Inpatient and ambulatory programs for all appropriate patients of any age with state-of-the-art expertise for rapid assessment, evaluation, and treatment initiation. Capacity includes reduced inpatient LOS by continuing treatment on ambulatory basis, as well as treatment initiation on an ambulatory basis; maintenance therapy on an ambulatory basis.

The Mental Health Clinical Research Center (MHCRC) assesses and diagnoses elderly chronic schizophrenic patients who are uniquely suited to answer a number of critical questions about the schizophrenic process.

Mount Sinai’s Psychiatric Emergency Room has 9.39 Status, multilingual competence, and an attending psychiatrist present 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Our emphasis is on rapid, comprehensive, and appropriate triage and assessment with short length of stay.

The Schizophrenia Treatment and Research (STAR) Program, a division of the Bronx VA Mental Health Patient Care Center (MH-PCC) and The Mount Sinai Medical Center outpatient departments, provides comprehensive psychiatric care to patients suffering from schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, and other primary psychotic disorders. The program focuses on patients who require active treatment and support for their integration in the community. The program provides services addressing a broad spectrum of psychiatric, medical, and psychosocial patient needs. A particular goal of the program is conducting research to improve the treatment and outcome of schizophrenia.

The goals of this fellowship are as follows:

• To develop clinical skills in the multi-disciplinary care of patients with schizophrenia
• To introduce concepts in community integration for schizophrenic patients
• To promote research in the etiology, pathophysiology, and treatment of schizophrenia

Current STAR Research Studies include:

• Conte Center - The Conte Center for Neuroscience of Mental Disorders was established by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). Neuroscientists and clinicians are carrying out research to try to understand the neuropathology of schizophrenia with a focus on glial cells. Opportunities for research include imaging (MRI, fMRI, MRS, PET, and DTI), neuropathology, genetics, translational models, molecular biology, etc. Conte will follow patients with schizophrenia over time to better understand the course of the disease and its implications, with the goal to improve diagnosis, management, and outcome.
• Psycho-pharmacological augmentation trials - These trials focus on the GABAergic glutaminergic and noradrenergic systems and their relation to negative symptoms and cognitive deficits associated with schizophrenia. These augmentation studies test the possibility of improving negative symptoms and cognitive abilities in patients with schizophrenia by adding specific augmenting agents to pre-existing antipsychotic treatment.
• Psycho-pharmacological treatment studies - With novel antipsychotic agents, these studies test the ability of new medications to ameliorate psychotic symptoms both positive and negative as well as cognitive dysfunction in patients with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder.
• Neuroimaging studies - These studies employ MRI, functional MRI, MR-spectroscopy, and Positron Emission Tomography (PET) to explore novel treatment strategies and gain a better understanding of the pathophysiology of schizophrenia.