Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health

Psychiatry and Behavioral Health Education 

Education in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health provides training at all levels of practice.

All medical students take part in a required psychiatry clerkship, a four-week clinical rotation that spans outpatient psychiatry, adult and child inpatient services and the consult service.

The four-year ACGME-accredited psychiatry residency and fellowship in child and adolescent psychiatry provide graduate medical education opportunities; meanwhile, a psychology internship trains advanced psychology doctoral-level students preparing to enter practice in professional psychology.

For practitioners, the department helps to organize a number of continuing medical education opportunities each year.

Psychiatry and Behavioral Health Research 

The research interests of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health include basic science, clinical, translational, health services and epidemiology research.

Current active research areas include addiction; attention and behavioral disorders; autism spectrum disorders; behavioral neuroscience; clinical assessments (suicide risk factors and diagnostic psychopathology); health service/behavioral health integration; molecular neuropharmacology; mood disorders; neuronal modeling; measurement-based care (Penn State Clinical Assessment and Rating Evaluation System - PCARES - registry); quality improvement; social determinants of health; and sleep disorders.

The department has an active publication presence and supports a number of clinical trials in these areas and more.

Psychiatry and Behavioral Health Clinical Care

The Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health has more than 60 faculty members including psychiatrists, psychologists and social workers. The department also offers the services of psychiatry-trained advanced practice clinicians and master’s-level therapists to provide psychiatry and behavioral health services and mental health treatment.

This team of clinicians offers a comprehensive array of psychiatric and psychological care at multiple locations: Penn State Health Medical Group Psychiatry Clinic, Penn State Health Children's Hospital and Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center in Hershey and Pennsylvania Psychiatric Institute in Harrisburg.

There are specialized treatment programs for mood, eating, sleep, autism spectrum, attention deficit hyperactivity, conduct, adolescents, addiction and substance use and psychotic disorders. Specialized treatment settings include inpatient, outpatient and partial (day) hospital programs, and specialized treatment modalities including neuromodulation services.

Psychiatry and Behavioral Health Community Engagement 

The Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health values community engagement, fostering collaborations with institutions that serve individuals with autism spectrum disorder (The Vista School), uninsured and underinsured individuals with mental health issues through Penn State College of Medicine's LionCare medical student-run clinic at Bethesda Mission, and engagement with several advocacy groups.

The department has also initiated several community-serving endeavors, including a summer treatment program for children with ADHD and a community arts initiative to combat stigma and promote engagement in mental health care.