Columbia Psychiatry Referral Line

Columbia Psychiatry at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital offers a large number and diverse range of mental health services for both children and adults. These include a variety of inpatient and outpatient psychiatric clinics and programs, treatment in state-of-the art research protocols offered at no cost, as well as an array of outstanding clinicians on Columbia's faculty available in private practice offices for treatment, consultations and second opinions. The Department of Psychiatry provides Telephone Referral Service to help individuals obtain the services best suited to their particular needs. The Referral Services is staffed by clinical psychologists at a dedicated call-center at our campus, who consult over the telephone in order to facilitate a referral to an appropriate clinic, program, or private clinician. Psychiatrists also assist the referral line in evaluating complex situations and arranging for consultations and second opinions.

Availability

The Telephone Referral Service phone line – (212) 305-6001 – is on 24-hours daily. A clinical psychologist answers the phone during regular working hours, Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. At other times, an answering service takes messages for the next working day. In an emergency, the answering service will contact a psychiatrist on-call to provide a brief telephone consultation. The service is intended to answer questions and provide information to patients, their medical or psychiatric services providers, and/or concerned family members or friends.

Evaluation Process

The purpose of the intake evaluation is to obtain the essential clinical information needed to facilitate an appropriate referral. It will typically review current symptomatology, any previous diagnosis, potential for violence or suicidality, history of substance abuse, relevant medical problems, current medications, and history of previous psychiatric treatment. Financial information regarding insurance and personal resources will also be obtained to assist in making a referral that will suit each patient's circumstances.

Crisis Calls

Following the telephone evaluation by one of our psychologists, individuals in crisis can be given appointments within 24-48 hours at the Hospital's Crisis Service at the Intensive Outpatient Program. Patients may also be directed either to walk-in psychiatry clinics or emergency rooms within the community when appropriate. At night and on weekends, callers in crisis may be be directed to an emergency room or put in contact with an on-call psychiatrist. For inpatient referrals, callers will be connected to our inpatient admission service, (212) 305-2599.

Referral and Scheduling Procedure

The clinical psychologist at the Telephone Referral Service is able to directly schedule appointments for some of the hospital's clinics. In other cases, callers will be given the phone number of a clinic or program that best suits their needs, and asked to call directly to schedule a first visit. If a caller wishes to receive evaluation, consultation, or treatment from a clinician on our faculty in a private office setting, the Telephone Referral Service psychologist will conduct a brief evaluation to determine the nature of the problem and then locate a faculty member with the appropriate training and expertise. The Telephone Referral Service psychologist will call back promptly with a referral, who the patient will then contact directly.