MISSION STATEMENT

The UNC Department of Psychiatry serves the citizens of North Carolina, the nation, and as appropriate, the world community, in three interwoven missions: teaching and training; research; and clinical care.

We seek to provide outstanding education and training in psychiatry to medical students and other health profession trainees at UNC. Our residency training program will continue to train outstanding adult and child psychiatrists in preparation for leadership roles in academic psychiatry, the public sector, and private practice. All of our graduate clinical training programs will continue to recruit outstanding candidates, regardless of personal characteristics irrelevant to academic or professional qualification, and provide superb training to them. We will offer the highest caliber continuing medical education for psychiatrists and other practitioners.

Our research goals are to develop a deeper understanding of the causes of psychiatric illness, and to create more effective diagnostic, treatment, and prevention strategies for these disorders. This research will encompass basic molecular, cellular, and genetic approaches; biobehavioral and systems neurobiology; clinical investigations; and population-based outcomes research. We also shall advance the understanding of psychiatric aspects of medical illnesses.

Our clinical mission will integrate state-of-the-art biological, psychological, and social approaches in the care of our patients and their families, as it provides the foundation for our teaching and research missions.

In all of the above activities, we shall adhere to the highest ethical standards as we work closely and collaboratively with many colleagues in order to enhance the recognition, treatment, and prevention of mental illness. These collaborations will include other components of the School of Medicine; other Schools and units within the University; the North Carolina Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities and Substance Abuse Services and its area programs; the AHEC system; and private clinical practices throughout North Carolina. We also shall strive to contribute to national and international efforts to advance the creation and dissemination of knowledge regarding the etiologies and treatments of psychiatric illness.