Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences

Psychiatry is a dynamic and essential medical specialty focused on the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of mental health disorders, encompassing a wide range of conditions affecting mood, behavior, cognition, and perception. The Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at New York Medical College (NYMC) is dedicated to providing comprehensive and compassionate care to patients, advancing the field through innovative research, and training the next generation of empathetic and skilled psychiatrists. Patient care, research, and education encompass all major psychiatric subspecialties, including mood disorders, anxiety disorders, psychotic disorders, geriatric psychiatry, child and adolescent psychiatry, addiction psychiatry, and psychosomatic medicine.

The Edith Har-esh, M.D., Professor and Chair of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences

A gift of $1.5 million enabled New York Medical College to endow a professorship in its Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and to support individuals and organizations that treat elderly sufferers of schizophrenic disorders. The benefactor is the estate of Edith Har-Esh, M.D., a psychiatrist who devoted her life to the care of such patients.

Born in Israel in 1937, Dr. Edith Har-Esh was an Israeli soldier serving in the intelligence division and a delegate to the United Nations before she returned to her native country to become a doctor. She received her medical degree in 1968 from Hadassah Medical School of Hebrew University. She returned to the U.S. to complete her residency in psychiatry at Bellevue Hospital and Mt. Sinai Medical Center in 1970.

Settling in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., she worked as a psychiatrist at the state-operated Hudson River Psychiatric Center in Hyde Park. There she spent 20 years treating poor, homeless, elderly people with schizophrenia. She made this her life's mission until advanced heart disease prompted her retirement.

In her later years, Dr. Har-Esh expressed a desire that a large portion of her accumulated wealth be donated to causes that supported the kind of patients she had served. She instructed the executor of her will, Marco Caviglia, Esq., to carry on the distribution of funds to benefit such causes, especially those relating to the care of geriatric schizophrenic women. Among the beneficiaries selected was New York Medical College, whose Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences trains residents and fellows in geriatric psychiatry. Mr. Caviglia presented a check to the College at a reception at NYMC on October 29, 2003. The College established a professorship in Dr. Har-Esh's name and supports programs in partnership with other individuals and agencies that provide psychiatric care and treatment to geriatric schizophrenics.

Research

Faculty members and residents engage in a broad spectrum of psychiatric research, often collaborating with medical students, with their findings frequently published in peer-reviewed journals and presented at national conferences. This research covers diverse areas within psychiatry, including the development of new therapeutic approaches, understanding the biological underpinnings of mental health disorders, and exploring the impact of psychosocial factors on mental health.

Medical Student Education

Faculty in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences teach during the preclinical years as part of the foundational courses. During the Psychiatry Clerkship, third-year students spend four weeks learning to assess and care for psychiatric patients in a range of settings. Third-year students can also choose to participate in electives in emergency psychiatry and addiction psychiatry.

Several electives are available to fourth-year students to further explore the field, including adult inpatient psychiatry, child and adolescent psychiatry, consultation-liaison, emergency psychiatry, and substance use disorder and recovery education.

Psychiatry Residency Programs

The NYMC Psychiatry Residency Programs provide comprehensive training comprised of instructional, clinical, and research experiences that cover a wide range of inpatient and outpatient, adult, adolescent, and child psychiatry services, as well as subspecialty areas including consultation-liaison, geriatrics, emergency, and crisis intervention.

The Psychiatry Residency Program is offered at several NYMC clinical-affiliated sites:

NYMC’s major clinical affiliate, Westchester Medical Center, also offers a Residency Program in Psychiatry.

Meet the Team

Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences
New York Medical College
19 Skyline Drive
(914) 594-2560
(914) 594-2564

Stephen Ferrando, M.D.
Chair and Har Esh Professor
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences

Basilia (Vickie) Adams
Administrator
basilia_adams@nymc.edu

NYMC-Sponsored Residency Program Contacts

NYC Health + Hospitals/Metropolitan Program
Richard J. Gersh, M.D.
Residency Training Director
(646) 672-3143

Monique Howe
Residency Coordinator
(646) 672-3143
monique.howe@nychhc.org

Saint Joseph’s Medical Center Program
Alexandra Whoriskey, M.D.
Residency Training Director

Tina Tedesco
Residency Coordinator
(914) 378-7201
ttedesco@saintjosephs.org

Saint Mary’s/Saint Clare’s Programs
Sarabjit Singh, M.D.
Residency Training Director

Mary Sanders
Residency Coordinator
(973) 316-1955
maryfsanders@primehealthcare.com