Addiction Psychiatry

The Unified Division of Substance Abuse (DoSA), a division of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, offers advanced training in all aspects of substance abuse or dependence.

In conjunction with its affiliated hospitals and medical centers, the Division operates the largest academically affiliated substance abuse treatment program in the United States. The Division's largest component, the opiate replacement program, serves 4,300 patients at 12 clinics located in five different communities throughout the Bronx. These clinics offer opiate replacement with methadone as well as comprehensive medical and psychosocial services to patients, including complete medical evaluation and follow-up, crisis intervention and a variety of supportive services.

Integrally incorporated in the Division's activities is involvement in the teaching and training of medical students, psychiatry residents and graduate students in the healthcare professions. It also offers consultation and liaison for patients in the care of hospitals affiliated with the medical school, and community education and relations efforts directed toward the grass-roots communities served by clinical units.

Clinical assignments may include inpatient and outpatient alcoholism settings, opiate replacement treatment, day programs and drug-free outpatient and residential therapeutic community treatment.

In addition to strong clinical training in addiction psychiatry, residents have the opportunity to become involved in clinical and/or basic science research projects in substance abuse. Basic and clinical addiction medicine research is conducted within the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences in collaboration with the Department of Epidemiology and Social Medicine, Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, Neuroscience and Pathology.

Clinical research opportunities include studies in specific behavioral therapies, substance abuse medication development and clinical trials of new medications to treat primary substance-related disorders in patients with substance-related disorders.

All residents will rotate through addiction psychiatry as PGY 2s, and residents who have an interest in clinical or basic science research, teaching and clinical treatment of substance abuse and its related disorders may choose to continue their education by participating in an elective during PGY 4.