Medical Student Electives

Medical Student Elective Rotation in Psychodynamic Psychiatry

The practice of psychiatry has a rich and varied history. For many decades, the psychoanalytic perspective held sway. More recently, there has been a significant shift towards the other side of the mind-body split, and issues of meaning are increasingly neglected in psychiatric care in favor of biological approaches. This may be particularly true in medical education where the majority of learning experiences occur on busy, short-stay, inpatient units. For students interested in psychiatry, the well-rounded learning experience at Riggs exposes students to the tradition in psychiatry that emphasizes the importance of meaning, relationships, and patient authority.

The elective in psychodynamic psychiatry is designed to provide medical students with an understanding for how developmental issues and psychodynamics affect not only individual psychology, but also group life, and other aspects of psychiatric practice, such as medication responsiveness. During this elective, students begin to understand the difficulties patients have in maintaining a coherent self and the profound human struggles involved in mental illness. Students will also learn about the psychotherapeutic role and will deepen their understanding of the importance of psychotherapeutic boundaries.

The varied educational experience at Riggs includes:

· Involvement in the therapeutic community program as participant observers.
· Opportunities for supervised one-to-one contact with patients.
· Learning about psychotherapy and dynamic formulation.
· Learning about the psychodynamics of psychopharmacology.
· A focus on patient’s strengths.
· Didactic experiences.
· An integration of the whole learning experience through supervision/mentorship by therapy staff.

Students eligible for this rotation will have already completed a core clinical rotation in psychiatry. Medical students will come for a 1-2 month rotation, and 1-2 students will be invited at one time. Interested medical students should contact David Mintz, M.D., (413) 931-5315.

Medical Student Elective in Psychodynamic Psychiatry Application