Fellowship in Addiction Psychiatry
The Department of Psychiatry at Beth Israel Medical Center has a well-established Fellowship in Addiction Psychiatry. The fellowship has been in existence since 1994 and was first accredited by the ACGME in 1995. This was the first year that training programs in Addiction Psychiatry were accredited and since then the program has expanded extensively.
The Medical center has a long tradition of offering treatment for addictive disorders. Besides running one of the largest Methadone Programs in the country, the Institute of Chemical Dependency offers inpatient and ambulatory detoxification, an inpatient 28-day rehab and a wide variety of outpatient treatment options. This places the fellowship in the unique position of being able to provide an incomparable depth of experience to trainees.
Three positions are offered each year and all fellows spend four months each on a “major” and “minor” rotation.
The inpatient rotation consists of working on the 28-bed dual diagnosis unit with a multidisciplinary staff, all of whom are experienced in the addiction field. Fellows gain experience in managing complicated withdrawal states, often comorbid with severe psychiatric illness. They are also responsible for medical student supervision and assist in the education of the PGY-2 residents that rotate through the unit. The concurrent “minor” rotation consists of providing psychiatric consultation-liaison services to three inpatient medical detoxification units (75 beds), under the supervision of an attending physician.
Fellows rotate for four months on the 28-day inpatient rehab unit. While on this rotation, they operate as members of the treatment team. This includes sitting in daily rounds, participating in evaluations at admission, observing and co-leading groups and learning the use of family therapy in addiction treatment. The “minor” rotation for this trimester is Methadone Maintenance. Fellows attend clinical meetings at a MMTP and also perform evaluations. They become familiar with the day to day running of a Methadone program and learn about the unique regulations that govern this modality of treatment.
The outpatient experience is an ongoing one, as fellows carry a variety of cases throughout the year. However one four-month block is devoted to being the “staff psychiatrist” for an outpatient drug treatment program and seeing patients for consultation and ongoing care. In addition fellows co-lead a group for dual diagnosis patients with an experienced addictions counselor. Fellows also rotate through the Pain management Service during this time and engage in consultation and treatment of patients with comorbid chronic pain and addictive disorders.
The Division of Addiction Psychiatry has an active outpatient clinic and patients diagnosed with schizophrenia and addiction are followed in the Combined Psychiatric and Addictive Disorders Program. Studies on this population of patients were initially funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse and several important papers have been published around factors in relapse and treatment retention. Research opportunities also exist with in the Division of Neuroimaging and Biological Psychiatry, and in the area of Methadone Maintenance and novel detoxification strategies.
Ample supervision is provided by Board Certified Addiction Psychiatrists, Attending Physicians and Psychologists who dedicate their time entirely to the addiction field. The fellowship program is flexible and trainees can concentrate on a particular area that matches their particular interest.
Applications are accepted beginning early fall and interviews are usually conducted October thru February. Application packages can be requested by contacting Lynette Joseph at 212.420.2836 or ljoseph@bethisraelny.org.
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