 webmaster@psych.uic.edu
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Psychiatric
Clinical Research Center
Clinical
Care
Treatment
The PCRC is located
at the UIC Hospital Medical Center. Patients undergoing treatment
are assigned a psychiatrist, a primary therapist, a nurse, and a social
worker upon admission. The treatment team also consists of a pharmacist,
psychologist, music therapist, and recreational therapist. Our medical
staff includes some of the most renowned psychiatrists in the world.
Many medications developed and tested in the center have become standard
treatments for mental illnesses. The medications our physicians prescribe
in the research program are the results of extensive investigations
and are the newest and most advanced treatments available. Many of
the treatment strategies offered are not available in traditional
mental health settings.
Clinical Highlights
- Participants
are not charged for treatment
- A drug-free monitoring
period when indicated
- Evaluation and
diagnosis by a multidisciplinary team
- State-of-the-art
analytic measurements, including plasma determinations, rating scales
for scoring symptoms, neuropsychological testing, electrophysiology,
and brain imaging when indicated.
Admission Criteria
- Eligible patients
include those with a primary diagnosis of schizophrenia, schizoaffective
disorder, bipolar disorder, major depression, or other psychotic disorders
- Patients must
be at least 18 years old
- Voluntary admission
- Legally and clinically
competent to give informed consent for research
- Without significant
medical illness
Discharge, Linkage,
and Aftercare
We work hard to
ensure quality care after discharge. Our social workers begin making
contacts with public assistance agencies, community resources, and
neighborhood mental health centers as soon as the patient is admitted.
To ensure continuity of care, patients are discharged with a supply
of medications, and all patients leave with an appointment for psychiatric
follow-up.
Achievements
Investigations
performed at the center have resulted in major advances in the diagnosis
and treatment of schizophrenia and mood disorders. We have helped
develop agents such as divalproex sodium (Depakote), a mood stabilizer/antimanic
agent, new antidepressants such as fluoxetine (Prozac) and sertraline
(Zoloft), and atypical antipsychotics such as risperidone (Risperdal),
olanzapine (Zyprexa), and clozapine (Clozaril).
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