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Anchor Point Clinic (Psychotic Disorders Program)
Adult Services
Learn MoreAccording to the National Institute of Mental Health, “psychosis refers to a collection of symptoms that affect the mind, where there has been some loss of contact with reality. During an episode of psychosis, a person’s thoughts and perceptions are disrupted and they may have difficulty recognizing what is real and what is not.” The experience of psychosis can result from medical or neurologic problems or may arise from using drugs and alcohol. Sometimes psychosis is part of psychiatric disorders, such as schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, bipolar disorder, or depression. When psychosis limits a person’s ability to work, study, or socialize, it should be treated by experienced mental health professionals in a specialized setting.
The Anchor Point Clinic is an outpatient program that provides evaluation and treatment services for individuals age 18 and older who are experiencing psychosis. We specialize in providing services to people who may have recently started experiencing early symptoms of psychosis, as well as those who have been living with psychosis for years. We also treat individuals who experience psychosis and struggle with other mental health concerns at the same time, including depression, anxiety, substance use, and trauma. We care for individuals holistically using a patient-centered, recovery-oriented, strengths-based approach.
Diagnostic evaluation and treatment planning
We provide expertise in diagnostic assessment and recommendations for future treatment planning. We center an individual’s personal goals at the core of our treatment planning process, and work to educate everyone we work with about what they are going through.
Expertise in the treatment of psychosis with medications and neurostimulation
For many individuals, medications are an essential part of their recovery. We offer state-of-the-art pharmacologic treatment, with medication selection designed to address symptoms as much as possible while minimizing side effects. We have expertise in clozapine, a medication that can be uniquely effective for persistent symptoms when all other medications fail. We also prescribe and administer medications in long-acting injectable formulations, which replace the need to take a pill every day with a once-per-month injection given in our clinic. Additionally, we offer electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) as an adjunctive treatment when medications alone are not sufficient to alleviate distressing and impairing symptoms.
Involvement of family and other supports in treatment
For many individuals, their recovery involves other important people in their lives. We incorporate family, friends, and other supports into treatment planning in a manner that respects an individual’s confidentiality, while maximizing positive impact on recovery.
Continuity of care between acute inpatient hospitalization and outpatient treatment
While we try to avoid hospitalization as much as possible, many individuals benefit from inpatient treatment. We have found that communication between inpatient and outpatient providers is critical for comprehensive treatment planning. Many of our physicians work in inpatient and outpatient settings, which greatly enhances the quality of care for patients who receive both inpatient and outpatient treatment at our institution.
Psychiatric Advanced Directives (PAD) Clinic
The UI Health Psychiatric Advanced Directives (PAD) Clinic offers an opportunity to discuss and complete a psychiatric advance directive. A psychiatric advance directive is a legal document that details your preferences for future mental health treatment and names an individual of your choice to make treatment decisions if you are in crisis or unable to make decisions.
Eric Zimmerman is an Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychiatry in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Illinois Chicago. Dr. Zimmerman received his MD and PhD from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. He completed his residency training in General Adult Psychiatry at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Western Psychiatric Hospital. In residency he developed an interest in the care of severe and persistent mental illness, pursuing electives at a specialty clozapine clinic, an Assertive Community Treatment team, and a street medicine team, among others. During training, he also completed a fellowship in Public Service Psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh Center for Public Service Psychiatry.
Dr. Lloyd grew up in the Chicago area and studied French and Arabic at NYU. She then returned to Chicago to complete her medical and psychiatric training at UIC, where she has enjoyed learning from her patients, and working alongside colleagues who are passionate about promoting health equity in the surrounding communities. Her primary interests lie in treating severe mental illness and its frequent companion, catatonia, in underserved populations. As faculty at UIH, her main clinical activities are supervising residents on the inpatient unit and in electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). She is the Medical Director of the ECT Service. She additionally provides psychodynamic therapy supervision for PGY2s.
Dr. Rajiv P. Sharma is a Research Professor of Psychiatry. Over the past 30 years, he has examined multiple aspects of the schizophrenia illness, including clinical presentations, biochemical studies (hormones, immune molecules, monoamine metabolites, neuropeptides), as well as molecular studies in living subjects, postmortem brain samples, and cell studies. His research is funded by NIH. He is currently focusing on the dissection of epigenetic gene regulation in schizophrenia, pertaining to immune function, cognition, treatment response.
For more information, please visit Shiyun Kim profile.
Dr. Holden is the Director of Addiction Psychiatry. He treats a variety of psychiatric conditions, and he specializes in the treatment of patients with co-occurring psychiatric and substance use disorders. He works with patients in the outpatient mental health clinic as well as the hospital’s inpatient medical, surgical, and psychiatric units.
Dr. Wong joined the UIC Department of Psychiatry in 2023. Prior to this, she completed her Addiction Psychiatry Fellowship at Northwestern University and her General Psychiatry residency at Wayne State University. She is board certified in General Psychiatry and board eligible in Addiction Psychiatry. Dr. Wong works within the Mood and Anxiety Division, but also has an interest in treating substance use disorders and dual diagnoses patients.
Dr. Zulueta received his medical degree from Northwestern University. He completed his psychiatry residency training at UIC and stayed on to complete a fellowship in clinical informatics. He is interested in the application of new technologies and data science to the problems of psychiatry.
Dr. Perry Tsai received his BA from Harvard College and his MD and PhD from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine. He completed his residency training in general psychiatry at UIC as a research-track resident, and he is excited to continue as a postdoctoral fellow and clinical instructor. Dr. Tsai studied HIV as a graduate student at UNC Chapel Hill, and he is now studying the connection between inflammation and mood disorders, with a specific focus on Long COVID.
What is Psychosis?
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH): Understanding Psychosis
National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors (NASMHPD): What is Psychosis?
National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI): Psychosis Information Page
Early Psychosis Intervention Network (EPINET): Understanding and Addressing Stigma
What is “First Episode Psychosis”?
NAMI: What is Early and First-Episode Psychosis?
NASMHPD: Early Intervention in Psychosis virtual resource center (en español)
Designed for individuals and families, Strong 365 provides online education, peer support, and connection to providers specializing in first episode psychosis across the United States.
Families and Friends
NASMHPD: Demystifying Psychosis: For Family Members
EPINET: ¿Cómo Motivar a las Personas Buscar Ayuda en Casos de Psicosis de Inicio Temprano?
National Federation of Families
ONE MIND: Schizophrenia Research Initiatives
One Mind is a lived-experience-led nonprofit focused on helping people with brain illness and injury to recover so that they can succeed in their lives.
Understanding the Experience of Hearing Voices
“Hearing the Voice” project’s website for voice-hearers, families and health professionals contains comprehensive and accessible information about voice-hearing, including coping strategies and how to find support.
Animation of ‘What is hearing voices?’ produced by the Hearing the Voice researchers in close collaboration with people with lived experience.
Hearing Voices is a nationally-based network around the world joined by shared goals and values, incorporating a fundamental belief that there are many ways to understand the experience of hearing voices and other unusual or extreme experiences. It is part of an international collaboration between professionals, people with lived experience, and their families to develop an alternative approach to coping with emotional distress that is empowering and useful to people, and does not start from the assumption that they have a chronic illness.
Learning more
ISPS-US promotes psychological and social approaches to states of mind often called "psychosis" by providing education, training, advocacy, and opportunities for dialogue between service providers, people with lived experience, family members, activists, and researchers.
Managing a Crisis
Illinois Department of Human Services: Living Room Program
The Living Room Program (LRP) is for individuals in need of a crisis respite program with services and supports designed to proactively divert crises and break the cycle of psychiatric hospitalization. The LRP provides a safe, inviting, home-like atmosphere where individuals can calmly process the crisis event, as well as learn and apply wellness strategies which may prevent future crisis events.
If interested, please visit Psychosis Research Program.
Call today to speak with one of our intake coordinators. 312.996.2200
