Curriculum and Program Design

An interactive introduction to the elements of the mental status exam, including tools for observation, assessment, and description.

This course reviews the basic elements of the initial psychiatric note, with emphasis on the writing of the history of present illness and biopsychosocial formulation. Also, will include a review of the risk assessment for violence and self-injury.

This course reviews the structure of mental health care provision in the US, including payment structures, community-based services, hospital-based levels of care, and recent changes in health care delivery such as mental health transformation in New York State. Also, will include a brief overview of correctional mental health service and how mental illness can influence path towards adjudication.

This course will introduce the new resident to the history of the DSM, and overview of the diagnostic categories in the DSM V, including paraphilic disorders. Case vignettes and differential diagnosis will be discussed.  

This course will introduce the new resident to the Comprehensive Psychiatric Evaluation Service and will include a discussion of forensic issues, legal status, safety assessment and introduction to management of the high-risk patient. It will also provide an overview of Pre-arraignment evaluations in the CPEP, risk assessments, documentation, duty to warn, duty to protect, including SAFE ACT reporting.

This course focuses on important elements of the psychiatric assessment and interview techniques to effectively gather information during a psychiatric interview including risk assessment.

In this course, residents will learn strategies to ensure safe and timely transfer of patient care to their colleagues.  Also, they will learn effective strategies to track their patient’s current medications, medication adjustments, side effects, and laboratory profiles for communication with their colleagues during handoffs. Residents will be introduced to background, rationale and overview of TEAMSTEPPS

In this course, residents will learn about commonly used medications in the acute services where they work. They will get an introductory overview of the indications and uses of antidepressants, antipsychotics and mood stabilizers. This course will also review standards of care in treatment, informed consent regarding risks, benefits and alternatives of medications and risk management issues related to prescribing.  

This course covers the phenomenology, epidemiology and psychobiology of affective disorders. Treatment is reviewed from both psychotherapeutic and pharmacological perspectives.

This course covers the phenomenology, epidemiology and psychobiology of the anxiety disorders. Treatment approaches including psychopharmacology and psychotherapy are discussed.

(NYSPI) An introduction to the basics of risk assessment and management of acutely and chronically suicidal patients.

Using resources from the National Neuroscience Curriculum Initiative and current literature, this course reviews the structure and function of neural systems directly relevant to psychiatric disease.  Using interactive tools, residents will learn the function of key brain circuits, neurotransmitters and receptors, and their roles in major psychiatric diagnoses and treatments.  Neuroimaging modalities are also reviewed.

This course offers the junior resident an introduction to the basics of psychopharmacology, such as how to choose medications, dosing, assessment of side effects, and relevant laboratory tests. Emphasis will be placed on how to incorporate electronic resources such as Epocrates and Micromedex. Case based lectures on drug-drug interactions are included to solidify resident knowledge. It will cover Antidepressants, Antipsychotics, Medications for Substance use Disorders, and Anxiolytics. In a workshop format, residents will also learn about treatment algorithms for major psychiatric disorders. For a few sessions, senior residents take turns reviewing the most commonly used medications with the junior residents.

Through observed interviews and presentations, the clinical skills verification (CSV) provides an opportunity to ensure that residents master critical skills such as establishing an effective physician-patient relationship, conducting a clinical interview and presenting a case. This course reviews the process and expectations set by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology for CSVs in general psychiatry.  Also, residents are given an opportunity to practice skills at making clear, concise and accurate presentations during this class.

Normative child development is the focus of this introductory course prior to the start of formal 3rd year rotation in child psychiatry. Physical and neurological growth, attachment, cognition, language acquisition and psychosocial maturation are discussed in the context of current and historical theories.

Overview of salient issues in forensic psychiatry for psychiatric residents.

This course will focus on an overview of the role of genetics in psychiatry and mental health research.

Residents learn the foundations of patient safety initiatives, quality improvement strategies and their role as leaders in healthcare. Tools such as PDSA and A3 model will be introduced. The TEAMSTEPPS tools such as huddle, brief and debrief for effective team communication will be identified. They will assess their own clinical practices and the culture and practices of the systems in which they work. Incorporation of the Institute of Healthcare Innovations resources will bolster knowledge base of residents. QI tools such as the fishbone and process maps will organize their approach to areas for improvement.

These are the first in a series of lectures that cover topics related to the care of people with severe mental illness in community settings. Lectures include topics related to the concept of recovery as it applies to housing, benefits, vocational rehabilitation and systems of outpatient treatment. Residents will also learn about services for the home bound elderly. Residents will learn about forensic services such as CASES for court involved patients.

Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry deals primarily with the understanding and treatment of psychiatric problems in patients with other medical problems. The course will focus on four key topics that are important because of their acuity and generalizability: agitation, alcohol and sedative withdrawal syndromes, capacity to make decisions such as refusing treatment of release from the hospital, and psychotherapy with the medically ill. It will include a brief review of neurocognitive disorders due to medical conditions.

This is an introduction to cross cultural psychiatry. Topics covered include impact of language on evaluation and treatment, culture-specific syndromes, folk belief systems, and other issues that reflect the impact of culture on one's identity and on psychiatric illness. 

This course will introduce residents to the role of structural societal factors in the health of the population including health care disparities.

This course covers the pathophysiology, phenomenology, and treatment of late life neuropsychiatric disorders. The course focuses on common issues such as the diagnosis and management of memory disorders and late life depression. PGY 3 residents will present their cases from the Geriatrics rotation to highlight key aspects of psychopathology and treatment in this population.

Each week, residents will participate in an interview of an outpatient currently receiving services at Harlem Hospital. Residents will observe each other practicing different aspects of the psychiatric interview and will observe course director interview the patient at times.  During group discussion, important techniques will be highlighted and a review of the mental status observations will help reinforce basic knowledge of these subjects.

This course introduces junior residents to an overview of epidemiology, biological underpinnings, risk factors and basic neurobiology of affective disorders. Also includes a brief introduction to treatment.

During this introductory course, residents learn the foundations of Quality Improvement (QI) approaches within healthcare delivery.  They learn basic concepts critical to QI such as setting aims, establishing measures, and developing an intervention in order to change behavior and improve uptake of new evidence-based practices. 

This course will introduce the new resident to the history of the DSM, and overview of the diagnostic categories in the DSM V, including paraphilic disorders. Case vignettes and differential diagnosis will be discussed.

This is a weekly case-based discussion course designed to build on the basic knowledge of psychopharmacology gained through the Basic Psychopharmacology and Disorder-specific classes. Resident case presentations serve as springboards for teaching the evidence base and practical knowledge required for actively managing psychopharmacology patients.

This course deals with the theory, technique, and common indications and contraindications for ECT.

 (NYSPI) This course deals with the general principles of psychiatric ethics and professional behavior.

In this series of seminars residents learn to critically review the literature, conduct focused literature searches and develop skills in practice-based learning.

Junior residents will be oriented to community systems for addressing the needs of the severely mentally ill. This series of lectures will focus on fiscal and administrative systems and on the role of the psychiatrist in these systems.

This course provides an overview of legal issues as they relate to the practice of psychiatry. Included are discussions of civil commitment (including outpatient commitment), informed consent, decision-making competence, and the duty to protect potential victims of patients' violence. Principles underlying the evolution of the legal framework for psychiatric practice are emphasized.

According to the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), residents must “Practice cost-effective health care and resource allocation that does not compromise quality of care.”  This course is aimed to develop the knowledge, skills and attitudes critical to providing high-value, cost-effective care within psychiatry.

Topics to be discussed include how to identify a topic, how to frame a research question, identifying the study/control populations, determining when/if IRB approval is necessary.

Aspects of assessment of intelligence and cognitive functioning are discussed with attention paid to profiles of neuropsychological functioning in various psychiatric disorders. Residents will learn basics tools used in assessment and will learn how to read and interpret neuropsychological and achievement testing reports.

This course focuses on the hospital wide quality improvement initiative to improve patient experience. It is hands on, interactive. It emphasizes practical considerations for improving patient experience in department of psychiatry.   

Using videos of expert psychiatrists talking with their patients about initiating medication treatments, this course will provide a practicum in talking with patients about mechanism of action, side effects, risks, benefits and alternatives of psychopharmacological treatment.

This year-long course sections will include:

• Overview of Psychotherapies
• Supportive Psychotherapy
• Ego Function Assessment
• Thoughts, Feelings & Behaviors
• Principles of Learning and Behaviorism & Clinical Applications
• Group Therapy and Dynamics
• Psychotherapeutic Interventions for Patients with Substance Use Disorders
• Psychotherapeutic Interventions for Patients with Psychotic Disorders
• Psychotherapeutic Interventions for Patients with Depression & Suicidal Ideation
• Psychotherapeutic Interventions for Patients with Anxiety & PTSD
• Assessment & Psychotherapeutic Interventions for Patients with Trauma History
• Long Term Psychodynamic Case Presentation Course

Selected Descriptions

Supportive Psychotherapy, Introduction and Formulation

• The objective of this weekly seminar is to develop conceptual understanding and practical skills for beginning psychotherapists. The emphasis will be on supportive therapy approaches, cognitive behavioral approaches, psychodynamic approaches, but the seminar discussions will not be limited to them. The target goals of the seminar will be learning how to apply psychotherapy concepts and skills to all of your clinical encounters. The seminar will also promote and cultivate a professional psychotherapeutic attitude including: curiosity, empathy, compassion, honesty, authenticity, tolerance of ambiguity and conflict, and receptivity to the patient’s uniqueness and your attendant countertransference feelings.

Learning & Behavior Theory & Application to Clinical Work

• This course will introduce residents to learning theory and practical strategies such as use of rewards and behavior plans in providing effective interventions for their patients in acute care services.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for Anxiety and Mood Disorders

• This course provides a foundation in theoretical principles and clinical skills of cognitive behavioral therapy.

Dimensions of schizophrenia are reviewed in this course: symptomatology, diagnosis, and treatment. It will include overview of prognosis and the subjective experience, as well as the history and development of psychotic disorder classification. In addition, epidemiological and etiological studies, forensic and family studies, and the various treatment approaches are discussed. Particular attention is paid to current biological theories of both disease process and treatment.

This course provides an overview of basic sleep physiology for junior residents including circadian rhythms, stages of sleep and neuroscience of sleep and wakefulness. Diagnosis and treatment of sleep disorders such as insomnia and narcolepsy are discussed in an interactive format.

The purpose of this course is to provide a basic introduction to the statistical approaches that are commonly used in clinical and epidemiological research. The emphasis is on understanding which tests should be used to answer typical questions (e.g., a randomized clinical trial), rather than on the mechanics of how to do the calculations for those tests.

This course provides an overview of the major types of addiction, patterns of intoxication and withdrawal, and an introduction to treatment. This will include but not limited to Alcohol, Opioids, Stimulants, Psychedelic drugs, Sedative/hypnotics, Marijuana, Tobacco, Adolescent Substance use Disorders. Residents will present topics.

Provides residents with an introduction to teaching Columbia medical students psychiatry while rotating through the inpatient units and outpatient units at Harlem Hospital.

This course provides an introduction to the important skills for managing psychiatric emergencies and crisis situations. It includes an introduction to decision making regarding the pharmacologic management of acutely agitated patients. This course also includes assessment and management of suicidal behavior.

Using multimedia interactive web-based learning tools through the Vagelos Center for Practice Innovations (CPI), residents will learn about the importance of integrated treatment for patients with comorbid substance abuse and mental illness.  The common features of chemical dependency are described including the development of chemical dependency, its diagnosis and treatment. Assessment tools and strategies are discussed. Specific issues for the treatment of alcohol, cocaine, opiate and other drug abuse and dependence are discussed. Motivational enhancement skills are taught and reviewed. Residents will receive a certificate of completion of each of the FIT modules.

This is a review of the major emotional, behavioral, and developmental disturbances of childhood and adolescence, including mood and anxiety disorders, attention deficit disorder and conduct disorder. In addition, PGY 3 residents will present their year-long cases to highlight and discuss key aspects of child psychopathology and treatment. This course will also include sessions on family therapy.

This is an interactive course that offers senior residents skills for critical reading of scientific articles and reviewing the potential application to their own clinical work.

These quarterly meetings will address outpatient psychiatry clinical and administrative issues. Topics may include clinical-administrative topics involving clinic policies, documentation, coverage, and supervision. This course will also highlight clinic quality improvement projects and discuss strategies for effectively working in multidisciplinary teams.

This course will provide an overview of basics of cognitive neuroscience, introduce experimental concepts and provide overview of the various imaging modalities in the research field.

(NYSPI) This course will focus on the senior resident assessment of medically ill patients on the consultation-liaison service. It will focus on capacity and somatic symptom disorder.

This seminar provides clinical therapeutic and management techniques for treating the difficult-to-manage patient and reducing self-injurious behavior.

(NYSPI) This course covers the phenomenology, epidemiology, neurobiology and treatment of eating disorders.

(NYSPI) This course deals with the ethics of conducting psychiatric research including issues related to consent, confidentiality and justice.

This session will focus on the evaluation of a court involved individual from a neuropsychological perspective.

This course covers the pathophysiology, phenomenology, and treatment of late life neuropsychiatric disorders. The course focuses on common issues such as the diagnosis and management of memory disorders and late life depression. PGY 3 residents will present their cases from the Geriatrics rotation to highlight key aspects of psychopathology and treatment in this population.

This course introduces residents to the use of standardized assessment tools that can aid in the diagnosis and treatment of psychiatric disorders.

Aspects of assessment of intelligence and cognitive functioning are discussed with attention paid to profiles of neuropsychological functioning in various psychiatric disorders. Residents will learn basics tools used in assessment and will learn how to read and interpret neuropsychological and achievement testing reports.

In the adult outpatient clinic, weekly case conferences are held, at times with a faculty/guest consultant. Residents write up and present cases of ongoing treatments to the clinic’s multidisciplinary team. The goal is to enhance critical thinking, presentation, diagnosis and multifaceted treatment.

Residents will learn to critically review the literature and how to identify studies that relate to their patients.

This year long course's section include:

• Developmental Theory
• Beginning Psychotherapy: Indications for Psychotherapy, Therapeutic Frame & Supportive Techniques
• Overview of Psychodynamic Theories/Models of the Mind
• The Psychodynamic Structural Interview & Assessment
• Treatment of Patients with Traumatic Stress
• Family Therapy
• Mindfulness Based Techniques
• Transference Focused Psychotherapy  (NYSPI)
• Introduction to Psychodynamics  (NYSPI)
• Manualized Group Psychotherapy
• Psychotherapy Documentation Class
•  Case Formulation
• Understanding Non-Traditional Coping Mechanisms in Clinical Settings
• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for Anxiety and Mood Disorders
• Long Term Psychodynamic Case Presentation Course
• Selected descriptions:

Overview of Psychodynamic Theories/Models of the Mind

• This section introduces three basic psychodynamic models – ego psychology, object relations theory and self-psychology and reviews indications for psychodynamic psychotherapy.

Beginning Psychotherapy – Indications for Psychotherapy, Therapeutic Frame & Supportive Techniques

• This course teaches residents an integrated approach to psychodynamic psychotherapy that incorporates both uncovering and supporting techniques. Topics include working with affect, resistance, transference, countertransference, working through and termination.

Case Formulation

• This course teaches residents how to formulate a case, with attention to temperament, trauma, development of the self, pre-oedipal and oedipal development, as well as issues related to latency and young adulthood. At the end of the course, residents write a psychodynamic formulation.

The Psychodynamic Structural Interview & Assessment

• This course focuses on the structural assessment, character diagnosis and personality styles.  

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for Anxiety and Mood Disorders

• This course provides a foundation in theoretical principles and clinical skills of cognitive behavioral therapy. The course is supplemented with individual supervision in CBT.

Treatment of Patients with Traumatic Stress

• The assessment and treatment of patients who have sustained physical/ sexual abuse, the witnessing of violence, and other traumatic events is discussed. The course covers epidemiology, neurobiology, differential diagnosis, treatment techniques, and clinical case examples.

Long Term Psychodynamic Case Presentation Course

• Trainees will present their long-term psychotherapy case write ups describing the treatment and response. Process notes are used to enhance the detail provided in the presentation. At the end of the program year, each psychology extern and senior psychiatry resident is expected to present one of their long-term psychotherapy cases. The process of writing and presenting this case will reinforce key psychotherapy concepts taught in didactics.

This course will introduce residents to the diagnostic interview using a semi-structured research instrument, the SCID. The course includes:

• Psychopharmacology Review
• Psychopharmacology of Anxiety Disorders
• Psychopharmacology of Depression and Bipolar Disorder
• Pharmacology of Substance Use Disorders

This is a consolidated refresher course to review basic concepts in the practice of psychopharmacology.

Residents learn the foundations of QI and assess their own clinical practices and the culture and practices of the systems in which they work. As a group, residents develop and implement at least one QI project.  Residents review progress in implementation and refine their proposed interventions.  

According to the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), residents must “Practice cost-effective health care and resource allocation that does not compromise quality of care.”  This course is aimed to develop the knowledge, skills and attitudes critical to providing high-value, cost-effective care within psychiatry.

(NYSPI) This course presents selected topics in human sexuality -- sexuality during the life cycle, the development of gender identity and sexual orientation, sex and the family including incest, pornography and paraphilias, and sexuality in older years and in the presence of physical illness.  The course also covers common female and male sexual dysfunctions and up-to-date treatment modalities for these disorders. It takes an interdisciplinary approach that includes guest lecturers with different perspectives on therapy, i.e., behavioral, psychodynamic, and group therapy. Topics include current areas of particular interest, such as rape, AIDS, and bisexuality.

This senior resident course provides an overview of basic sleep physiology including circadian rhythms, stages of sleep and neuroscience of sleep and wakefulness. Diagnosis and treatment of sleep disorders such as insomnia, and narcolepsy discussed in an interactive format. This course also includes extensive discussion of use of CBT and pharmacological agents to treat sleep disorders.

Residents will understand the issues involved with providing care via telepsychiatry including the legal and ethical issues involved in its use.

This course introduces mental health in the context of the female reproductive life cycle, and covers core concepts in the management of antenatal and postpartum depression, bipolar disorder and anxiety disorders, as well as perimenopausal depression, PMDD, and issues related to infertility and pregnancy loss.

This course will focus on reviewing the structure of the ABPN Board Certification exam in psychiatry and neurology including vignettes. Residents will be oriented to the ABPN website and updated on the new Maintenance of Certification requirements.

This course reviews advanced topics in psychopharmacology such as managing treatment resistance and use of third- and fourth-line agents, as well as management of more complex illnesses without clear treatment guidelines such as rapid cycling bipolar disorder.

This course will discuss the psychobiology of early attachment and neurobiology of early personality organizations. It will discuss fear pathways and impact of severe stress on early brain development, attachment and emotions.

This two-session course will focus on key elements of writing a curriculum vitae. After the second session, residents will present their curriculum vitae for review and feedback.

The American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) Program requires diplomates to develop quality improvement programs based on their clinical practice. The goal is for diplomates to reflect on their own performance and commit to a process of improvement and reevaluation that will ultimately lead to improved patient care.  In this course, residents participate in individualized QI projects based upon MOC guidelines in order build critical independent learning and QI skills.