The New York State Psychiatric Institute, located at the Columbia University Irving Medical Center in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, was established in 1895 as one of the first institutions in the United States to integrate teaching, research and therapeutic approaches to the care of patients with mental illnesses. In 1925, the Institute affiliated with Presbyterian Hospital, now NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, adding general hospital facilities to the institute's psychiatric services and research laboratories.

Through the years, distinguished figures in American psychiatry have served as directors of the Psychiatric Institute, including Drs. Ira Van Gieson, Adolph Meyer, August Hoch, Otto Kernberg, Lawrence Kolb, Edward Sachar, Herbert Pardes and Jeffrey Lieberman. The current executive director is Dr. Joshua A. Gordon.

History

The institute was established in 1895 by the New York State Hospital Commission as the Pathological Institute of the New York State Hospitals. In 1907, its name changed to Psychiatric Institute of the State Hospitals. The 1927 Mental Hygiene Law designated it as the New York State Psychiatric Institute. In December 1929, the institute opened as a unit of the Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center, owned and operated by the state of New York under the supervision of the Department of Mental Hygiene.

Other names

It is also known by the following names: It is connected by walkway bridges to the high-rise Lawrence G. Kolb Research Laboratory at 40 Haven Avenue at West 168th Street, built in 1983 and designed by Herbert W. Reimer.

References

Notes

Bibliography

  • Levy, Eric, "The New York State Psychiatric Institute: Revolutionizing The Study of Mental Illness", P&S Journal, Fall 2003, Columbia University (website archived 2008)
  • The New York State Psychiatric Institute
  • History of NYSPI, Columbia Psychiatry Department website