Letter from the Chair

A letter from our chair, Gregory Dalack, M.D.

Advances in the clinical and basic science underpinning Psychiatry are accumulating quickly; we are ascending the steep part of the knowledge acquisition curve in Psychiatry and Neuroscience. Large scale clinical trials are telling us more about how we are currently helping patients recover-- and how very far we still have to go. Advances in Neuroscience are confirming that abnormalities in brain development, brain function, and regional connectivity are associated with risk for major psychiatric disorders. Findings in Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience help us better appreciate that the effects of treatment manifest in changes in brain function, neuronal growth and brain connectivity. As we understand the complex genetics of psychiatric disorders and the significant impact of gene-environment interactions on the manifestations of illness in our patients, we will better understand critical pathophysiology. These are among the most challenging scientific inquiries underway in all of medicine.

The faculty in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Michigan is making important contributions to that work. Faculty conducting Sleep Research, Health Services research, studies in Neuroimaging and Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, Suicide Prevention in Youth, gene-environment interactions in Substance Use Disorders, and the Genetics of Bipolar and other mood disorders are leaders in these areas. In addition, we have emerging leaders among our faculty who are actively involved in psychotherapy research and the application of the structured psychotherapies (CBT, IPT, DBT) to the treatment of anxiety, depressive and personality disorders. Underpinning these psychotherapies is training to create a strong foundation in psychodynamics and psychodynamic psychotherapy. Recognizing and treating co-morbidities, including sleep and substance use disorders, are a priority of our collaborative care model, both within the Department, the Eisenberg Family Depression Center and also across Michigan Medicine. Truly, we are a department primed to study and report the evidence at the convergence of pathophysiology, multi-modal treatment interventions and optimization of response and recovery.

We offer a training environment where you work with clinical and clinical research faculty in treatment settings, learn from them in didactic core seminars, and are mentored by them in individual supervision and group mentorship experiences. Our residency program places you at the crossroads of clinical delivery, clinical research and education, and the ideal patient experience. We are continually working to achieve greatly in all these areas, and in the setting of that effort, our residents have flourished in their training.

Please explore our website; there is information here to answer many of your questions. Don’t hesitate to contact us. We are interested in facilitating the best match of outstanding candidates with all our program has to offer.