MISSION
The Department of Psychiatry addresses the mental health needs of Missouri through training future mental health providers and engaging in research and scholarly activity.
VISION
Community engagement is a priority of the Department of Psychiatry. The Department of Psychiatry is the preferred site of training in mental health for graduates of schools of health sciences in Missouri and surrounding states. The treatment, training and research programs are innovative, evidence-based and inclusive of all health care disciplines. These programs address the mental health needs of a culturally diverse population within the region.
PHILOSOPHY
The department believes that psychiatry is an integral part of the field of medicine in that all human beings exhibit emotions and behavior. Patients without psychiatric disorder but with medical problems may experience disturbances of emotions and behavior, and patients with psychiatric disorders experience disorders of emotion and behavior. The department seeks to draw upon the body of information and skills which have evolved over time that allow us to provide relief to both categories of suffering described above. These interventions range from the somatic to the psychological and from pharmacotherapy to psychotherapy. They include addressing such social factors as the family and the community. These interventions must also be sensitive to cultural, religious, socioeconomic, and ethnic diversity.
OBJECTIVES
- To provide excellent psychiatric care to all patients in need of such care at Center for Behavioral Medicine, and Truman Medical Center regardless of their ability to pay for this care.
- To treat all patients with empathic respect for their right to safety, dignity, and confidentiality.
- To teach medical students the necessary information and skills to be safe, effective, and empathic physicians.
- To develop the knowledge base and skills of residents who have chosen a career path in psychiatry so that they can be safe, effective, and empathic psychiatrists.
- To provide mental health professionals and fellow physicians in all fields with continuing education in the field of psychiatry.
- To contribute to the current body of knowledge in the field of psychiatry through creative and ethical research, and other scholarly activity.
Stuart Munro, M.D.
Chair, Department of Psychiatry