Course Overview

Overview of Courses

The University of Chicago Residency Training Program in Psychiatry offers a broad range of courses, while focusing in particular on several domains of learning within psychiatry:

psychopathology and phenomenology
psychopharmacology
neuroscience, and
psychotherapy.

Training in each domain builds from one year to the next, as each year, residents take courses that relate to each domain. Integration among the domains is a major task of psychiatric education, and takes place within case conferences, supervision and individual courses.

The Psychopathology and Phenomenology sequence begins in the PGY-1 year with Psychopathology I, Emergency Psychiatry, and Addictions lectures as well as in Morning Report and Professor’s Rounds. It continues in the PGY-2 year with Psychopathology II, Developmental Psychiatry, Child Psychopathology, Neuropsychiatry and Geriatric Psychiatry, and the Consultation/Liaison-Emergency Room case conference. Further clarification of psychopathology and phenomenology occurs in the general and specialty clinics in PGY-3, and in the PGY-3 forensic psychiatry course.

The Psychopharmacology sequence offers basic psychopharmacology in the PGY-1 year with Psychopharmacology I and the PGY-2 course, Psychopharmacology II. The PGY-3 Psychopharmacology Conference is open to all residents but targeted to PGY-3’s, and focuses on clinical problem-solving. Additional psychopharmacology is taught within specialty clinic settings.

The Neuroscience sequence includes Neurobiology in the PGY-2 year, followed by a nine-month PGY-3 course in Neuroscience. These courses interdigitate with the Research Seminar attended by PGY-2, 3, and 4 residents.

The Psychotherapy sequence offers a general Introduction to Psychotherapy in the PGY-1 year. Following this, psychotherapy training is split into specialized sequences of courses:

supportive psychotherapy—introduced in PGY-2
cognitive behavior therapy—introduced at the end of PGY-2 and continuing for six months in PGY-3, offering both didactic sessions on the use of CBT in mood, anxiety and emotional regulation disorders, and supervision for CBT cases
group therapy—introduced in PGY-3, and augmented by a year-long process group open to all residents
family therapy—introduced in PGY-2, with both didactic and supervisory components
psychodynamic psychotherapy—introduced in PGY-2 with Introduction to Psychodynamic Psychotherapy and the two-quarter Psychodynamic Psychotherapy course, continuing in PGY-3 with the Longitudinal Case Conference and Advanced Psychodynamic Theories, and continuing electively in PGY-4 in the Intensive Sequence.

Throughout the four years, residents attend the Clinical Case Conference, CBT Case Conference, and the Interdisciplinary Case Conference, where a variety of psychotherapeutic approaches are discussed.

Courses for all residents

All residents come together on Monday afternoons for a series of case conferences and seminars. They include the following:

Clinical Case Conference—led by Drs. Tom Kramer and Deborah Spitz, this weekly conference provides a forum for residents to present “problem” cases of all types. Discussion includes diagnostic dilemmas, various psychotherapeutic approaches, transference and countertransference issues, pharmacologic challenges, and other problems residents encounter in treating complex and difficult patients.

Interdisciplinary Case Conference—attended by trainees in psychiatry and psychology and led by interdisciplinary senior faculty, this monthly conference focuses on cases being treated by both residents and trainees in other disciplines. Topics discussed include Issues encountered with patients receiving medication and psychotherapy, or individual therapy plus family or couples therapy, from different treatment providers.

CBT Case Conference--led by Dr. Shona Vas and attended by psychology and psychiatry trainees, this seminar considers formulation and treatment issues in cases being treated with cognitive behavior therapy.

Psychopharmacology Conference—led by Drs. Royce Lee and Tom Kramer, this weekly conference presents lectures on each of the major psychotropic medications, as well as case-based discussions of side effect management and complex pharmacologic approaches to refractory psychiatric disorders of all types. Topics include antidepressants, mood stabilizers, antipsychotics, anxiolytics, sedative hypnotics, stimulants and other agents, in adults and child patients.

Research Seminar—led by Dr. Emil Coccaro and research faculty, this weekly seminar examines clinical, basic and translational research, emphasizing critical reading of research papers, research methodologies and statistics, and offers a practicum for residents to identify research areas of interest and to begin to work with one of the many Departmental research groups on a research project. Residents begin to attend in the PGY-2 year; by the PGY-3 year each resident is engaged in work with a research group; and in the PGY-4 year, each resident makes a research presentation to the Department.

Multicultural and Diversity Issues in Mental Health—led by Lisa Sanchez-Johnsen, Ph.D., this summer conference addresses differences in the understanding, diagnosis and treatment of psychiatric disorders across cultures and sub-cultures.

Residents as Teachers--led by Dr. Elizabethe Keiff, this summer course introduces residents to the principles of bedside teaching and reviews skills in communicating teaching points, giving and receiving feedback, evaluation, and mentorship. The class includes role playing and other experiential learning techniques.

Departmental Grand Rounds are held throughout the year from September through June. Attended by all faculty and residents, Grand Rounds offers presentations by national and international leaders in the field as well as presentations by our own faculty, residents and other trainees. A listing of Grand Rounds speakers can be found elsewhere on this website.

Residents’ Process Group—led by Dr. Jeffrey Roth, this group meets 30 times throughout the academic year. Participation is open to all residents.

PGY-1 Courses

The clinical rotations and course curriculum in the PGY-1 year foster the resident’s developing identity as a competent and caring physician, through rotations in medicine, neurology and psychiatry that offer broad clinical experience, excellent teaching, and appropriate levels of responsibility. All PGY-1 residents, no matter what their rotation assignments, attend the Psychiatry Summer Introductory Courses designed to introduce residents to basic concepts in psychiatry. While rotating on psychiatry, residents attend the year-long PGY-1 courses.

Summer Introductory Courses

Emergency Psychiatry—Marie Tobin, M.D.
C/L Case Conference--Marie Tobin, M.D. and CL Chief Resident
Psychopathology I—Steve Dinwiddie, M.D.
Psychopharmacology I—Royce Lee, M.D.
Psychological Testing—Maureen Lacy, Ph.D.

Year-long PGY-1 Courses

Morning Report—Inpatient Chief Resident
Professor’s Rounds—Eliot Gershon, M.D. and faculty
Basic Clinical Skills—Deborah Spitz, M.D., Tom Kramer, M.D., Steve Dinwiddie, M.D.

PGY-2 Courses

The PGY-2 year builds on the PGY-1 experiences in medicine and psychiatry, exposing residents to inpatient psychiatric treatment in academic, public and private settings with more complex, dually diagnosed and medically complex patients. Residents are introduced to the psychiatric consultation liaison service and the ECT service at The University of Chicago Hospitals. Courses in the PGY-2 year are organized to solidify the resident’s understanding of phenomenology, psychopathology and psychopharmacology, to build a foundation in neuroscience, and to develop an understanding of diverse approaches to psychotherapy. Residents begin to attend the three-year Research seminar. PGY-2 residents continue to attend Morning Report, Professor’s Rounds and the Monday afternoon courses for all residents, as well as Departmental Grand Rounds on Thursdays at noon. To enable residents on inpatient units to better work with families, the family therapy sequence was moved this year from PGY-3 to PGY-2; for the 2007/2008 academic year only, both PGY-2's and 3's are taking the family courses together.

Psychopathology/Phenomenology Sequence

Psychopathology II—Steve Dinwiddie, M.D.
Developmental Psychiatry—Sharon Hirsh, M.D. and Child faculty
Child Psychopathology—Sharon Hirsh, M.D. and Child faculty
Neuropsychiatry—Fred Ovsiew, M.D.
Geriatric Psychiatry—Maria Caserta, M.D., Ph.D.
C/L Case Conference—Marie Tobin, M.D. and CL Chief Resident

Psychopharmacology Sequence

Psychopharmacology II—Tom Kramer, M.D.

Neuroscience Sequence

Neurobiology—Emil Coccaro, M.D., and Stephanie Dulawa, Ph.D.

Psychotherapy Sequence

Supportive Psychotherapy—Morris Goldman, M.D.
Introduction to Psychodynamic Psychotherapy—Deborah Spitz, M.D.
Psychodynamic Psychotherapy—Allen Kodish, M.D.
Introduction to CBT—Shona Vas, Ph.D.
Family Therapy and Family Supervision--John Rolland, M.D.

Other Courses:

Systems of Care—Daniel Yohanna, M.D.
Ethical Issues in Psychiatry—David Berrier, M.D.

PGY-3 Courses

The PGY-3 year is an outpatient year designed to enable residents to function more independently and to follow a large number of patients longitudinally, Through a year-long experience in the general psychiatry clinics, subspecialty clinics and sessions set aside to see psychotherapy patients, residents gain a sense of the breadth and depth of psychiatric disorders and their treatment. Courses deepen the resident’s understanding of psychopathology, psychopharmacology, neuroscience and psychotherapy, and further the resident’s understanding and practical experience of research in the Research Seminar. Third-year residents collaborate with faculty to develop and present lectures in the psychopharmacology conference attended by all residents. PGY-3 residents attend the Monday afternoon courses for all residents, as well as Departmental Grand Rounds on Thursdays at noon.

Psychopathology Sequence

Forensics lectures—Steven Dinwiddie, M.D.
Addictions--Steven Dinwiddie, M.D.

Psychopharmacology Sequence

Psychopharmacology Conference—Royce Lee, M.D. and Tom Kramer, M.D.

Neuroscience Sequence

Neuroscience—Emil Coccaro, M.D. and faculty

Psychotherapy Sequence

CBT for Mood and Anxiety Disorders—Shona Vas, Ph.D.
CBT for Disorders of Emotional Regulation—Mike McCloskey, Ph.D. and Eunice Chen, Ph.D.
Family Therapy and Family Supervision—John Rolland, M.D.
Group Psychotherapy—Shelley Korshak, M.D.
Longitudinal Case Conference—Deborah Spitz, M.D.
Advanced Psychodynamic Theories—Susan Fisher, M.D.

PGY-4 Courses

In the PGY-4 year, residents solidify administrative and leadership skills, enlarge clinical confidence and autonomy, and focus on individual specialized areas of interest. Each resident assumes a Chief Resident position with significant administrative, supervision and teaching components. Each resident completes a research project and makes a presentation to the Department. Residents continue to follow outpatients in a variety of psychotherapeutic modalities, and may choose elective clinical experiences in specialized psychotherapies, such as group or family therapy, psychodynamic psychotherapy, or dialectical behavior therapy, to name a few. In conjunction with faculty advisors, each resident develops an individualized schedule for the fourth year that reflects the serious pursuit of particular interests. The year is designed to allow maximum flexibility so that each resident may pursue a meaningful area in depth. Course reflect the clinical, administrative and research activities of the resident. All residents attend the Research Seminar, receive Chief Residency Administrative Supervision, and attend Grand Rounds and the Monday afternoon courses.

Research Elective—Emil Coccaro, M.D. and research faculty

Forensics—Steve Dinwiddie, M.D.

Intensive Sequence—Harry Trosman, M.D.

Chief Residency Administrative Supervision—individual faculty