The Integrative Psychiatry Curriculum: Development of an Innovative Model

The Integrative Psychiatry Curriculum (IPC) was developed to train psychiatry residents and fellows to apply an Integrative Medicine (IM) approach for patients presenting with psychiatric disorders. Launched in 2015, IPC includes interactive online courses, in-person experiential sessions, and a clinical component with supervision. Twenty-one residents and fellows have completed the curriculum. The purpose of the IPC is 2-fold: to enhance patient wellness through training residents and fellows in evidence-based whole-person care and to improve physician well-being through enhanced stress management and self-awareness utilizing the practice of mind–body skills within a supportive small group setting. Course participants are trained in a broad range of prevention and treatment options and learn about their evidence base; they then practice incorporating IM into diagnosis and treatment plans through supervised clinical experience. This article describes the development of IPC and its elements. Efforts are underway to further develop and standardize the offerings and increase the portability of the course, making it easier for Psychiatry training programs with limited faculty expertise in IM to provide the curriculum for residents and fellows. To reach the goal of disseminating such a curriculum for integrative psychiatry, further funding and collaboration with multiple residency training programs is needed.

Assessing Integrative Psychiatry Curriculum Needs

Background Research on incorporating integrative medicine (IM) into medical training is increasing. Programs and organizations around IM have been established, but there has not previously been a needs assessment focused on integrating IM into psychiatry training. Objectives The results of a needs assessment of training directors and faculty, focused on interest and priorities for developing an IM curriculum for psychiatry training programs, are described. Methods Psychiatry Training Directors and faculty were invited to participate in a detailed electronic survey. Areas of inquiry included (a) IM content areas to include in training; (b) IM approaches to specific medical conditions; (c) existing IM content; (d) importance, interest, and strategies for IM training; and (e) availability of wellness programs for trainees. Results Thirty-six respondents from psychiatry training programs completed the survey. Of the training programs represented by the respondents, 50% indicated that they currently had IM content in their curriculum; only 11.8% of them rated their programs’ existing IM content as sufficient. Content areas rated most highly for inclusion in a psychiatry IM curriculum included sleep health, motivational interviewing, and self-care. Respondents indicated incorporating IM into the psychiatry training curriculum (47%) or as an elective (44%) as the desired implementation strategy, with experiential onsite activities demonstrating IM topics (67%) and online modules supplemented by local faculty (58%) as the 2 most desirable learning formats. Significant barriers identified were time constraints, lack of faculty expertise in IM, current lack of curricular requirements for IM competencies, and budgetary limitations. Conclusion Responses to the survey suggest that faculty need support and additional education in implementing IM training. A standardized, online curriculum could help meet that need. Our results also indicate that wellness programs for residents are currently inadequate; bolstering them could help address burnout and increase the knowledge psychiatrists have of IM modalities. The types of institutions represented by faculty interested in further developing IM offerings vary considerably, as do their current efforts to integrate IM into training programs.

Integrative Treatment of Depression and Anxiety (DRAFT)

An integrative approach to the understanding and treatment of mood, anxiety, and sexual disorders is different from a conventional allopathic approach. Rather than merely identifying and treating symptoms, integrative psychiatry looks at the whole person and provides a unique treatment plan for each person, which might also include psychotropic medications when appropriate. Integrative psychiatry addresses the root causes of the problem, considers all factors that influence an individual’s physical and mental health, and, whenever possible, uses less toxic interventions. Many individuals seek integrative care because the conventional approaches have failed to help them. This chapter provides a road map for treating depression and anxiety from an evidenced-based integrative perspective: micronutrients, fish oil, herbs, amino acids, other treatments such as light therapy, and of course lifestyle changes. The integrative approach to mental health treatment has the added benefit of doing less to disrupt sexual function and more to heal it.

Integrative Psychiatry and Brain Health

Part of the Weil Integrative Medicine Library, this volume provides a rational and evidence-based approach to the integrative therapy of mental disorders, integrating the principles of alternative and complementary therapies into the principles and practice of conventional psychiatry and psychology. Integrative Psychiatry and Brain Health examines what works and what doesn’t and offers practical guidelines for physicians to incorporate integrative medicine into their practice and to advise patients on reasonable and effective therapies. The text discusses areas of controversy and identifies areas of uncertainty where future research is needed. Chapters also cite the best available evidence for both the safety and the efficacy of all therapies discussed. The information is presented in accessible and easy-to-read formats, including clinical pearls and key points.