the one who fishes people out of the water, or you can be the one who fixes people upstream so they don’t fall. I want to be the upstream person.”
Patients admitted to Patton receive drug-based psychotherapy and psychotherapy including art, dance, and talk.
“It’s a team-based approach that leverages everyone’s skills,” Friedman said.
Friedman didn’t always want to be a psychiatrist.
“Gillian will explore all possibilities,” the father said. “She actually started[studying]actuarial science.” Mainly because this field, which uses mathematical and statistical methods to assess risk, is more because it is not known to be a strong representative of
The plan did not last long.
“When I first went to medical school, I never thought I would be a psychiatrist,” Friedman said. “He wanted to be an obstetrician.”
But psychiatry has stalled, she said, with some medical schools rotating between different specialties.
“I’m still interested in women’s health and women’s mental health,” she said.
To that end, Mr. Friedman serves on the Board of the International Society of Reproductive Psychiatry, an organization dedicated to raising awareness in the field of reproductive psychiatry and improving access to well-trained mental health care professionals. We are committed to advocating for the rights of children, providing education and supporting cooperation.
Her work with the group aims to educate psychiatrists and other mental health providers about women’s mental health, she said.
“Half the population is women,” she said. “Being pregnant doesn’t cure mental illness.
After earning her medical degree from the University of Illinois at Chicago, Friedman also completed a psychiatric residency and fellowship in women’s mental health (reproductive psychiatry) at UIC. She is certified in psychiatry from the American Academy of Psychiatry and Neurology and is certified in addiction medicine from the American Board of Preventive Medicine. She is a member of the American Psychiatric Association, the American Association of Addiction Medicine, the American Physician Leadership Association, and the American Physician Women’s Association.
Through the American Psychiatric Association, Friedman serves on committees focused on access to care, including “involving the legislative process and communicating with legislators about positive changes to mental health legislation.” she said.
Before joining Patton’s staff in 2019, he was medical director at the 80-bed San Jose Behavioral Health Hospital in California.
One thing Friedman particularly likes about his role in Patton is the balance. Although she no longer cares for full patients, she continues her clinical work, especially counseling patients with severe eating disorders, addiction sufferers, and pregnant women in prison.
“These things allow me to remain clinically involved,” she said. “I like the balance. Being an administrator is hard work. I had a halftime clinical load[at San Jose]. It would be much harder to do that[at Patton]but If the job is purely administrative, with little interaction with patients, you’ll miss it.”
Still, she values the work she and her colleagues do at Patton.
“The goal, which not everyone can achieve, is to get people healthy enough to be managed under supervision in the community,” Friedman said. “It doesn’t happen[to everyone]but it would be great if it did.”
“Institutions are not humans’ natural living environments. I strongly feel that
