Department of Psychiatry
General Information
The Department of Psychiatry provides expert health care for the prevention, detection, and treatment of patients with psychiatric disorders, promotes interactive, high-quality research and educates psychiatry professionals, other providers and the residents of Iowa about psychiatric care.
With more than 60 full-time faculty members, the department provides national and international leadership in the areas of epidemiology, genetics, neuropsychiatry, neuroimaging, medical psychiatry, liaison psychiatry, child psychiatry, and schizophrenia.
A full range of treatment options is offered to children, adolescents, and adults with mental health needs and/or substance abuse issues. Available programs include:
- outpatient services
- partial hospital programming
- intensive outpatient services
- case management
- nursing home liaison—Senior Care
- STEPPS group therapy program for borderline personality disorders
- assertive community treatment
- inpatient hospitalization
- medicine-psychiatry treatment for co-occurring disorders
- treatment for persons with co-occurring mental illness and substance abuse disorders
- Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction program
- outreach programs
Clinical services are provided through the following divisions and programs:
Information and Referrals
For consultation or referral, or to obtain information on patients, please call UI Consult toll-free at 1-800-322-8442.
Consultations are enhanced by mailing or faxing pertinent clinical information in advance, if possible. Please direct department and division addressed correspondence to:
Department of Psychiatry
University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics
200 Hawkins Drive
Iowa City, IA 52242-1057
Fax: 319-353-6952
Department Head
Robert G. Robinson, MD
319-356-4658
robert-robinson@uiowa.edu
Treatment Options
Outpatient Services: Includes diagnostic evaluations, education evaluations, individual and group psychotherapy, psychological and neuropsychological testing, and medication management. The clinic’s staff includes physicians, psychologists, licensed social workers, advanced registered nurse practitioners, and physician assistants. Group therapies are conducted for patients with specific diagnoses such as eating disorders, borderline disorders, and schizophrenia.
Partial Hospital: An alternative to or step down from inpatient services. A multidisciplinary team develops a plan of treatment and reviews the patient’s progress on an ongoing basis. A patient in this setting typically spends 5 to 6 hours per day, 4 to 5 days per week in the program.
Intensive Outpatient: The substance abuse treatment program provides an intensive outpatient experience for adult clients who do not need the intensity of a partial hospital program, but need more than weekly outpatient visits. Patients typically spend 3 hours per day, 3 days per week in this treatment program.Inpatient services: For patients who pose an imminent danger to themselves or to others. Patients are admitted via the emergency room, law enforcement, or direct referral from a clinician or another facility. A multidisciplinary team develops a plan of treatment and reviews progress daily. Treatment is designed around clinical tracks for psychosis, older adults, affective disorders, and eating disorders.
Services and Programs
Borderline Personality Program
Contact: Adult Psychiatric Clinic
The borderline personality disorder (BPD) treatment program in the adult psychiatry outpatient clinic is a skills-based, cognitive-behavioral group model that reframes BPD as a disorder of emotion regulation. The program is identified by the acronym STEPPS (systems training for emotional predictability and problem-solving). The systems approach teaches emotion regulation and life-style behavior skills not only to patients with this disorder, but also provides education and coping skills to others in their system of care (health care providers, family and significant others, etc.). The 20- week STEPPS program meets up to two hours per week. A follow-up program (STAIRWAYS) provides twice-monthly meetings for one year and teaches advanced skills and reinforcement of previously learned techniques.
Treatment Coordination Program
Contact: Frank Sammet, LISW
Patients who require extensive hospital and community resources are enrolled in a treatment coordination program. The program’s goals include cooperative inter-agency/multi-disciplinary care to ensure a consistent treatment message; increased level of functioning by the participant; decreased negative symptoms and behaviors; greater independence; and decreasedfrequency and duration of acute treatment encounters and inpatient admissions. The program has demonstrated success in each of these goal, resulting in an enriched quality of life for participants.
Chemical Dependency Program
Director: Jill Liesveld, MD
The chemical dependency center offers treatment for adolescents, adults, and older adults. Services include:
- aftercare
- detoxification
- education
- evaluation
- inpatient treatment
- outpatient counseling
- intensive outpatient services
- OWI evaluations
- referral
Treatment modalities include individual, group, and family therapy, medication management, and participation in self-help groups. Operating a vehicle while intoxicated evaluations are conducted by certified addiction counselors. A physician certified in addictions is available for consultation.
Child and Adolescent Program
Director: Sam Kuperman, MD
The child and adolescent program offers diagnosis and treatment in a variety of settings, including outpatient, partial hospital, inpatient, and day school. Specialties include
- attention deficit/hyperactivity disorders
- anxiety
- autism, tics
- disruptive behavior
- mood
- obsessive compulsive disorders
- psychoses
Educational services are offered to children and adolescents with emotional, behavioral, and social problems. Services include school consultation, outpatient and inpatient evaluations, follow-up consultations to parents and schools and individuals, and intensive inpatient/day school and in-service training.
Consultation Services
Director: Vicki Kijewski, MD
Consultation services are available throughout the general medical inpatient units and in the outpatient setting.
Dual Diagnosis Program (mental illness and substance abuse)
Director: Jill Liesveld, MD
A dual diagnosis program is offered through the chemical dependency program and is directed by physicians certified in adult, child, geriatric, and addiction treatment. Patients who can be managed on an open unit receive addiction and psychiatric care concurrently.
Eating Disorders Program
Director: Arnold Anderson, MD
The eating disorders program is renowned for successful treatment of adolescents and adult men and women. Anorexia and bulimia are treated in the outpatient, partial hospital, and outpatient settings.
Geriatric Program
Director: Judith H. W. Crossett, MD
Geriatric specialists provide specialized inpatient and outpatient care as well as outreach and educational services to nursing facilities and other assisted-living programs.
Medical Psychiatric Program
Director: Vicki Kijewski, MD
The medical psychiatric program treats patients with concurrent medical and psychiatric conditions. Patients requiring treatment on an inpatient medical service receive daily care by a medical and psychiatric physician.
Neuropsychology
Director: Jane Paulsen, PhD
The clinical neuropsychology service provides comprehensive psychological evaluation services to assess cognitive functioning in persons with known or suspected brain dysfunction. Neuropsychological evaluations are also helpful in assessing persons with congenital or acquired cerebral dysfunction, learning/developmental disabilities, and the cognitive/emotional aspects of neuropsychiatric disorders. Neuropsychological assessment involves systematic evaluation of:
- academic skills
- emotional processing
- intellectual functioning
- language
- memory
- planning/organization
- visuospatial abilities
A neuropsychological assessment clarifies diagnosis, monitor mental status change, assess and monitor disability status and assess metal abilities that affect capacity for independent living, decision-making, vocational planning and other areas of daily living.
Clinical Psychology
Director: Jane Paulsen, PhD
Services offered in the adult area include psychological testing, individual psychotherapy, group psychotherapy, behavior therapy, cognitive therapy, and stress management. Psychologists conduct individual and group psychotherapy on the inpatient units. Psychologists are also involved in the outpatient depression, anxiety, and eating disorder sub-specialty clinics. The clinical psychology service works directly with the child psychiatry division and is engaged primarily in psychological assessment of children and adolescents. Services also are available for psychological interventions with adolescents and children.
Assertive Community Treatment (IMPACT)
Director: Nancy Williams, MD
Assertive Community Treatment program serves the seriously and persistently mentally ill patient who is not benefiting from the traditional services or is a high user of those services, particularly inpatient. The program includes a physician, nurses, psychiatric nursing aides, and an occupational therapist. Clients are typically seen in the community, often in the home. Patients sometimes come to the facility for individual or group counseling. The program has successfully decreased acute care admissions and, when admissions occur, length of stay.
| 
