Our Goals and Objectives
The goals of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences of Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine are to deliver innovative and personalized care to our patients, train the next generation of leaders in psychiatry, psychology and other mental health disciplines, and to improve our understanding of the biopsychosocial causes of psychiatric disorders.
Our clinical programs emphasize expert diagnosis, early intervention, continuity of care, and access to new therapies and clinical research protocols. We strive to deliver individualized care in the context of disease-specific programs. Each program is led by a faculty member who is expert in the area, and also directs a related clinical or translational research program. We offer a wide array of clinical services, including inpatient and outpatient treatment programs. However, as critical supplements to these core programs, we offer structured psychotherapy programs, specialized care for patients who are refractory to conventional treatments, and emergency housing.
The Department’s educational programs include courses and clinical rotations in undergraduate medical education, predoctoral internship and post-doctoral fellowship programs in clinical psychology, a PhD program in clinical psychology, a residency program in adult psychiatry, clinical fellowships in Child, Geriatric and Addiction Psychiatry, research fellowships, and continuing education for practicing mental health professionals. One of the major objectives of our residency and fellowship training programs is to develop academicians, many of whom will elect to stay in the Department as they further develop their careers.
The Department features several nationally recognized research programs. These research programs conduct basic, translational and clinical research. Areas of special emphasis include neuroimaging, genetics, and psychotherapies specially designed to impact neurobiological processes. The objectives of our research programs are to improve our ability to diagnose psychiatric disorders early in their course, when the possibility of recovery is greatest, and to develop disease-altering treatments.