The Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences

Our Specialties

Caring for the whole patient is at the heart of our mission. The doctors and therapists at the Johns Hopkins Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences treat adults, adolescents and children through community psychiatric services, consultation clinics, inpatient units and day hospitals in more than a dozen specialty areas.

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The Future of Medicine Precision Medicine Centers of Excellence in Psychiatry

Our Precision Medicine Centers are aimed at bringing clinicians and researchers together to study how best to get the right treatments to the right patients at the right times. Disease categories are heterogenous, and the Centers aim to break out more homogenous subtypes of illness. The hope is that these illness subtypes will be differentially responsive to various available treatments. Or perhaps a given subtype will suggest a new treatment development opportunity.

Psychedelics Research and Psilocybin Therapy

The Johns Hopkins Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research is leading the way in exploring innovative treatments using psilocybin. The molecular structure of psilocybin, a naturally occurring psychedelic compound found in 'magic mushrooms,' allows it to penetrate the central nervous system. The scientific and medical experts are just beginning to understand its effects on the brain and mind and its potential as therapeutics for mental illnesses. Backed by $55 million in funding, researchers build on previous work and expand research on psychedelics for illness and wellness.

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Mental health care is a basic health right that everyone should have access to.

Dr. Erica Richards received the Levi Watkins Ideals Award during the annual celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s life and legacy. The award recognizes Johns Hopkins Medicine leaders who demonstrate an unwavering commitment to our organizational values in service to the greater community. The award is named after Dr. Levi Watkins Jr, a pioneering cardiologist and civil rights activist who founded the annual MLK Commemoration at Johns Hopkins. Dr. Richards took some time out to reflect on Dr. King’s legacy and share what the award – and the annual MLK celebration – mean to her and to the Hopkins community.

Dr. Richard's work on Diverse Participation in Research

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Top Ranked

The Johns Hopkins Hospital is ranked #4 in Psychiatry, according to U.S. News & World Report's 2024–25 Best Hospitals list.

About the Rankings

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Meet Our ExpertsSupport for Young Adults Grappling with Mental Health Struggles

Sarah Collica and Ana Soule aim to fill a gap in specialized services available to young adults by providing comprehensive consulations toward getting patients successfully back to health.

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Education and Research

Professional Education

The depth of our clinical expertise and the breadth of our research programs allow us to train the next generation of psychiatrists and scientists to be clinical and research leaders.
Knowledge to Cure & Prevent

Our clinical research programs range from efficacy and treatment-response studies to clinical trials and epidemiology.

#TomorrowsDiscoveries

Understanding Anorexia Nervosa

Angela Guarda, M.D., and her team of researchers are working to understand anorexia nervosa and its addictive nature so they can improve the treatment process.

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Huntington Disease and Its Effects

Dr. Jee Bang and her research team are currently running numerous clinical studies on Huntington’s disease. The studies involve testing new experimental drugs that treat symptoms, all while looking for new targets for therapeutics.

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Mind and MoodRecognizing and Getting Help for Mood Disorders

It can be hard to distinguish between a bad mood or exhaustion and actual depression because the symptoms can be similar. While the word "depression" often brings to mind images of extreme sadness or inactivity, the mood changes related to depression are often more subtle than that.