Kenneth Wells, MD ’74 : Giving a voice to the mental health field

Psychiatrist and opera composer are not job titles typically listed in the same resume, yet Kenneth Wells lays claim to both – and with high acclaim.

He composed an insightful yet hauntingly hopeful opera, The Center Cannot Hold, which tells the story of Elyn Saks, a MacArthur Genius Award-winning law professor who struggled with schizophrenia. Based on Saks’ 2007 memoir of the same name, the opera delves into the pivotal time of her life when she was dealing with her condition during law school. It premiered at UCLA in 2016 and seems to be the perfect culmination of Wells’ two passions – music and medicine.

“I hope folks come away with a new awareness of the complexity of mental illness, how many people are touched by it, as well as the potential to move forward through treatment, medication, friendships and personal resolve, as Elyn has shown,” he says.

Long before he chose to specialize in psychiatry at the UCSF School of Medicine, Wells had roots in the music world, composing songs and choral pieces and performing with his family in churches in Southern California. When he moved to the Bay Area to pursue a medical career, he told himself, “I have to grow up now and not make music.” But six months later, he said, “This is crazy. I’m never going to stop doing music as long as I live.”

True to his word, as a full-time medical student Wells filled his free time attending shows at the San Francisco Opera, singing in the San Francisco Bach Choir, acting as a substitute organist at the Seventh Avenue Church, and studying voice with faculty at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.

Over the years, he saw that women in operas were rarely portrayed in a positive light and often wondered, “Why couldn't someone tell a powerful, compelling, and entertaining story that lifts us up and gives us hope?”

Wells answered his own question by composing his own operas, the first of which was The First Lady. It premiered in 2010 and concerns coping with complex grief, through telling the story of Eleanor Roosevelt’s journey after her husband’s death and her struggles when she learned of his ongoing affair with her former secretary as World War II was coming to a close.

“There are moments in our lives that give us insight, strengthen us, and put us on the road to better days,” he says. “As a psychiatrist and a musician, I am fascinated by the process.”

Yet music did not preclude him from making a big impact in the medical field as well. After he earned his degree from UCSF, Wells’ work on the RAND Medical Outcomes Study and the RAND Health Insurance Experiment paved the way toward establishing mental health securely within conversations about health services and put mental health policy research – especially regarding depression – on equal footing with research into general medical conditions.

“I learned in medical school that what was particularly meaningful to me was dealing with people, the influence of their personal and family relationships, and their mental health conditions,” he says. “Working on developing person-centered care in medicine and focusing on the complexities of the psychosocial environment feels like I am exercising the creative side of myself just as much as I do in relation to music.” The commitment to whole-person care led him to collaborate with community, patient, and family partners in developing solutions to disparities for under-resourced communities and providing to depression care, including addressing stigma through the arts.

Dr. Wells was awarded a 2019 UCSF Campaign Alumni Award in “The Innovators” category. The award honors individuals whose work has led to unexpected findings or outcomes resulting in positive changes to their science or health care communities.