Psychiatry Ambulatory Service

About Our Psychiatry Clinics

Psychiatry Session The Psychiatry Ambulatory Service provides ongoing medical care and actively collaborates with other BIDMC physicians to offer psychiatric consultation and recommendations for treatment. The service consists of a General Psychiatry Practice as well as specialty clinics in Geriatric Psychiatry, Perinatal Psychiatry, Psycho-oncology, and Neuropsychology assessment.

Our clinical staff includes staff psychiatrists, Harvard Longwood Psychiatry residents, neuropsychologists, clinical social workers, and a nurse practitioner.

Patients, age 19 or older, are first seen for a psychiatric consultation. Following the initial consultation, a recommendation will be made to you and your referring physician regarding treatment options. Recommendations take into account your clinical assessment and the clinical resources necessary for effective care. Common treatments within our clinic include psychopharmacology and focal intermittent psychotherapy. If you require more comprehensive or intensive treatment, you will be referred to the appropriate clinical setting outside our system.

Advancing Services for Psychosis Integration and Recovery (ASPIRE)

The Advancing Services for Psychosis Integration and Recovery (ASPIRE) clinic accepts referrals at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC). We provide comprehensive evaluation and outpatient treatment for individuals experiencing early psychosis symptoms. Integrated within the larger BIDMC community, we offer coordinated, multidisciplinary care customized to meet every patient’s individual needs. Our academic center also presents opportunities to participate in clinical research allowing us to better understand and develop innovative treatments for early psychosis.

For More Information

Affective Disorders Consultation Clinic

The goal of this service is to provide consultation for the broad range of mood disorders if you are already in psychiatric treatment. These mood disorders may include major depressive and bipolar disorders, often complicated by other conditions, including anxiety disorders, personality disorders and substance abuse.

These consultations provide you and your clinician with a diagnostic and therapeutic Recommendations, including medications, as well as psychotherapy and psychosocial interventions.

Contact your physician to schedule a consultation.

Cancer Wellness Psychiatry Clinic

The Cancer Wellness Psychiatry Clinic is part of the Psychiatry Ambulatory Service. We offer consultation and time limited treatment for people who are in active cancer treatment here at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Common symptoms that may develop during cancer treatment include fatigue, anxiety and depressed mood. Relationship difficulties and issues related to substance abuse may also arise. Psychotherapy and, in some cases, medication may be helpful. Beginning with a consultation to evaluate psychiatric needs, our psychiatrists will make recommendations for appropriate interventions and prescribe and monitor medicines, as needed, over time.

Our clinicians work closely with the BIDMC oncology teams to ensure that care is well-coordinated, collaborating with the social work and palliative care services. For more information about the clinic, or to schedule an appointment, call BIDMC's Department of Psychiatry at 617-667-4735.

Lisa Carbone, MD, Medical Director

Geriatric Psychiatry Clinic

The Geriatric Psychiatry Clinic is part of the Psychiatry Ambulatory Service. The clinic provides consultation with a psychiatrist who specializes in caring for older adults. The care in the clinic focuses on treatment planning and medication assessment, taking into account your unique emotional, social, and physical needs. Special focus is paid to the issues of depression in later life and the emotional and behavioral changes that can occur in dementia.

The Geriatric Psychiatry Clinic works closely with primary care physicians at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center to ensure that care is well coordinated. Loved ones are also encouraged to participate in appointments.

For more information about the clinic, or to schedule an initial consultation, call BIDMC's Department of Psychiatry at 617-667-4735.

Elizabeth LaSalvia, MD, Medical Director

Perinatal Psychiatry Clinic

The Perinatal Psychiatry Clinic is part of Ambulatory Psychiatry. We work closely with the BIDMC OB-GYN clinicians to assist you if you are pregnant or recently pregnant and suffering from mood, anxiety, adjustment and psychotic disorders. We provide assessment, comprehensive, multimodal treatment recommendations, and in some cases follow you through multiple pregnancies. We also provide preconception consultation regarding medication use during pregnancy and breastfeeding.

For our OB-GYN patients who have long standing mental health disorders who are cared for by clinicians or treatment teams in their home communities, we offer advice to those clinicians especially regarding medication management in the peri-partum period.

Contact your physician to schedule a consultation.

Catherine Lager, MD, Medical Director

Psycho-Oncology Clinic

The Psycho-Oncology Clinic is part of the Psychiatry Ambulatory Service at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. We are available to assist if you are being treated for cancer. Common symptoms that may develop during cancer treatment include fatigue, anxiety and depressed mood. Relationship difficulties and issues related to substance abuse may also arise. Counseling, psychotherapy and, in some cases, medication may be helpful. Beginning with a consultation to evaluate psychiatric needs, psychiatrists can recommend appropriate interventions and prescribe and monitor medicines, as needed, over time.

The Psycho-Oncology Clinic works closely with the BIDMC oncology teams to ensure that your care is well-coordinated.

For more information about the clinic, or to schedule an appointment, call BIDMC's Department of Psychiatry at 617-667-4735.

Lisa Carbone, MD, Medical Director

Reproductive Psychiatry and Women's Mental Health Clinic

The Reproductive Psychiatry and Women’s Mental Health Clinic is part of the Psychiatry Ambulatory Service. We work closely with the BIDMC OB-GYN clinicians to assist women at various stages of the reproductive life cycle including preconception counseling, pregnancy, and the postpartum period. We recognize that this is a vulnerable time period for women and their families, particularly if the woman has a history of depression, anxiety and psychosis. In addition, we consult with women who have questions around premenstrual dysphoria and menopause. We provide assessment, comprehensive multimodal treatment recommendations, and in some cases follow women through multiple pregnancies.

For our BIDMC OB-GYN patients with long standing mental health disorders, who are cared for by clinicians or treatment teams in their home communities, we offer consultation to those clinicians, specifically regarding medication management in the peripartum period.

Contact your OB-GYN or PCP to facilitate a consultation.

Catherine Lager, MD, Medical Director

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS)

TMS Program at the Berenson-Allen Center for Noninvasive Brain Stimulation at BIDMC

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) is an FDA-approved noninvasive treatment approach to depression that uses powerful magnetic field pulses to activate or inhibit particular parts of the brain that are affected in mental disorders. Over time, 50-60% of patients with treatment-resistant depression who have not responded to medications and therapy often experience meaningful improvement in depression symptoms. The treatment course usually lasts about 4-6 weeks.

Contact your physician to schedule a consultation.

View brief informational videos on TMS patient care and what to expect during treatment.

Adam Stern, MD, Medical Director for Psychiatric Applications