Dr. Thomas Gratzer
Dr. Thomas Gratzer
Board-Certified Psychiatrist
Board-Certified Psychiatrist
Thomas Gratzer, MD, is a board-certified psychiatrist with more than three decades of experience in general and forensic psychiatry. Based in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota, he has dedicated his career to helping individuals facing complex mental health challenges while advancing psychiatric education and forensic evaluation practices. Throughout his professional journey, Dr. Gratzer has worked at several respected medical institutions, including Psych Recovery, Regions Hospital, United Hospital, and Fairview University Medical Center. His active clinical schedule often includes approximately 100 patient visits each week, in addition to conducting multiple forensic psychiatric evaluations.
Dr. Gratzer has built a strong reputation in forensic psychiatry through years of specialized service and leadership. From 1995 to 2002, he served as Senior Forensic Psychiatrist at the Minnesota Security Hospital, where he worked with patients requiring highly specialized psychiatric care within the legal system. His expertise also led him to serve as a consulting psychiatrist for the Minnesota Department of Corrections' Juvenile Detention Center from 1999 to 2015. In this role, he provided psychiatric treatment and evaluations for incarcerated youth, helping address the significant mental health needs present within juvenile correctional environments.
In addition to his forensic work, Dr. Gratzer spent more than two decades as an attending psychiatrist at United Hospital in St. Paul, Minnesota. There, he treated individuals experiencing severe psychiatric disorders and contributed to multidisciplinary treatment planning. His leadership abilities were further recognized when he served as medical staff president at the St. Peter Regional Treatment Center in 1997, where he participated in institutional policy development and medical governance.
Beyond his clinical practice, Dr. Gratzer has made meaningful contributions to psychiatric education. From 2002 through 2021, he served as an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Minnesota Medical School. In this position, he helped train future psychiatrists while mentoring medical students and residents pursuing careers in mental health care.
His teaching experience extends beyond Minnesota. Dr. Gratzer has lectured at institutions such as the University of Manitoba, Rush-Presbyterian/St. Luke’s Medical Center, DePaul Law School, and Regions Hospital. His lectures have covered a broad range of psychiatric and forensic topics, reflecting his deep understanding of both medicine and the legal system.
Dr. Gratzer is an active member of several respected professional organizations, including the American Psychiatric Association, the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, and the Minnesota Psychiatric Association. His involvement in these groups demonstrates his commitment to staying engaged with evolving psychiatric practices and legal standards.
He has also served on specialized committees within the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, including the Sex Offender Committee and the Psychopharmacology Committee. Through these roles, Dr. Gratzer has contributed to discussions surrounding mental health treatment, criminal justice issues, and ethical psychiatric care.
In addition to his achievements in medicine, Dr. Thomas Gratzer has an impressive background in computer science and software development. His interest in technology began at a young age. In 1991, he earned first prize for a computer program at the Manitoba Science Fair and participated in Prince Philip’s International Science Fortnight in London, England.
During college, Dr. Gratzer co-authored the book FAST BASIC: Beyond TRS-80 BASIC, which sold approximately 10,000 copies. Between 1984 and 1990, he also helped develop and design VP-Info, a database programming language for IBM PCs published by Paperback Software International in Berkeley, California. The software achieved significant commercial success, selling more than 100,000 copies.
Dr. Gratzer has authored numerous peer-reviewed journal articles, contributing valuable insights to forensic psychiatry and mental health treatment. His research has explored subjects such as paraphilia treatment, impulse control disorders, compulsive sexual behavior, and the relationship between legal systems and psychiatric practice.
His academic and scientific work has been recognized with several honors. In 1994, he received both the Merrell Dow Psychiatric Research Award and the S. W. Prowse Memorial Award for Clinical Research at the University of Manitoba. He also earned national recognition through the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law as a Rappeport Fellow. He received an honorable mention from the American Academy of Forensic Sciences for outstanding research in forensic science.
Dr. Gratzer began his educational journey at Saint John’s Ravenscourt School in Winnipeg, Manitoba, where he graduated with distinction and earned the Governor General’s Medal. He later completed both his Bachelor of Science in Medicine and Doctor of Medicine degrees at the University of Manitoba. He also pursued his psychiatry residency training there before completing a fellowship in forensic psychiatry at Rush-Presbyterian/St. Luke’s Center in Chicago.
Throughout his training, he completed clinical rotations in multiple psychiatric specialties, including adolescent psychiatry, geriatrics, consultation-liaison psychiatry, chronic care, research, and forensic psychiatry.
Born in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, Dr. Gratzer comes from a family with strong academic and medical backgrounds. His father was a mathematics professor at Penn State University, while his mother practiced dentistry. His brother and sister-in-law are both physicians in Toronto, Ontario.
Dr. Thomas Gratzer is married to Denise, a marketing professor and business owner. His stepdaughter, Tanya, serves in the Navy’s JAG Corps. Outside of medicine, he enjoys tennis, skiing, exercise, travel, and exploring fine cuisine. He also remains committed to supporting education and mental health initiatives through regular charitable contributions to his university foundation.
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