Welcome to the web page of the Department of Social Work at the New York State Psychiatric Institute! Here you will find information regarding the department's research, student training program, resources, and services as well as contact information. The Social Work Department is committed to delivering quality care while improving existing services provided to our patients.

The Social Work Department Vision

The overall aim is to maximize the quality of life for both the person with the illness and his/her social family.

Psychiatric illness have catastrophic impact not only on the life of the person with psychiatric illness but also on the family as it can encroach on the quality of life of all it's members. The episodic and ambiguous nature of psychiatric illness and its often bleak prognosis-accompanied by stigma-imposes inordinate stressors on the family. The aim of the Social Work Department is to provide individuals with psychiatric illness and their families with the most effective, modern and compassionate psychosocial treatments while at the same time advancing scientific knowledge about psychosocial dimensions of mental disorders and their treatments. This may take the form of learning about how families adapt to illness; psychosocial interventions in personal, family, vocational and social domains; understanding the impact that mental illness has on the individual as well as other members of the family, and advancing our ability to provide each family and psychiatrically ill individual with the most up-to-date information regarding illness management and adaptation. Hence, the mission of the Social Work Department is to provide and enhance clinical care, education and research at the New York State Psychiatric Institute.

General Contact Information

ph: 212.543.5257
1051 Riverside Drive
New York, N.Y. 10032
goldene@pi.cpmc.columbia.edu