Almost every family is affected by mental illness or substance use, but fewer than half of those who need it can access timely and effective care.
The UW Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences is a world leader in creating innovative programs that improve access to effective mental health care. As the only academic psychiatry department in the region and the largest psychiatry training program in the country, we’re poised to support and transform the region’s mental health needs. We believe there is no health without mental health and envision a world where everyone gets the care and treatment they need.
Philanthropic support is crucial to our success and has launched and supported a number of innovative and impactful programs. Donations to the Psychiatry Discretionary Fund allow us to pursue our mission of improving the health of the public by supporting research, teaching, patient care, and other departmental priorities such as those listed below.
Top priorities
Resident well-being is essential for optimal resident learning, competent and compassionate clinical care, and the smooth functioning of the residency program. Our Residency Wellness Program is a vital component to our psychiatry training program that promotes a sense of collegiality and enhances our residents’ emotional health. Supported by philanthropy, our Residency Wellness Program allows us to offer:
- wellness retreats
- wellness didactics
- resident bonding within and between classes
- opportunities for reflection
- resident-driven wellness programming
- welcome events for PGY-1s
Please consider donating to the Psychiatry Resident Education and Training Fund!
Our biggest strength is our people, and this year we hope to recruit faculty members to:
- Develop and oversee a new Center for Neuromodulation that will serve both inpatients and outpatients experiencing treatment resistant depression and other devastating psychiatric illnesses using new brain stimulation (neuromodulation) treatments.
- Advance clinical, research and training activities in healthy brain aging and age-related cognitive decline.
- Develop and lead a new clinician scientist training program.
- Lead our Psychiatry Residency Training Program, the largest psychiatry residency program in the US.
New space and facilities allow us to bring in excellent people and programs. We are pursuing:
- State-of-the-art space for teaching, research and clinical care at the new Behavioral Health Teaching Facility, the remodel and upgrade of the existing geropsychiatry unit at UWMC-Northwest, and the new UW Medicine Behavioral Health Institute at Harborview Medical Center.
- The creation of an Innovation Clinic to build our capacity for testing new types of medication, psychotherapy and other treatments for mental health and addiction problems.
- Partnerships to provide transitional clinical support for patients who are discharged from one of our inpatient psychiatric facilities to a supported housing program.
- A long-term residential treatment program for adolescents.
We continue to invest in novel ways to treat mental health and substance use. We are exploring:
- State-of-the art neuromodulation (brain stimulation) approaches to help people with treatment resistant depression and other serious brain health problems.
- The use of psychedelic compounds combined with psychotherapies for treating addictions including alcohol, opioid and tobacco use disorders.
- The development of vaccines, antibody-based strategies and small molecules to counteract opioid use disorders and overdose and the application of those strategies for other unmet medical challenges.
- Strategies to improve access to care and care for adolescents with depression and anxiety.
New facilities and programs present new opportunities to develop our workforce. We hope to build:
- A new workforce of Behavioral Health Support Specialists by training bachelor-level practitioners to deliver evidence-based psychosocial treatments in primary and specialty care and in schools.
- A Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner Training Program in collaboration with the School of Nursing.
- A Physician Assistant Training Program in collaboration with MedEx Northwest.
- A Behavioral Neurology and Neuropsychiatry (BNNP) Fellowship Program in collaboration with the Department of Neurology.
- A Physician Scientist Training Program focused on clinical and translational research.
- A Forensic Psychiatry Fellowship and a Global Mental Health Fellowship to strengthen our training programs in these areas.
Join Us
If you would like to learn more about our fundraising priorities, we would love to hear from you.
David Chow
Director for Philanthropy
UW Medicine Advancement
850 Republican St., C-5
Box 358045
Seattle, WA 98195-8045
Cell: 207.956.1806
chowd@uw.edu
Clint Burwell
Assistant Vice President for Health System Philanthropy
UW Medicine Advancement
Box 358045
Seattle, WA 98195-8045
Phone: 206.616.6464
burwec@uw.edu
Jürgen Unützer, MD, MPH, MA
Chair, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
1959 Pacific Ave NE, BB-1644
Seattle, WA 98195
Phone: 206-543-3128
unutzer@uw.edu