Welcome to the Department of Psychiatry's Website

The Department of Psychiatry of Virginia Commonwealth University and the VCU Medical Center offers a full continuum of specialized programs and services to meet the mental health needs of Richmond residents and the referral needs of clinicians from around the Commonwealth of Virginia and the Middle-Atlantic region of the USA. Our department is multifaceted, energetic and committed to the belief that the future of medical practice will be deeply influenced by brain/behavioral research. We are playing a major role in this work and believe that research will unlock the mystery of mental illness and provide cures for our patients. Our clinical practice is based on the application of evidence-based psychiatry to each person's unique situation.

The academic medical center, coupled with the vast resources of the Virginia Commonwealth University Health System, produces a synergy in the Department's three-fold mission of patient care, clinical research and education.

Patient Care

Our clinical practice begins with the belief that correct diagnosis most often leads to appropriate treatment. We therefore specialize in diagnostic evaluation coupled with extensive expertise in biological and psychological therapies. We place special emphasis on the combination and integration of treatments, which usually brings the best result for our patients. Our faculty treat the range of human behavioral problems, including depression, anxiety, substance abuse, personality disorders, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. We work with all ages. Our faculty has special competency in dealing with the psychiatric problems associated with physical illness and special problems encountered by patients and families at the end of life.

Child, adult and geriatric programs meet the needs of each population. Services are unsurpassed both in terms of their responsiveness to individual patient and family needs and their application of the latest research and clinical knowledge in psychiatry.

The Department has several modern sites specifically designed to work within a managed behavioral care environment, an array of central MCV outpatient services including subspecialty clinics and highly specialized inpatient programs.

The Department also includes Psychiatric Genetics as well as Psychological and Neuropsychological assessment.

Please call our Intake and Referral service at (804)828-2000 or (800)232-0901. We have enduring optimism about the benefits of appropriate diagnosis and treatment for mental illnesses and apply the most current research findings to the problems of each patient.

Research

Research is the answer -- if the question is, "What is the intervention most likely to improve patient health while controlling global costs?" A moment's reflection about the impact of the Salk Polio vaccine brings this point home. Our research in schizophrenia, psychiatric genetics, epidemiology and women's mental health is world recognized, and we have great strength in children's psychiatric disorders. Extensive work is ongoing in understanding substance abuse disorders.

Our research takes place in many settings across the globe and rigorous attention is given to informed consent, subject protection and adherence to the highest in ethical standards. Research is only done with the full consent of the patient.

Education

On this website, you will find detailed descriptions of our adult psychiatric residency program and pediatric psychology internship. These programs are fully accredited and attract quality applicants. We also offer psychiatric fellowships in Child, Psychosomatic Medicine, and Addiction Medicine.

In addition, our department is responsible for the psychiatric education of 680 medical students in VCU's School of Medicine and operates special training programs for post-doctoral psychologists, M.D./Ph.D. candidates and social work interns.

Our department has a strong collaboration with the Hunter Holmes McGuire Veteran's Administration Medical Center, including staffing, training and teaching. We also offer strong strategic partnerships with INOVA Fairfax Hospital and the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education & Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, India. We believe collaboration with other programs expands the educational experience for all our students and employees.

I hope you will explore our website. Feel free to personally call faculty whose interests coincide with yours. As a component of a vibrant urban university, service to our community is a high priority. Please e-mail me if I may be of service.

Joel J. Silverman, M.D.
Professor and Chairman
Department of Psychiatry