Psychiatry & Behavioral Science

The Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Science at the UND School of Medicine & Health Sciences is a multidisciplinary department with core missions of excellence in education, clinical care, research, and community engagement.

Our faculty, staff, residents, and students are committed partners in advancing our state's goal of improving the behavioral health of all North Dakotans, reducing behavioral health disparities, and advancing the discovery of new knowledge in the psychiatric, social, and behavioral sciences.

The biopsychosocial model of health provides the foundation for our educational programs. Medical students in all four years of their undergraduate education and physicians in our Psychiatry Residency Training Program develop competencies in determinants of behavioral health, clinical care and decision-making, basic and clinical research, professionalism, and culturally-informed practice. Allied health and behavioral sciences graduate students also participate in various clinical and research training experiences.

Our fully-accredited Adult Psychiatry Residency Program was established in 1980 and is the primary training site for our state's practicing psychiatrists. Our recently added Rural Psychiatry Program provides advanced training in telehealth and collaborative care models for improving access and quality of behavioral health services in our rural communities.

The Psychiatry Clerkship Program for third-year medical students introduces students to the practice of psychiatry in both outpatient and inpatient settings. Fourth-year medical students may also choose an elective which focuses on specialty areas in psychiatry.

Our department also houses the medical school Wellness Advocate position. This role is dedicated to promoting medical student wellness, resilience and stress management, as well as educating medical students and faculty on these important areas.

Our faculty is engaged in numerous state, national and international research collaborations for advancing knowledge of the epidemiology, prevention, and treatment of behavioral health disorders and conditions across the lifespan. Our faculty lead research activities in the multidisciplinary Sanford Research, the Sanford Health Eating Disorders Center, the NIH-funded GENACIS alcohol epidemiology collaboration and the North Dakota Department of Human Services.