The key to developing an effective and appropriate treatment is the diagnostic assessment. The Weill Cornell Psychiatry Specialty Center provides the highest level of diagnostic expertise to assess emotional, behavioral, medical, and any psychiatric factors that could be contributing to a person's symptoms and concerns. Every new patient will undergo a comprehensive assessment as the first step to identifying the appropriate modality and duration of treatment. In addition, we can provide assessments for second opinion for both diagnostic and medication consultation.
From assessment through treatment and follow-up, the Weill Cornell Specialty Center provides all the services you need in one discreet location. Using our patient-centered approach, we will customize a treatment plan for you, then provide services that may include medication management; individual, couple, or group therapy; or specialized training classes or programs.
The Weill Cornell Psychiatry Specialty Center also offers intensive programs for children suffering from tics, anxiety, OCD, and related conditions; women with mood disorders, post-partum depression, and other reproduction-related issues; and teens and young adults suffering from anxiety disorders.
Learn more about the services and specialized programs we offer below.
Expert Assessment
Psychopharmacology
The Weill Cornell Psychiatry Specialty Center has nationally recognized practitioners in the field of adult and child psychopharmacology. Our physicians provide medication management for patients treated in our program who may or may not be undergoing psychotherapy. In addition, we offer this service to patients who are under the care of therapists in practice in the community. Our physicians also specialize in the management of medications for women who are considering becoming pregnant, are pregnant, or are in the postpartum period.
Individual Psychotherapy
Our program provides evidence-based treatments that include cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), exposure with response prevention (ERP), behavioral therapy for tic disorders (CBIT), interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT), mindfulness-based therapies and psychodynamic approaches. Psychotherapy can be provided once or twice weekly and when appropriate more intensively several days a week. Psychotherapy may be recommended alone or in conjunction with a medication regimen. The type and duration of psychotherapy for each patient is based on their assessment and diagnosis.
Family and Couples Counseling
Relational and family interventions have been found to play an important role in the successful treatment and prevention of relapse for many conditions, such as OCD and anxiety, eating disorders, psychotic disorders, and depressive and bipolar mood disorders. We recognize that incorporating the strengths and resources of a family is central to the treatment of children and adolescents. For adults, we recognize that emotional, psychiatric and behavioral issues affect all members of a household, and optimal treatment includes support for the family. The Weill Cornell Psychiatry Specialty Center offers providers trained in family therapy who are experienced with working across the lifespan and with a range of diagnoses.
In addition relationships with our partners play a significant role in our quality of life. Challenges in relationships can take a toll on a person's mental and physical wellbeing. The Specialty Center's providers include experts in couples therapy who can customize interventions to fit the unique needs of each couple.
Group Psychotherapy
Group psychotherapy has been found effective in the treatment of a variety of psychiatric disorders for both children and adults. The Weill Cornell Psychiatry Specialty Center offers evidence-based group psychotherapy modalities informed by the cognitive behavioral therapy model for current and new patients in our program. Guided by one of our therapists, each group is formed through the careful selection of individuals who would benefit from this type of therapy and interaction with other patients.
Neuropsychological and Educational Testing
Neuropsychological and psychoeducational assessments provide useful diagnostic and prognostic information in a wide variety of neurological and psychiatric disorders, as well as learning disorders. High quality psychoeducational testing is essential in determining the most appropriate academic supports and services, including those found in Individualized Education Plans (IEP) and 504 Plans.
Our faculty members, who meet the highest standards of education and training in neuropsychology, use the most advanced techniques for behavioral evaluation of brain function in both pediatric and adult patients. Additionally, through their academic appointments at Weill Cornell Medical College, our staff members are involved in clinical research studies designed to advance our understanding of disorders that affect cognitive and personality functioning in patients across the lifespan.
Parent Training
Behavioral training is a critical and effective component of helping children with disruptive behaviors, such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and oppositional defiant disorder. It is also a critical component of the treatment of anxiety disorders. Through participation in our parent training program, parents who have a child undergoing treatment at the Weill Cornell Psychiatry Specialty Center find support while learning coping skills, problem-solving strategies, and ways to manage the challenging behaviors of children with these disorders.
Women's Reproductive Psychiatry Program
Our women's program has nationally recognized clinicians and researchers providing specialty care that meets the unique needs of women throughout the lifecycle. The women's program has a particular focus on mood disorders related to peripartum period, menstrual cycle, and perimenopause. Some women may experience a new onset of symptoms associated with pregnancy or menopause, while others with prior mental health concerns benefit from specialized care during these times. Our faculty work as a team with the patient's primary physician and healthcare providers to coordinate care and ensure smooth delivery of services and comprehensive care. Services may include consultations and ongoing management of medication during pregnancy, lactation, and treatment for infertility.
Youth Anxiety Center (YAC)
Youth anxiety is an under-recognized and inadequately addressed clinical issue. NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital's Youth Anxiety Center (YAC) identifies anxious youth and their difficulties in transition to adulthood. The Youth Anxiety Center offers help and hope to under-treated and often misdiagnosed transitional age youth ages 16 to 28 with anxiety and related difficulties through a unique collaboration between the faculty of Weill Cornell Medical College and Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons. The Youth Anxiety Center delivers these services with a firm foundation in cutting-edge basic research and clinical treatments. This program offers individual therapy, medication management, group therapy, and parent/family consultation services.
Pediatric OCD, Anxiety and Tic Disorders Program (POCAT)
The Weill Cornell Pediatric OCD, Anxiety and Tic Disorders Program (POCAT) is a sub-specialty clinic operated through the Weill Cornell Medical College Physicians' Organization. Led by Shannon Bennett, PhD, and Justin Mohatt, MD, POCAT provides a team-based approach to treating children and adolescents utilizing state-of-the-art evidence-based practices that can be applied along a continuum of intensity, from regular outpatient visits through groups and individual sessions multiple days a week through our intensive treatment program.
Treatment modalities include Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Exposure with Response Prevention, Habit Reversal Therapy, supportive and psychodynamic psychotherapies, group therapy, parent guidance, and medication evaluation and management. The structure of the clinic allows for flexibility in treatment planning, rapid assessment in crisis situations, prompt access to your providers, and a high level of privacy and discretion in a fee-for-service model of personalized care.
POCAT provides one of the only Intensive Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and Anxiety Treatment Programs in the region. The intensive program consists of up to ten hours a week of active treatment, with an emphasis on group treatment. The goal of the program will be to provide short-term intensive treatment to target symptoms using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) treatment strategies. Our program provides evaluation, psychoeducation, group therapy, individual sessions, parent sessions, and the option for medication evaluation and management. This program addresses OCD as well as other non-OCD anxiety disorders, such as Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Separation Anxiety Disorder, Social Phobia, Selective Mutism, and specific phobias. It is appropriate for a broad range of children and teens with moderately to severely impairing symptoms, and their families. This model of intensive care can be an alternative to hospitalization or step down from hospitalization. In addition, it provides a way for families without easy access to expert treatment to receive intensive care in a time-limited manner, and then return to their home community. (Find out more about the Intensive OCD and Anxiety Treatment Program.) For all families, we provide a specific and thorough plan for aftercare. For those returning to home communities outside New York City, this includes a plan for continuing to practice newly learned skills to maintain treatment gains, coordination with a treatment provider in your home community for continuity of care, and the opportunity for follow-up visits with us by phone or in person, if needed. For those in nearby communities, we provide the added option of ongoing follow-up treatment in our clinic.