Adult Section Programs

The general clinics are primarily for evaluation of new patients with undiagnosed psychiatric disorders. It is used as an entry into the system and as one of the primary teaching services for the resident psychiatrist and medical students. Patients are evaluated in this program and will continue in the clinic for ongoing medication management and/or be referred to a specialty clinic or individual for additional therapies to treat the identified problems, for example, individual psychotherapy or group therapy.

The Adult Anxiety Clinic specializes in the evaluation, diagnosis, and treatment of adults with different types of anxiety disorders. A multidisciplinary team lead by a psychologist and psychiatrist reviews all cases in the clinic and provides integrated evidence-based treatment including medication management and cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy. The clinic is conducted in an outpatient setting but inpatient or more intensive treatment is arranged if necessary. Clinicians in this program have experience working with panic disorder, social anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, generalized anxiety and worry, phobias and trauma. In addition, co-occurring disorders (e.g. depression, interpersonal problems) are also evaluated and treated. Cognitive-behavioral therapy involves multiple interventions such as education, self-monitoring, cognitive restructuring, exposure, response prevention, and relaxation. Medications are prescribed as appropriate and all providers work closely together to develop and execute an individualized treatment plan for each patient.

 

Recent research suggests that CBT is a highly effective treatment for many psychiatric diagnoses and medical conditions (e.g. depression, anxiety, health problems, etc.) The basic premise of CBT suggests that the way we think about something influences the way we feel and behave. Thus, if we aim to change distorted or dysfunctional thinking patterns, we will experience improvement in negative emotions, maladaptive behaviors, and other related problems.

In general, CBT is a short-term, focused, goal-oriented type of treatment that requires collaboration between patient and therapist. A thorough initial evaluation is conducted to assess and measure symptoms, identify problems, and determine treatment goals. Ongoing assessment during the course of treatment is utilized to measure improvement and to amend the treatment plan as necessary. Each session is focused on learning new skills and patients will be given many "homework assignments" to utilize these strategies in their daily life. Cognitive-behavioral interventions include but are not limited to education, self-monitoring, cognitive restructuring, relaxation, exposure, emotion regulation, interpersonal effectiveness, and stress management. Patient motivation and feedback are important in the success of CBT. While it requires a great deal of effort and hard work, the gains can be extraordinary and the skills are associated with improvement and prevention of relapse.

The CBT program at the University of Chicago provides assessment, diagnosis and empirically supported treatment for different disorders in adults. Treatment is provided by licensed clinicians and advanced trainees who have specialized training in CBT. If appropriate, referrals for medication are made and all providers work closely together to coordinate individualized care.

 

Patients who are hospitalized for a medical or surgical illness frequently experience emotional distress. This distress can add significantly to the patient's illness burden and impede recovery. Additionally, patients with pre-existing psychiatric illness may experience increased morbidity during an acute illness. The Consult-Liaison Psychiatry Service provides bedside evaluation and management of all medically ill hospitalized patients at the request of their primary physicians. The multidisciplinary C/L team is comprised of two attending psychiatrists (Drs. Tobin and Marcangelo) with certification in psychosomatic medicine, residents, medical students, and a social worker.

For outpatients with comorbid medical illnesses, two specialty programs exist in Transplant Psychiatry and Psychooncology. Dr. Michael Marcangelo runs the program in Transplant Psychiatry with one specialty outpatient clinic, liaison to liver, lung and cardiac teams. Dr. Tobin working with psychologist Amy Siston, Ph.D. provides psychosocial services to inpatient and outpatient cancer patients. Psychiatric consultation is also provided on a 24-hour basis to patients who present with psychiatric symptoms to the Emergency Rooms at the Medical Center.

Welcome to The University of Chicago Eating Disorders Program

Founded in 1998 by Dr. Daniel Le Grange and now under the leadership of Dr. Jennifer Wildes, The University of Chicago Eating Disorders Program is recognized internationally as a leader in eating disorders treatment and research. Our comprehensive outpatient program provides state-of-the-art assessment and treatment services to children, adolescents, and adults with a broad range of eating- and weight-related problems. These include:

• Anorexia nervosa
• Bulimia nervosa
• Binge eating disorder
• Avoidant restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID)
• Purging disorder
• Atypical eating disorders
• Bariatric surgery candidates

Meet our Team

Eating disorders require an interdisciplinary approach to treatment. Our team includes therapists, psychiatrists, and medical staff who work together to provide individualized patient care informed by the latest advances in eating disorders research.

Team Members

Clinical Services

The University of Chicago Eating Disorders Program provides comprehensive outpatient services to children, adolescents, and adults with eating disorders. Services include:

• Diagnostic evaluations
• Individual and/or family therapy
• Parent participation in the treatment of children and adolescents
• Medication consultations and management

To learn more about our clinical services, click here.

Research Program

Researchers affiliated with The University of Chicago Eating Disorders Program conduct studies to help improve our understanding of eating disorders and their treatment.  To learn more about our ongoing studies, click here.

Education and Training

The University of Chicago Eating Disorders Program provides a variety of clinical training opportunities through the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience. To learn more, please visit the Department’s education page at, click here.

The program also provides opportunities for research training including an NIMH-funded postdoctoral fellowship in eating disorders research (T32 MH082761) and volunteer positions for undergraduate and graduate students. To learn more, please contact the Director, Dr. Jennifer Wildes, at jwildes@uchicago.edu.

Appointments and Contact Information

For information about The University of Chicago Eating Disorders Program or to schedule an assessment, please contact Carolina Anaya at (773) 834-0362. 

Map

• Directions to the University of Chicago Eating Disorders Program

EATING DISORDERS LINKS

• More Information About Eating Disorders
• Academy for Eating Disorders
• NEDA
• Binge Eating Disorder Association (http://bedaonline.com/)
• Maudsleyparents.org
• University of Chicago Children's Hospital Site
• Visit our program on Facebook
• Follow our program on Twitter

The Geropsychiatry Program specializes in the evaluation and treatment of older adults. The clinicians in the program conduct comprehensive psychiatric evaluations and develop individualized treatment plans based on current, evidenced-based therapies. All the common psychiatric problems in the elderly, including memory problems, depression, anxiety, sleep disturbance, substance use disorders, sleep disorders, and others, are assessed in a complete biopsychosocial manner. The Program is largely carried out in the outpatient setting, but inpatient hospitalization is available if appropriate. A full array of ancillary medical and neurological assessments is available where necessary. Treatment services include pharmacologic therapy, electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) as well as individual and family therapy.

 

The group program currently offers both time-limited and ongoing groups. Inquiries about availability or referral should be sent to the faculty or staff member listed.  As of December 2020, groups are:

 

Group              Pain Management

Description:       Teaches cognitive and behavioral strategies for managing chronic pain, and provides space for people living with pain conditions to support one another.  

Length:              1 hr per week for 8 weeks

Facilitator:          Nancy Beckman, Ph.D.

 

Group              Grief support groups

Description:        Open to all UC Medicine patients whose insurances are accepted by the dept. of psychiatry. Referrals should be sent through EPIC to the grief support group or by emailing Dr. Araujo.

Length:

Facilitator:         Fabiana Araujo, Ph.D.

 

Group             Stress and Coping

Description:        In this group, skills to cope with stress and challenges are taught. There is focus on a different topic every week, e.g. emotional awareness, mindfulness, and sleep hygiene. 

Length:              1hr per week for 5 weeks

Facilitator:         Gillian Kerns, LCSW

 

Group             Courage to Quit® tobacco cessation

Description:        For UCM patients aged 18+ who want to learn how to quit or reduce tobacco use and lead a healthy life with support, education on medications to quit smoking, and feedback. This is a virtual, rolling group format (patients can join anytime). Patients encouraged to attend one of the groups weekly for at least four groups to receive the full content.  Accepts Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurance in-network with the Department of Psychiatry. 

Length:           Attending four consecutively is encouraged to receive the full content

Facilitator:        Daniel Fridberg, PhD, Anne Roupas, LCSW, and Ethan Israelsohn, LCSW

 

The Neuropsychiatry Clinic offers diagnostic evaluation, treatment planning, referral and pharmacologic therapy for adults with psychiatric difficulties and co-existing neurological conditions including demyelinating diseases, encephalitis, movement disorders, neurodegenerative disorders, seizures, stroke, and traumatic brain injury.  Such conditions may be associated with psychological or behavioral symptoms such as aggression, mania, anxiety, obsessions, compulsions, psychosis, depression, and self-injurious behaviors.

The Neuropsychiatric Consultation Service provides inpatient psychiatric consultation to patients admitted to Neurology or Neurosurgery services.

The Neuropsychological Service provides comprehensive assessment services for geriatric, adult and pediatric patients with evident or suspected cognitive or neuropsychiatric impairments.

Neuropsychological assessment involves a systematic evaluation of higher cognitive abilities, such as intelligence, academic skill, memory, language, attention, problem-solving abilities, and visual-motor skills as well as sensorimotor function and personality. Assessments can also assist family members or caregivers in making decisions about the person's independence, ability to work, rehabilitation potential, school placements or interventions, and other issues.

A comprehensive report summarizing our findings, including recommendations for potential treatments and the likely consequences of the patient's difficulties in daily functioning, is prepared for the referring physician. A feedback session with the patient and family can also be provided.

The Neuropsychological Service provides assessment and treatment recommendations for the follow conditions among others: suspected memory problems; cognitive and emotional effects of various neurological conditions such as, Alzheimer's disease, stroke, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis (MS), brain tumors and Parkinson's disease; effects of traumatic brain injury, differential diagnosis of dementia, alteration os mental status associated with medical conditions, attention-deficit disorders, learning and developmental disorders and various psychiatric diagnosis.

 

What is obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)?
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is characterized by two major elements that are related to each other: obsessions and compulsions.

Obsessions are intrusive and unwanted thoughts, images, or impulses that cause distress. Individuals with OCD view obsessions as inconsistent with their sense of self and the type of content they wish to have on their mind. For example, a common type of obsession involves taboo thoughts, such as unwanted and upsetting thoughts of stabbing a loved one. Another common example includes thoughts about getting dirty and contaminated and spreading dirtiness to others.

Common themes of obsessions include the following:

• Fear of physical or mental/emotional contamination
• Desire for symmetry and exactness
• Needing a “just right” feeling
• Fear of harming one’s self or others
• Concerns of sexual orientation or about having sexual thoughts
• Hoarding/saving obsessions
• Scrupulosity and being a good/moral person
• Preoccupation with physical health
• Having a strong preference or strong dislike of certain words, numbers, or colors.

OCD is also defined by compulsions (also called safety behaviors or rituals), which are repetitive behaviors that are aimed to “undo” or neutralize the obsessive thoughts and reduce distress from the obsessions. For example, if an individual with OCD has distress from an obsession about being dirty from touching a doorknob, they might wash their hands as a compulsion. Compulsions can be performed physical or mentally and can include the addition of behaviors (rituals) or subtraction of behaviors (avoidance and escape).

Common themes of compulsions include the following: 

• Repeating behaviors (flipping light switches, touching and tapping)
• Lining up, straightening, fixing 
• Excessive or ritualized washing, cleaning, and sanitizing one’s body or objects
• Attempting to “undo” a thought
• Excessive reassurance-seeking (asking others if something is okay or safe)
• Checking behaviors (making sure the stove is turned off, checking if the door is locked, making sure someone isn’t hurt)
• Excessive or ritualized praying, counting, mantras, and other verbalizations (this can be aloud or not aloud)
• Avoidance of triggering situations, places, people, or things. 

Both obsessions and compulsions cause significant distress and functional impairment. They often require expert treatment.

What are obsessive-compulsive and related disorders (OCRDs)?
OCRDs are a family of conditions with common biological, psychological, and behavioral features and mechanisms, as well as shared genetics and treatment response. Although there is not a definitive list of OCRDs, common ones include obsessive-compulsive disorder, body dysmorphic disorder, hoarding disorder, body-focused repetitive behaviors (e.g., skin picking and hair pulling), tics and Tourette’s disorder, obsessive-compulsive personality disorder, perfectionism, and illness anxiety disorder (formerly hypochondriasis). OCRDs also share many similarities with other families of conditions, such as anxiety disorders, autism spectrum disorder, impulse control disorders (e.g., gambling, addiction), and eating disorders.

What are body-focused repetitive behaviors (BFRBs)?
Trichotillomania (hair pulling disorder) and excoriation disorder (skin picking disorder or dermatillomania) are two types of BFRBs. Trichotillomania refers to the repetitive, uncontrollable pulling of hair from one’s body, and excoriation disorder is the recurrent, uncontrollable picking of one’s skin.  Both disorders result in significant physical damage and emotional distress, as the behaviors are often difficult to curtail.

What is hoarding disorder?
Hoarding is characterized by a difficulty discarding one’s belongings—irrespective of their value—because of the distress from doing so and the perceived need to save them. For example, individuals with hoarding might save newspapers from decades ago, empty bottles, or other items others might consider of little worth. Much of the time, hoarding presents with too much acquiring behavior, such as buying new items or saving mail. The difficulty discarding (and, when present, acquiring behaviors) causes considerable clutter to the extent that areas of the home cannot be used for their intended function (e.g., using the kitchen to cook). Clutter and hoarding cause considerable distress and impairment to the individual with hoarding, loved ones, neighbors, and/or community members (e.g., emergency responders).

How are OCRDs treated at the University of Chicago?
In the Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders (OCRDs) Clinic, we provide evidence-based treatment for adolescents and adults with the full range of OCRDs. We offer medication consultation and management, as well as gold standard, empirically supported cognitive-behavioral interventions. This includes strategies such as exposure and response prevention for OCD, habit reversal training and other behavioral approaches for BFRBs and tics/Tourette’s disorder, and specific cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) protocols for hoarding disorder, body dysmorphic disorder, perfectionism, and other related conditions. We also complement gold-standard CBT protocols with other techniques as needed to address co-occurring conditions. Examples include stimulus control and situation selection strategies, contingency management, motivational interviewing, emotion regulation and distress tolerance skill development, social skills and assertion training, metacognitive and cognitive restructuring, acceptance-based strategies, and behavior activation.

During an initial evaluation, we aim to assess symptom presentation, treatment goals, and the level of treatment appropriate for each person.  We offer treatment ranging from sessions once per week to daily, intensive treatment. 

How do I learn more information about being treated through the OCRDs Clinic at the University of Chicago?
We accept many insurances, including traditional Medicare and some Medicaid plans.   If you’re interested in learning more about the services offered through the OCRDs Clinic at the University of Chicago, or if you would like insurance verification, please contact the department’s intake office (773-702-3858).

Additional Information:

• https://iocdf.org/
• http://www.bfrb.org/
• https://acid.uchicago.edu/page/clinical-treatment

 

The Personality Disorders Clinic is designed to provide evaluation and treatment services to adults with a personality disorder. Personality disorder remains poorly understood by medical science and is often inappropriately stigmatized by clinicians and laypersons. Because personality disorder usually is diagnosed along with other disorders such as PTSD and depression, treatment is not focused exclusively on personality disorder. Dr. Lee's research program is on the co-occurrence of trauma and personality disorder, as this co-occurrence seems to be associated with more severe symptoms and diminished response to psychiatric medications. Although not a research clinic, an emphasis is made on up-to-date clinical care based on an evolving scientific understanding of personality disorder.

 

The Psychiatry and Law Program provides clinical evaluation and record review for a wide variety of legal and insurance issues. The clinicians in the program (psychiatrists and psychologists) work as expert witnesses and consult to attorneys in cases where psychiatric issues are raised. This may be in the setting of criminal cases to address questions such as fitness to stand trial, state of mind at the time of the crime, or mitigating circumstances in sentencing. Civil issues include medical malpractice; personal injury with allegations of mental health injuries; decision-making capacity, competence, and guardianship; and fitness for duty or other independent medical evaluations for legal or insurance purposes.

 

The Psycho-Oncology Clinic at the University of Chicago provides evaluation, treatment, and referral for patients who develop psychiatric symptoms in the context of co-morbid cancer diagnosis or treatment. Referrals are accepted from all providers of cancer care to patients receiving cancer services at the University of Chicago. Pharmacological, psychological and social treatments are available for patients with mood and anxiety disorders, psychosis and neurocognitive effects of treatment.

 

The Refractory Psychosis Program provides consultation to individuals and programs seeking recommendations for management and treatment of psychotic disorders, like schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorders, resistant to treatment. The program also offers ongoing medication management for patients with psychotic disorders who do not need a system of care to provide psychosocial rehabilitation. Diagnostic procedures like neuropsychological testing, brain imaging, and blood tests may be part of the evaluation.

 

Courage to Quit® tobacco cessation groups are offered, Mondays 12-1pm, Wednesdays 12-1pm, Thursdays 11a-12p, or Fridays at 11a-12p by Zoom.  This is a virtual, rolling group format (patients can join anytime). Patients encouraged to attend one of the groups weekly for at least four groups to receive the full content.

Groups are for UCM patients aged 18+ who want to learn how to quit or reduce tobacco use and lead a healthy life with support, education on medications to quit smoking, and feedback. Groups are led by Daniel Fridberg, PhD and Anne Roupas, LCSW under the direction of Dr. Andrea King

We accept Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurance in-network with the Department of Psychiatry.  To get scheduled please contact Psychiatry Intake at 773.702.3858

 

The substance use and addictive behaviors program at the University of Chicago offers a wide range of treatment services for substance use, compulsive, and impulse control disorders. We provide state of the art assessment and treatment of substance use (alcohol, drugs), tobacco use (smoking cessation), and impulsive behavior (gambling, trichotillomania, skin picking, sexual addiction, and kleptomania). The length and type of treatment are based on the needs of the client, and both psychotherapy and medication management services are available. Our goals are flexible and may include helping a client to achieve sobriety, prevent relapse, manage stress, identify triggers and high-risk situations, learn new coping skills, and become familiar with local support groups.

Appointments may be scheduled between 9:00 am and 5:00 pm Monday through Friday. To schedule an appointment, please contact intake services at 773-702-3858.

 

The Transplant Clinic is designed for patients who are receiving solid organ transplants here at the University of Chicago Hospitals. Patients receive pre-transplant assessments as part of their overall evaluation for transplant, psychiatric care while waiting for a transplant, and ongoing medication management after transplant. The clinic focus is on mood disorders, anxiety disorders, and substance use disorders, but comprehensive care for all psychiatric disorders in the transplant patient is provided. Patients include liver, lung, heart, and kidney transplant candidates and recipients.

 

This program serves as a secondary and tertiary care resource for Treatment Resistant Mood Disorders (TRMD). The program offers a comprehensive evaluation and therapies targeting those who have not responded to more than one preceding trial of antidepressants and/or mood stabilizers. Patients referred for ECT would almost always fit in this category. Therapies include medication management, cognitive behavioral therapy, ECT and recommendations for other therapies not currently available at the UCMC, like transcranial magnetic stimulation or deep brain stimulation.