About Us
Message from the Chair
“The UNC Department of Psychiatry has a distinguished history as national leaders and a commitment to excellence in our missions: clinical service, teaching, research and advocacy. We are nationally and internationally recognized in each of these domains and have a passion for innovation, cutting-edge discovery, training the next generation of leaders in psychiatry and advocating for policy that improves the lives of the patients we serve. This is a transformative time for Psychiatry and Behavioral Health and we are extremely well poised to respond to the significant mental health needs facing our society. We are intentionally fostering belonging through our actions, our policies and our culture. Whether you are looking for information about clinical programs, education and training, groundbreaking research, community engagement, or our new initiatives focused on mental health equity, I welcome your interest in our exceptional department.” – Samantha Meltzer-Brody, MD, MPH
Patient Services
Our providers deliver expert, compassionate clinical care to all of our patients – from the youngest children to the oldest adults, spanning the ethnic, socioeconomic and educational spectrum. Multiple inpatient units and outpatient clinics at a variety of locations throughout the Triangle offer comprehensive care and specialized treatment options for all psychiatric disorders. Our multidisciplinary teams actively collaborate and consult with other departments within the UNC School of Medicine and physicians, patients, and families throughout North Carolina and the Southeast.
Research
UNC Psychiatry researchers stand at the forefront of cutting-edge translational psychiatric research, exploring the underlying mechanisms of human behavior and mental illness to inform new treatments and improve clinical practices. The depth and range of our clinical research programs enables us to offer many patients access to specialized care and state-of-the-art treatments that not only can improve their lives but also contribute to the betterment of the mental health of generations to come.
Education
Psychiatry is a challenging yet rewarding discipline, and our residency and fellowship training programs continually expand and adapt to meet a host of changing needs. We provide a clinical training experience that effectively integrates psychiatric theory and practice with knowledge of psychodynamic principles, neurobiology, and pharmacology. We ensure that each trainee is extensively versed in a variety of behavioral, cognitive, and social approaches and treatment options, and in understanding the scientific and research methods that underpin our specialty. Our comprehensive training programs are among the most respected in the country, and graduates of our programs are competent physicians appropriately grounded in the understanding and treatment of psychiatric illnesses that go on to assume positions of leadership in academia (including several current Chairs of major departments of psychiatry), public service, private practice, and other areas of the private sector.
Provider Wellness
Medicine is facing an era of rapid and continuous change in nearly every way: payment models, technology, standards for clinical practice, and consumer driven healthcare. To prevent burnout syndrome and assist providers who are navigating this incredibly stressful environment, UNC has adopted the Quadruple Aim: a focus on enhancing patient experience, improving population health, reducing costs, and improving provider work life. Our Department’s innovative, supportive wellness programs offer novel approaches that integrate wellness as a critical metric to combat provider burnout throughout the institution.