FACULTY OF MEDICINE
 |
Department of Psychiatry |
Dr Soma Ganesan, Medical Director, Clinical Practice Unit, Department of Psychiatry
We are an interdisciplinary provincial program that partners with existing adult neuropsychiatric services in B.C. in conjunction with:
Riverview Hospital - Wards South 2, North 3, South 3
UBC Hospital - Detwiller Pavilion
Vancouver Hospital - Ward One West
- Outpatient Clinic
Our clients include adults with brain injuries or diseases causing serious disturbances in behavior, mood, intellectual abilities or thinking processes, as well as those with psychiatric disorders that present as physical disease (somatoform disorders).
Patients seen include those with Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, head injury, anoxic and metabolic brain injuries, Tourette's syndrome, systemic lupus erythematosus, stroke, dementias and other disorders.
The Mood Disorders Outpatient Program provides a full range of consultation and assessments for adults with mood disorders within our catchment area.
The program provides consultation services to clients/patients throughout British Columbia. For the most part, the program provides one-time-only consultation in the area of diagnostic or treatment recommendations. Occasionally, clients/patients are offered short-term follow-up, often in the context of a clinical trial.
The Mood Disorders adult psychiatric inpatient program specialises in the assessment, treatment and research of mood disorders such as clinical depression and bipolar disorder.
The interdisciplinary team has an expertise in the diagnosis and management of mood disorders. Treatment on the unit includes a specialized group and individual program specially for mood disorders. Clients/patients in BC (tertiary and sector beds) can be referred by their physicians if they have a primary diagnosis of a mood disorder and need inpatient treatment, or if they have a refractory illness which may have complicated diagnostic or treatment issues.
Services include assessment and diagnosis research, group therapy, medication therapy, family intervention, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, psychosocial rehab, and possibly Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT).
Neuropsychiatry patients are referred to the units from around the province. The inpatient program provides intensive assessments, treatment and stabilisation of complex neuropsychiatry patients. Beds may be booked and held open for 24-48 hours for referrals living outside the Lower Mainland.
Many patients have physical disabilities and complex medical conditions. Subsequently these patients often need access to radiology investigations such as MRI and CAT Scans, as well as neuropsychological testing. Patients receive counselling, education, medication and support from the interdisciplinary team. The unit follows a primary care model that is client-centred, and involves the patient in the decisions around their care. Interventions used are 1:1 counselling, family assessment & counselling, medications, ECT and rehab therapy.
1 West also has 5 specialized Inpatient Early Psychosis Intervention Program (EPI) beds that provide intensive intervention to people experiencing their first psychotic episode. Typically these are young people suffering from Schizophrenia.
FACULTY OF MEDICINE
|
Department of Psychiatry |