Department of Psychiatry

In addition to its clinical services, the Columbia Department of Psychiatry runs over a dozen Research Clinics. Most of the Research Clinics are located in the New York State Psychiatric Institute, but others are located at various hospital and community sites. These clinics provide treatment for a wide range of psychiatric disorders in adults, children, and the elderly in the context of specialized research projects. These may include comprehensive evaluations, psychotherapy, and medication treatment, as well as various investigational treatments such as light therapy or magnetic stimulation. In general, for people eligible to participate in our studies, treatment is provided at no cost.

Founded in 1982, the Anxiety Disorders Clinic was the first in the nation devoted to research and treatment of anxiety problems. Although the idea that anxiety could take the form of specific disorders had been increasingly recognized, little systematic information about these disorders was available at the time. The clinic has been a driving force behind the recent advances in the recognition, understanding, and/or treatment of anxiety disorders such as posttraumatic stress disorder, panic disorder, social phobia, obsessive-compulsive disorder and others. Our counterpart Hispanic Clinic offers research treatment in Spanish and is a valuable asset in the community.

	The Anxiety Disorders Clinic provides a unique resource for the Hispanic community through the development a program that offers treatment by Spanish speaking staff. Research in the Hispanic Clinic has focused on assessing treatments for anxiety and depressive disorders, and has conducted some of the first systematic studies of a culturally distinct anxiety syndrome, ataque de nervios.

The Trauma and PTSD Program in the Anxiety Disorders Clinic at the Department of Psychiatry and The New York State Psychiatric Institute specializing in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and Prolonged Grief Disorder. The program focuses on a wide range of research , and offer effective, specialized treatment that is not widely available elsewhere. Our mission is to improve mental health services and extend our knowledge of the psychological impact of traumatic events. Our professionals all hold faculty positions with Columbia University and offer compassionate, expert care at no cost to the client.

The Children's Day Unit is an outpatient day hospital program that is a subdivision of the Division of Child Psychiatry at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, as well as a unit in the New York State Psychiatric Institute. It is both a clinical and research facility and a comprehensive evaluation and treatment program for children and adolescents ages 6-18 , with a diversity of diagnoses including mood disorders, psychosis, eating disorders, and disruptive behavior disorders.

	The Depression Evaluation Service (DES) is an outpatient research and treatment clinic that conducts studies of the cause and treatment of depression. Within the context of research studies, the DES offers free treatment with antidepressant medications for depressed men and women between the ages of 18 and 65.

	The purpose of the clinic is to study Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa, and Binge Eating Disorder in an effort to find more effective treatments for each. Since ours is a research program, we offer free treatment to eligible women who suffer from anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and to men and women who suffer from binge eating disorder.

	Columbia University's HDSA Center of Excellence provides comprehensive services for individuals at risk or exhibiting signs of Huntington's Disease and their families. We provide direct patient care as well as opportunities to participate in research to better understand and treat HD. All of our patient services are free of charge.

The Clinic for Innovations in Treatment Resistant Depression is an outpatient research clinic that conducts free and confidential evaluations of patients with depression and bipolar depression that has been difficult to treat by standard medication and psychotherapy approaches. Patients over the age of 18 may then be eligible for free treatment in research studies funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, private, not-for–profit foundations or industry.

The Lieber Schizophrenia Research Clinic (LSRC) is located at the New York State Psychiatric Institute on the Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Campus. To enroll in the LSRC an individual will need to participate in research studies. The LSRC provides state-of-the-art outpatient evaluation and clinical treatment for individuals suffering with schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, or new onset psychotic disorder.

In the Memory Disorders Center, which is an outpatient facility, the physicians, mainly neurologists and psychiatrists, conduct evaluations for patients experiencing changes in memory and other cognitive abilities which can occur from a variety of conditions associated with aging, including mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's Disease. Patients have the opportunity to participate in a variety of research studies that focus on early markers of the disease process, genetics, brain imaging, and treatment.

The clinic offers free and confidential outpatient treatment in clinical research studies using medications for people over 45 from all walks of life who suffer from depression. Since these studies are funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), private non-profit foundations or the pharmaceutical industry, there is no charge for evaluation, treatment or medication. The studies cover a wide range of mild to severe depressive disorders including major depression with and without melancholia, atypical depression, dysthymia (a mild, chronic type of depression), and depression with cognitive impairment.

The Mood Disorders Research Program (MDRP) has performed numerous important studies of Dysthymic Disorder and other types of Depression. The MDRP is located at St. Luke's Roosevelt Hospital Center and affiliated with the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and the New York State Psychiatric Institute. In its previous location at Beth Israel Medical Center, the MDRP performed the world's first double-blind-placebo controlled study of an SSRI medication in "pure dysthymia"- that is, Dysthymic Disorder without a superimposed episode of Major Depression.

The primary goal of the center is to study mood disorders, borderline personality disorder, self-injury, and suicidal behavior in order to find more effective treatments for them. We study these disorders and behaviors using a variety of biological, pharmacological, and psychological approaches. Because we are a research clinic, we offer free treatment or financial compensation to eligible adults in exchange for their participation in our studies.

The Brain-Behavior Clinic (BBC) recognizes the challenges of providing safe and effective treatment for mood disorders and is dedicated to the study and provision of innovative treatments for adults with depression and bipolar illness. Located at the New York State Psychiatric Institute at the Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center, it provides treatment to eligible adults by a specialized staff of psychiatrists, social workers and nurses at no cost to the patient.

	The Center of Prevention & Evaluation (COPE) is an outpatient research program for teenagers and young adults experiencing changes in thoughts and feelings that have led to problems in relationships, school or work. Our research focuses on the causes and course of these symptoms. Individualized treatment is provided.

Since its establishment in 1945, the Columbia University Center for Psychoanalytic Training and Research has provided low fee psychoanalytic treatment to people in the greater metropolitan area. As part of the Department of Psychiatry of the College of Physicians and Surgeons, the Center is an integral part of a scientific environment enriched by experts from the biological, psychological, and social sciences.

	STARS is committed to providing treatment of alcohol, cocaine, heroin, and marijuana addiction to communities in the Metropolitan New York area. Treatment is confidential and costs nothing.

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