Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine
About
Program Overview
Our faculty numbers more than 60 individuals housed in multiple locations in the Carilion Clinic system and at the Salem Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC). Our residency program focuses on research competence and scholarship, key elements in developing the skills necessary for the future psychiatric physician. Our work incorporates evidence-based psychotherapy training and decision support in psychopharmacology. We foster an interprofessional approach to care delivery and work closely in the development and implementation of evidence-based practice as a standard of care. We’re at the beginning of a transformative process: Carilion Clinic has committed major funding to help build new facilities for our department.
Virginia Tech Carilion Partnership
The Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC, headed by neuroscientist Michael Friedlander, Ph.D., is growing rapidly and incorporates large and well-funded initiatives in functional neuroimaging, health behavior research, addictions and interventional psychiatry. We are developing close linkages in each of these evolving domains and working to ensure that our patients are provided access to cutting-edge care and interventions, including transcranial magnetic stimulation.
Mission, Goals and Strengths
Our mission is to advance the mental and physical health of our communities, and to become an internationally recognized pioneer of clinical excellence through the dedicated integration of education, discovery and recovery.
What will psychiatry look like in the years ahead? At Carilion, the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine is not only transforming the way care is conceived of and delivered for our patients, but we are working to train and shape the physicians and thought leaders of tomorrow through our work with the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine and the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC.
By integrating our services into specialty clinics, primary care offices and community-based agencies, we are able to hone in on the best ways to treat mental illness and substance abuse disorders within our region.
In addition, Carilion’s vast network allows us to reach out to those in rural communities through our tele-psychiatry program via emergency psychiatry, inpatient psychiatry, ambulatory care, consultation and tele-therapy.
As we prepare to meet the challenges of the future of medicine, we are actively recruiting new faculty. If you’re interested in learning about the possibility of joining us in this endeavor, please contact us. You will find a warm welcome and an opportunity to grow an extraordinary career.
Message from Leadership
Robert L. Trestman, Ph.D., M.D.
Chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine, Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine
Senior Vice President and Chair of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine, Carilion Clinic
Department specs
Two inpatient psychiatric care facilities: * Carilion Medical Center (Roanoke, Va.) * 35 adult beds * 14 child and adolescent beds * Carilion New River Valley Medical Center (Christiansburg, Va.) * 36 adult beds
Program Size
- 42 faculty
- 32 residents
Services
- Outpatient psychotherapy and counseling services
- Health behavior interventions and behavioral modification, including ECT (electroconvulsive therapy), TMS (transcranial magnetic stimulation), ketamine/Spravato treatment and vagal nerve stimulation (VNS)
- Grief and loss psychotherapy and counseling services
- Opioid and substance use psychotherapy and counseling services (Carilion Office Based Opioid Treatment Program enrollees)
- Collaborative care
- Telemedicine
Specialties within Department
- Adult Psychiatry
- Geriatric Psychiatry
- Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
- Addiction Treatment Services
- Women's Mental Health
- Emergency Psychiatry
Contact and Careers
Contact
For career information, contact the following recruitment representative for:
Licensed Therapists and staff, Kim Gonce, kagonce@carilionclinic.org
Physician Assistants and Nurse Practitioners, Karyn Farrell, kbfarrell@carilionclinic.org
Physicians and Clinical Psychologists, Rob Way, rjway@carilionclinic.org
To learn more about each of our Carilion Mental Health locations, visit our Mental Health page.
Careers
Our team is comprised of talent from across the nation, and for good reason. Many employees cite the combination of being surrounded by the mountains and a low cost of living that includes world class outdoor recreation, and incredible arts and music as a major draw to the area. It's a relaxing environment that allows you to focus on the patients' well-being - and your own.
Learn More About Current Openings in Mental Health
Subspecialties
Programs
News
Research
Research and scholarly pursuit are mainstays of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine. In addition to research mentorship and guidance involving medical students, psychiatry residents and fellows, faculty participate in discovery projects that revolve around translational science consistent with our colleagues at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC. These collaborations emphasize biological, behavioral and clinical measures that contribute to the ever-expanding scientific literature in understanding neuropsychiatric illness as well as normal behavior.
Educational research and scholarly activity focus on development and implementation of new curricula, assessment tools and methods of tracking outcomes and career choice.
The department remains active in clinical trials with community volunteers and Carilion Clinic patients from child to geriatric individuals. Clinical areas of compound/product development include autism, mood disorders, substance use disorders, dementia and psychosis on both an inpatient and outpatient basis.
The department is also actively involved in adapting existing models of psychotherapy to new populations with particular goals of identifying predictive markers of success.
Finally, population health research strategies and continuous latest-treatment algorithms are the ultimate goal as the department seamlessly seeks to combine measurement-based care (MBC)/patient-rated outcome measures (PROMs).
Learn more about Psychiatry and Psychology Research.
Faculty
Education
Overview
Residency and fellowship trainees at Carilion Clinic-Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine (VTCSOM) receive a superior education. Our network of hospitals, along with our primary and specialty physician practices, provides ample opportunities to gain hands-on clinical experience in an academic setting. Learn more about our Graduate Medical Education programs.
Visit the Psychiatry Residency page by clicking here.
FAQs
CONNECT
CONNECT is the section within the Carilion Clinic Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health that provides assessment, triage and referral services for those in need of psychiatric and substance abuse assistance. A 24-hour service, CONNECT comprises experienced psychiatric nurses and licensed, master’s-level psychiatric social workers and counselors. Assessments are performed for all patients in the Emergency Departments of the extended Carilion Clinic system, either face-to-face or through video technology. Recommendations for appropriate levels of care are screened with a psychiatrist, and CONNECT facilitates the disposition.
CONNECT receives over 8,000 calls per month, including requests for resources, crisis calls and bed requests from all over Virginia. It is responsible for managing the admissions and throughput of patients to the psychiatric units at Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital and the Carilion New River Valley Medical Center, facilitating telepsychiatry consults and performing chemical dependency consults on medical inpatients.
START NOW
START NOW integrates research, theory and clinical experience. It is designed to be a strengths-based approach, focusing on an accepting and collaborative clinical style. At the same time, this approach places the primary responsibility for change on the participant. This intervention was also designed to take into account the pragmatic factors of a variety of care delivery settings, which frequently face limited treatment resources. Learn more.
The Carilion Clinic Addiction Task Force
Vision: A vibrant and healthy community free of health-impairing addictions.
Mission: To coordinate and facilitate Carilion's efforts to address the health-impairing addictions in our communities.
