Goals and Objectives

Goals and Objectives: General Adult Psychiatry Clinics

The General Adult Psychiatry Clinics provide diagnostic evaluation and treatment for a range of psychiatric disorders in adults, including bipolar and unipolar affective disorders, anxiety disorders, adjustment disorders, attentional disorders, personality disorders and some psychotic disorders. We provide medication management and limited psychotherapy, but can refer within the clinic for short and long term psychotherapy and neuropsychiatric testing. We collaborate with primary care providers in the evaluation and treatment of medical problems which may intersect with psychiatric presentations, such as sleep disorders, some cortical and subcortical dementias which are comorbid with affective disorders, and the common renal, thyroid, hematologic and hepatic consequences of medications commonly used in psychiatric practice.

At the end of the twelve-month rotation, the resident will have acquired:

KNOWLEDGE of

the various presentations of depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorders and adjustment disorders and other disorders mentioned above, and how to differentiate among them.
the pharmacologic management of these disorders, and the complications attendant to the use of SSRI's TCA's, MAOI's, mood stabilizers, stimulants, and atypical antipsychotics
the treatment of refractory mood and anxiety disorders
the types of psychotherapy, and their indications, which are effective in managing the problems seen in a general psychiatry clinic.

SKILLS:

the ability to complete a thorough general psychiatric diagnostic assessment
the ability to formulate a case, integrating biological, psychological, and social issues
the ability to generate and carry out a plan of care, including pharmacological, psychological and social interventions
the ability to identify issues and patterns better approached by psychotherapy than by medication
the ability to educate patients and their families, and to create a collaborative relationship with patients

ATTITUDES:

respect for patient autonomy and choice
understanding of the stresses involved in having a chronic psychiatric illness
willingness to seek supervision for psychotherapeutic and pharmacologic assessments and interventions