Christian Thurstone, MD

Professional Titles

• Chair of Behavioral Health Services at Denver Health

Recognitions

• Meritorious Service Medal, US Army (2021)
• Advocate for Action, White House (2014)
  For efforts to promote evidence-based substance prevention for teenagers

Publications

• Joshi S, Snyder KM, Thurstone C, Rivera BD, Feldman J, Cerdá M, Krawczyk N. Changes in psychosis-related emergency department and hospitalization rates among youth following cannabis legalization in Colorado. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2025 Aug 1;273:112719. PubMed PMID: 40451017
• Thurstone C, Etzig C, Chen E, Seely HD, Loh R. Mortality following adolescent substance treatment: 21-year follow-up from a single clinical site. Front Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2025;4:1600101. PubMed PMID: 40620525
• Thurstone C, Loh R, O'Leary S, Bruce S, Ladegard K. School-Based Services May Eliminate Substance Treatment Disparities: Results From a Nonrandomized Program Evaluation. J Sch Health. 2024 Mar;94(3):267-272. PubMed PMID: 38086778
• Thurstone C, Loh R, Foreman K, Thurstone CA, Wolf C. Program Evaluation to Aid Choice of Aripiprazole or Risperidone for Hospitalized Adolescents with Cannabis Use Disorder and Psychosis. J Child Adolesc Psychopharmacol. 2023 Oct;33(8):332-336. PubMed PMID: 37861990
• Hurd YL, Ferland JN, Nomura Y, Hulvershorn LA, Gray KM, Thurstone C. CANNABIS USE AND THE DEVELOPING BRAIN: HIGHS AND LOWS. Front Young Minds. 2023 Aug;11. PubMed PMID: 37946933
• Terasaki D, Hanratty R, Thurstone C. More than MAT: lesser-known benefits of an inpatient addiction consult service. Hosp Pract (1995). 2023 Aug;51(3):107-109. PubMed PMID: 37314327
• Terasaki D, Loh R, Cornell A, Taub J, Thurstone C. Single-dose intravenous ketamine or intramuscular naltrexone for high-utilization inpatients with alcohol use disorder: pilot trial feasibility and readmission rates. Addict Sci Clin Pract. 2022 Nov 22;17(1):64. PubMed PMID: 36419181
• Thurstone C, Loh R, Piatz C, Simpson SA. Adolescent Substance Use Disorder Diagnosis Correlates With Hospitalization After an Emergency Department Visit. Pediatr Emerg Care. 2022 Oct 1;38(10):e1590-e1593. PubMed PMID: 36066586
• Wolf C, Schwarz J, Thurstone C, Rylander M. Agreement between a single, self-defined burnout item and the ProQOL burnout subscale for behavioural health staff. Int J Ment Health Nurs. 2021 Feb;30(1):326-333. PubMed PMID: 32959486
• Ladegard K, Thurstone C, Rylander M. Marijuana Legalization and Youth. Pediatrics. 2020 May;145(Suppl 2):S165-S174. PubMed PMID: 32358207
• Simpson SA, Goodwin M, Thurstone C (2019), Implementation and evaluation of a military civilian partnership to train mental health specialists. Military Medicine 184:e184-e190
• Levi ME, Montague BT, Thurstone C, Kumar D, Huprikar SS, Kotton CN, Executive Committee of the Infectious Diseases Community of Practice of the American Society of Transplantation (2019), Marijuana use in transplantation: A call for clarity. Clinical Transplantation 33:e13456
• Thurstone C (2019), What cures one can kill another. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 58:661-662
• Lintz MJ, Sutton B, Thurstone C. Associations between school-based substance use treatment and academic outcomes. J Child Adolesc Psychopharmacol 2019;29:554-558
• Trujillo K, Kuo G, Ingram A, Thurstone C (2019), Engaging adolescents: animal assisted therapy for adolescents with psychiatric and substance use disorders. Journal of Child and Family Studies (epub ahead of print)
• impACT: an MI/ACT manual for substance use and co-occurring problems. www.drthurstone.com/impact
• University of Colorado Addiction psychiatry training curriculum. http://www.ucdenver.edu/academics/colleges/medicalschool/departments/psychiatry/PsychEducation/PsychFellowships/PsychiatryAddictionFellowship/Pages/Curriculum.aspx
• Denver Health Psychiatric Physician Assistant Fellowship Curriculum. https://www.denverhealth.org/for-professionals/office-of-education/graduate-programs/behavioral-health-pa-fellowship
• Simpson SA, Goodwin M, Thurstone C (accepted for publication), Implementation and evaluation of a military-civilian partnership to train mental health specialists. Military Medicine
• Montague B, Kotton C, Kumar D, Hubrikar S, Thurstone C, Kumar D (accepted for publication), Marijuana use in transplantation: A call for clarity. Clinical Transplantation
• Thurstone C (accepted for publication), What cures one can kill another. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry

Professional Memberships

• American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Member

Practice Locations

• Denver Health Medical Center

Specialty Information

• Psychiatry, Board Certification
• child and adolescent psychiatry, Board Certification (0001)
• addiction psychiatry, Board Certification (0001)

• Substance Abuse