Jeffrey I. Bennett, M.D.
Director, Psychiatric Residency Training Program
 
Psychiatry residency training at Southern Illinois University
developed with and still retains the perspective that
adequate psychiatric care of the individual patient requires
knowledge of the disorder in the context of the whole
person. As Robert Becker, MD, the former department
chairman of psychiatry at Southern Illinois University, has
written, "Only biochemicals have predictable and regular
disorders. Only people have diversely individualized
diseases."* This approach involves understanding the nature, course, and
treatment of psychiatric disorders within the framework of the human
condition. The resident trainee must learn the assessment of the signs and
symptoms of mental illness in their individualized meaning for the patient and
the system in which the patient exists. The training at SIU emphasizes the
biopsychosocial formulation drawing upon education in biological psychiatry
and psychotherapy that provides guidance for the optimal treatment plan. To
better prepare our trainees for the ever changing face of psychiatry, the
program provides faculty supervision within a variety of clinical settings and
comprehensive seminars in psychopathology, psychopharmacology,
psychotherapies, research, and developmental theory to name only a few. 
Case conferences are held throughout the week and include topics in ethics,
developmental disabilities, transcultural issues, and a journal club. Training
occurs at multiple sites including Springfield's two general hospitals, Memorial
Medical Center and St. John's Hospital as well as McFarland Mental Health
Center, a free standing state operated inpatient facility. The categorical
psychiatry program is closely allied with the combined medicine/psychiatry
training program, providing a view of the importance of and interplay between
underlying medical conditions and the emergence of psychopathology.

You will find Springfield, the capitol of Illinois, a fine environment for training
with easy accessibility, a vital economy, affordable housing, a low crime rate,
several colleges and universities, and an active arts community. We look
forward to hearing from you.

Jeffrey I. Bennett, M.D.


*Becker, R.E.  PTSD: A Disorder and a Reaction. American Journal of Psychiatry
162(12):2215-2219, 2005.