Christian . Thurstone
Denver Health
Christian Thurstone, MD, is one of about three dozen physicians in the United States who are board certified in general, child and adolescent and addictions psychiatry. He is medical director of one of Colorado's largest youth substance-treatment programs and an associate professor of psychiatry at the University of Colorado Denver (UCD), where he conducts research on youth substance use and addiction and serves as director of medical training for the university's addiction psychiatry fellowship program. Dr. Thurstone is a past president of the Colorado Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Society. He completed medical training at the University of Chicago, Northwestern University and UCD. In 2010, he completed five years of mentored research training through the National Institute on Drug Abuse/American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry K12 Research Program in Substance Abuse. Teens and young adults in Colorado and throughout metro Chicago call him “Dr. T,” the name under which he wrote a weekly advice column for nearly a decade for The Tribune Co.-owned student newspaper, The Mash. In Denver, he and therapists working with his supervision deliver mental healthcare and addiction treatment to students on the campuses of several public high schools. “Dr. T” also serves as a team physician for the National Football League. In June 2012, the United States Congress awarded him another title: U.S. Army Major. He is honored to treat American service members who need mental healthcare as an Army Reserve officer in the Combat Stress Unit of the 807th Medical Command. Dr. Thurstone is a fluent Spanish speaker and enjoys working with many of his young patients and their families in his second language. He also likes to talk tennis. He plays his favorite sport competitively and was ranked among the top 10 players in the United States Tennis Association's Men's 40s Division.
(08/17)
