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Education in Psychiatry

Our Pluralistic Approach

An avalanche of physical evidence suggests that mental illness is biologically based. But the complexity of the human mind precludes simple solutions and inspires a pluralistic approach from SUNY Upstate's Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. To cover all currents in a very fluid field, Upstate's Department of Psychiatry takes this pluralistic approach in training its medical students, psychiatry residents and psychology interns according to the biopsychosocial model.

Nationally, the Department is known for this holistic approach in the education of health care professionals in all aspects of the understanding and treatment of mental illness and for training its psychiatrists in psychotherapy as well as psychopharmacology. Often these treatments need to be integrated for the best possible patient care.

In addition to sponsoring numerous electives in clinical care and research for students, the Department plays a major role in several pre-clinical courses including:

  • Medicine and Society
  • Brain and Behavior
  • 3rd year clerkship in Psychiatry

In the area of residency education, the Department offers training in clinical care, as well as research, education, and leadership. The Department also provides subspecialty training in child and adolescent, combined short-term psychotherapy psychopharmacology, emergency psychiatry and forensic psychiatry.

The fluidity of psychiatry demands expert orchestration of new knowledge and trusted traditions. This is a new era in which innovative approaches to medical education are required to prepare physicians who can integrate the healing power of the doctor-patient relationship with rapidly expanding developments in scientific knowledge, technology, clinical practice, and health care delivery systems.

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