The College Student Program, part of the Columbia Day Program, is an outpatient clinical service designed for students here in the city or returning home from out-of-town schools for acute psychiatric treatment. 

We have been in existence since 1983, providing a structured daily milieu based on intensive group therapy.  Our program is geared to people with serious mental disorders such as depression, bipolar disorder, or first psychotic episodes, often with comorbid personality, eating or substance use disorders.  We offer a number of groups consisting entirely of young adults, talented men and women of college age who have had to interrupt their education to obtain evaluation and treatment before resuming school.  The milieu provides a high level of structure and social support from staff and peers, from part-time to as much as 5 full days per week, with scheduling flexibility that encourages resumption of volunteer work or local academic classes as recovery progresses.

If a student has an outside private psychiatrist he or she is already working with at home for therapy and medication, we are glad to collaborate.  We can also provide individual psychiatric consultation, evaluation and ongoing psychotherapy and psychopharmacology from experienced members of our faculty in the same location.  Formal neuropsychological assessment of cognitive functioning and learning disability is also available.

The groups themselves are problem-focused with a strong cognitive-behavioral orientation.  In addition to general therapy groups and groups for depression and anxiety, we have specialized tracks in the following areas:

• Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) for impulsive and self-harmful behavior and ideation, particularly for individuals with personality disorders
• Eating disorders and body-image concerns
• Substance abuse relapse prevention, using motivational techniques and urine monitoring
• Evaluation and treatment for cognitive problems including ADHD.  An evidence-based, intensive cognitive remediation program is offered for impairments in memory, concentration and executive function that may accompany more severe mental disorders.

We are located in mid-town Manhattan in Columbia’s multi-specialty medical office building at 16 East 60^th Street, just off Madison Avenue.   Fees for this program are on a self-pay basis.  We welcome inquiries from college health service personnel, individual psychiatrists and therapist, and patients and families themselves.