Exceptional education, innovative research.

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Guided by our patients-first credo, the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine is committed to compassionate patient care, exceptional education and advancements in mental health research.

About Us

What We Do

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Education

Our faculty are training the future leaders of behavioral sciences through residency, fellowship and degree programs. 

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Research

Featuring nationally recognized initiatives, our research investigates underlying mechanisms of psychiatric disorders, innovations in treatment and barriers to services.

BROWSE OUR INITIATIVES
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Our Divisions

Our divisions and associated faculty provide specialized training, research and patient care across the many areas within our comprehensive field. Our faculty members are committed to helping students and trainees develop specialized professional skills, while serving diverse patient populations at our affiliated care sites and hospitals.

Areas of Expertise  Patient Care

Faculty Spotlight

Sandra Weintraub, PhD, APBB headshot

Sandra Weintraub, PhD, APBB sat down with CBS news to shed light on Wendy Williams' recent dementia-linked diagnoses, and underscore how medical providers often initially miss these conditions. View her interview here.

Dr. Weintraub's research focuses on different cognitive aging trajectories and how they relate to age-related changes in the brain. She has developed cognitive testing instruments that are used throughout the NIH Alzheimer's Disease Research Centers Program and also led the Cognition domain team for the NIH Toolbox for Neurological and Behavioral Assessment, an NIH Blueprint project that provides common instruments for researchers to use across disparate studies.

 

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Michael Brook, PhD, ABPP

On December 12, 2023 Northwestern Medicine’s Isaac Ray Research Program in Behavioral Sciences and the Law and the Illinois Academy of Criminology co-sponsored a half-day symposium titled “Mass Attacks in the United States: What Do We Know and Where Do We Go From Here?”

Led by Dr. Brook who directs the Isaac Ray Research Program in Behavioral Sciences and the Law at Northwestern Medicine, and co-directs the Forensic Psychology and Neuropsychology Laboratory within the clinical psychology graduate program, the event featured expert talks on the state of behavioral science regarding the known risk factors for mass attacks in public spaces, followed by a panel discussion of implications for research, intervention, policy, and the criminal justice system.

Visit the Isaac Ray Research Program's webpage to learn more about this event.

Ashley A. Knapp, MA, PhD headshot

Ashley A. Knapp, MA, PhD

Social media has infiltrated our society more quickly than any other technological advancement. Kids today have access to endless content and social connections by way of the internet than the generations before them. In this 360 Perspective episode of Science Rehashed, Dr. Ashley Knapp explores the issues surrounding social media and mental health, telling us about the digital tools her team is developing for youth to combat anxiety and how we can make these tools accessible and effective for all.

Check out this podcast on Spotify - Social media: the good, the bad, and the hopeful

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Veronika Hanko, MD

Dr. Hanko is an Instructor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. She recently completed her fellowship in Consultation-Liason Psychiatry here at Northwestern and is clinically active on the C/L service. Her current research projects include seeking ways to improve access to medical care and substance use treatment for medical inpatients with hepatitis C and HIV. Other clinical interests include management of depression in the medically ill, substance use disorders, functional neurological disorders, and somatoform disorders. Dr. Hanko is actively involved in medical education and looks forward to her new role as Associate Psychiatry Clerkship Director.   

Inger E. Burnett-Zeigler, PhD headshot

Inger E. Burnett-Zeigler, PhD

Dr. Burnett-Zeigler’s research focuses on examining the factors associated with mental health service utilization. She is specifically interested in attitudes and beliefs about mental health, access to mental health treatment, engagement in mental health treatment, and barriers to mental health treatment among disadvantaged populations including racial/ethnic minorities and those with low income, limited education, and limited access to resources. She is currently the Principal Investigator for the "Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction for Depressed Women in a Federally Qualified Health Center" study which examines the acceptability and preliminary efficacy of a mindfulness based treatment for depression delivered to women in a community primary care setting.

Evan Goulding, MD, PhD headshot

Evan Goulding, MD, PhD

Dr. Goulding’s clinical research uses smartphones to increase access to strategies that enhance bipolar disorder self-management and provider intervention. At the same time, smartphones allow collection of self-report and behavioral data to create a database for use in improving understanding and treatment of bipolar disorder. His basic research utilizes automated mouse home cage monitoring to elucidate how atypical antipsychotics, that are increasingly used to treat bipolar disorder, alter daily behavioral patterns (e.g. activity, sleep, location). By quantitatively assessing similar behavioral patterns in both humans and mice, Dr. Goulding’s work aims to more effectively translate findings between animal and human research in bipolar disorder.

Newly Published: Effects of a Smartphone-Based Self-management Intervention for Individuals With Bipolar Disorder on Relapse, Symptom Burden, and Quality of Life A Randomized Clinical Trial

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