Physicians are twice as likely to experience depression as everyone else in the general population, but often they don't seek help because they fear it could negatively affect their careers.

“Many doctors, as much as 40 percent in some studies, said they’re afraid to ask for help because it could impact their medical license,” says Marra G. Ackerman, MD, director of NYU Langone’s House Staff Mental Health Program and Student Mental Health Services and clinical associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry.

Dr. Ackerman and Lia W. Okun, PhD, associate director of the House Staff Mental Health Program and Student Mental Health Services and clinical associate professor of psychiatry, speak to Newsday about the steps being taken at NYU Langone to address physician burnout, as well as burnout in medical students.

At NYU Grossman School of Medicine, about 25 percent of the student body have participated in some sort of mental health exercise, which could include group or individual psychotherapy, says Dr. Okun. “It’s a nice surprise,” she says. “With the younger generation, it’s much less stigmatized.”

Read more from Newsday.