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Didactic Sequence

First Year (PGY-1)

  • Introduction to Clinical Psychiatry is a "crash course" that includes an overview of the major diagnostic categories, and covers emergency room evaluation and treatment, and clinically pertinent special topics. The practical aspects of inpatient treatment are emphasized.
    20 sessions

  • Clinical Psychopharmacology presents the principles of psychopharmacology. All major classes of psychotropicsantipsychotics, anxiolyrics, mood stabilizers and antidepressants are discussed in detail. Their pharmacology, mechanisms of action, indications, contraindications, side effects and toxicity are examined, with emphasis on their use in clinical practice.
    13 sessions

  • Clinical Interviewing introduces residents to techniques of interviewing, the asking of open- ended questions, the doctor-patient relationship, transference, and countertransference.
    9 sessions

  • Emergency Psychiatry Review offers residents the opportunity to present cases seen on-call. Emergency assessment, diagnosis, management, and forensic concerns are addressed.
    75 sessions over two years

Second Year (PGY-2)

  • Advanced Clinical Psychiatry begins with a comprehensive study of the relevant biological areas, from brain imaging to neuroreceptors. Next it reviews the clinical subject matter of psychiatry through a comprehensive presentation of phenomenology and discussion of central psychodynamic, social, and biological factors. All major psychiatric syndromes, from the psychoses and organic disorders to the personality disorders and neuroses are considered in detail. Current treatments and areas of research are discussed.
    45 sessions

  • Learning Psychotherapy presents the concepts basic to all psychotherapies drawn on what has been shown to be effective in the literature. It is presented in six modules: verbal response modes and intentions; working alliance; inductive reasoning to determine patterns; strategies of change; resistance; and transference and counter-transference.
    44 sessions
  • Psychological Assessment reviews psycho-diagnostic test procedures in terms of theory, administration, interpretation, and relevance to psychopathology. The tests include those for evaluating diagnosis, personality, intelligence, and cognitive functioning (e.g., the WAIS, Bender, TAT, Rorschach). Illustrative material from patients test batteries are provided.
    11 sessions

  • Emergency Psychiatry Review begun in PGY-1 continues through PGY- 2.
    Ongoing weekly
  • Evidence-Based Psychiatry is a course in which residents will learn to identify sources of information, develop search strategies, define and recognize different kinds of evidence, and apply this information to an appropriate population and intervention as a means to developing an evidence based psychiatric treatment.
    3 to 4 sessions

  • Child and Adolescent Psychiatry reviews the major clinical syndromes of childhood and adolescence, their prevention, and treatment. Theories of child development, including social, cognitive, and perceptual factors, as well as biological and intrapsychic factors, are examined.
    15 sessions

  • Introduction to Forensic Psychiatry provides a basic knowledge of the New York State mental health law; right to treatment, rules of competence to stand trial; criminal responsibility (e.g., McNaughton, Durham), confidentiality, malpractice, and laws concerning children.
    11 sessions

Third Year (PG-3)

  • The Theory and Practice of Individual Psychotherapy is designed to enhance the resident's knowledge of the principles of psychotherapy. Although it emphasizes psychoanalytic psychotherapy, the course addresses dyadic therapies more broadly, so residents can understand and use other theories and methods (e.g., supportive therapy) where appropriate.
    32 sessions

  • Brief and Focused Psychotherapies provides an overview of the different kinds of psychotherapy, the major therapeutic factors common to all, and the key differences among them. Behavioral, cognitive, interpersonal and psychodynamic psychotherapy are discussed.
    24 sessions

  • Group Psychotherapy acquaints residents with the principles and practice of group psychotherapy. The history, theoretical background, patient selection, techniques, and outcomes of group therapy are discussed.
    10 sessions

  • Applied Psychoanalytic Perspectives (Advanced) presents tape-recorded sessions by individual residents. Discussion is geared toward teaching the process of psychoanalytic psychotherapy and demonstrating basic psychoanalytic concepts: interpretation, working alliance, transference, psychosexual development, degree of pathology, resistance, and defenses. Continuous case presentations are interspersed with advanced readings (e.g., in self psychology, ego psychology, object relations). This course, which runs throughout the third and fourth academic years, helps residents enjoy the richness and ongoing development of the psychodynamic literature.
  • Neuroscience/Psychopharmacology (Advanced) is a weekly seminar that runs continuously through the PGY-3 and 4 years, and taps the excitement of new findings in the areas of biological psychiatry and clinical psychopharmacology.

Fourth Year (PGY-4)

  • American Culture provides an opportunity for residents to become more familiar with the ethnic diversity present in contemporary America. The impact of sex, race, ethnicity, and social class on individuals and families is discussed.
    10 sessions

  • History of Psychiatry provides a journey through time with stops at points of particular psychiatric interest (e.g., the ancient texts, the Salem witch trials, Pinel's removing the chains from psychiatric patients, the works of Dorothea Dix, and the community mental health movement).
    10 sessions

  • Psychodynamic Issues (Advanced) and Neuroscience/Psychopharmacology (Advanced), begun in PGY-3, continue through PGY-4 year.
  • Methods of Psychiatric Research offers an introduction to the principles of research. It provides a critical approach to design and methodology, and demonstrates the relation between methodology and the problem addressed. Each resident must also complete a scholarly analysis and presentation of an important question in psychiatry.
    20 sessions

  • Facts of Life (or Earning a Living) provides residents with a brief look at the economics of psychiatric practice and the wide variety of settings in which it occurs. Issues arising in seeking a job, selecting a location, understanding the operation of different kinds of psychiatric systems from solo private practice to government service and the ways they are funded, as well as managing personal finances, will be addressed with an emphasis on utility and practicality to the newly graduated job seeker.
    4 to 8 sessions

All Four Years (PGY-1-4)

  • Grand Rounds include formal presentations by visiting consultants, by our faculty, and by residents. Topics include basic and clinical research, theoretical and clinical problems, and presentations of especially instructive cases.
  • Clinical Case Conferences are conducted every week at the three inpatient sites. Residents present cases to faculty consultants, who usually interview the patient and lead a discussion of phenomenology, differential diagnosis, psychodynamics, treatment, and the contemporary state of knowledge.
  • Faculty Journal Club is an informal seminar at faculty homes. Residents choose readings which typically involve areas of current importance and controversy, or publications of the host faculty member.
  • Residents Special Seminars allow residents from all four years to meet weekly to discuss a journal article or hear an invited speaker present a special topic. Speakers have included the chief psychiatrist for the Federal Aviation Authority, NAMI family members, basic science researchers, and psychiatrists who head the local HMO psychiatric service and the private psychiatric hospital.

Alternate Year Courses for (PGY 3-4)

  • Spirituality & Psychiatry
  • Ethics
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