RESEARCH

The Department of Psychiatry values research as the foundation for improving the quality of clinical care. Research is essential for determining the efficacy of methods of care and for disseminating these methods to the larger professional community. The Department has developed a center for research initiatives in clinical psychiatry, including health services, clinical trials, quality improvement, and multicultural research.

Residents are encouraged to join in ongoing research in any of these areas or to develop their own projects. Residents may choose to pursue research intensively in their final year of training. Recent examples of our Residents' research projects include mindful meditation group therapy for psychosomatic disorders, acupuncture for anxiety, family interventions in early onset schizophrenia, mother-infant attachment studies, forensic research at the Maudsley Hospital in London, neuroimaging in patients with addictions, clinical drug trials, and a NIH funded naturalistic study of treatment outcomes in patients with bipolar disorder. Residents have also participated in studies of the treatment of obesity, metabolic effects of antipsychotic medications, and outcome studies for the treatment of victims of violence. Residents receive a yearly educational stipend to help defray the cost of attending conferences and other educational activities.