Director of the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy

Dear visitor of our website,

as the Director of the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy of the Charité - University Medicine, Campus Benjamin Franklin, I would like to welcome you.

Our Department comprises a large Psychiatric University Hospital (120 beds) with inpatient and outpatient services and multiple research facilities. The members of our department come from a variety of disciplines besides psychiatry, i.e neurology, geriatrics, including medical psychology, molecular biology and neuroscience, social work, psychotherapy, nursing.

Faculty members and the staff of our department are at the forefront of the current understanding of the workings of mind and brain. Teaching and research efforts focus on neurochemistry, genetics, psychopharmacology and brain imaging, as well as on social and behavioural therapies. Our clinical work aims at state-of-the-art diagnostic procedures and treatment strategies.

This entails developing our understanding about the causes of mental illness from a variety of perspectives such as the psychological, social and neurobiological angle. It also includes the development of effective treatments and preventive measures using evidence-based strategies. A key and everlasting component of all medical and particularly psychiatric treatment is the human interaction. This component will and shall remain a primary point of emphasis for the department in all its endeavours. This web page provides a window into our department. If you have any further interest or questions, please do not hesitate to contact us (eg. malek.bajbouj@charite.de)

I hope you will find all the necessary information regarding our scientific work at this University Hospital.

Best Wishes,

Isabella Heuser

Director