CL & ED Psych

Rotation Information
The Psychosomatic Medicine/Consultation-Liaison Service is located in Kaweah Health Medical Center, with additional patients in the acute rehabilitation.. Residents evaluate new consultations and ongoing cases with faculty supervision. This clinical service provides comprehensive training in the principles of consultation-liaison psychiatry, including diagnostic assessments, cognitive testing, psychopharmacologic input to the medical and surgical consultee teams, crisis intervention and brief therapy. Residents teach and supervise medical students. They also provide informal advice and support to physicians and interdisciplinary staff at meetings and case conferences, as well as seminars on mental health topics.  

The Emergency Psychiatry experience is at Kaweah Health Medical Center, too, providing psychiatric adult evaluation, triage and education services in the Emergency Department. The Emergency Department at Kaweah Health  is one of the gateways to mental health services in the region – patients are diverse in terms of socioeconomic, geographic, and cultural factors. Faculty psychiatrists assign cases to residents, observe, role model interviews, listen to clinical to clinical presentations, discuss diagnoses and treatment plans and provide feedback. Patients either walk-in or are brought in by ambulance, police, social service agencies, or concerned families and friends. Clinical issues are frequently related to suicidal potential, acute dangerousness and/or the capacity to care for oneself. Residents become skilled in emergency psychiatric evaluations, acute treatment strategies, crisis intervention, and community resource referrals. They help patients learn about their illness, ways to cope and seek care, deal with fear of stigmatization, and attend to cultural concerns about mental health services - all through a good therapeutic relationship and teamwork with other disciplines. Residents help patients with triage to: 1) clinical services - inpatient, day treatment, community based residential, outpatient mental health, and primary care services; 2) alcohol and other substance programs, services or agencies; and 3) housing options. In addition to resident and faculty physicians, the Emergency Department staff includes psychiatric social workers, nurses, and medical caseworkers.