Message from the Directors

We are pleased that you are considering the Icahn School of Medicine residency program at Mount Sinai Morningside and Mount Sinai West for your residency training in psychiatry. Our program offers a comprehensive approach to learning psychiatry in a setting that is both challenging and supportive. We have an excellent academic and clinical program that prepares you to provide outstanding care, contribute to the field, and develop personally and professionally satisfying careers in psychiatry. The exceptional clinical opportunities to treat patients with a broad range of diagnoses and cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds are combined with a didactic curriculum designed to build the skills and knowledge base you need to become a confident and compassionate psychiatrist. You will graduate with a strong professional ethic and a mastery of diagnostic and therapeutic techniques, enabling you to pursue any career direction you choose and to remain a lifelong learner.  Many of our graduates go on to fellowship training including child and adolescent psychiatry, psychosomatic medicine, public psychiatry, and forensic psychiatry, while others join the faculty as attendings, pursue other job opportunities or start their own practices.

Mount Sinai Morningside and Mount Sinai West (previously known as the Mount Sinai St Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center) has a long and distinguished history in training psychiatrists in New York City. Our residents play an important role caring for patients throughout  the hospital and help create a friendly and collaborative environment. Outstanding supervision and frequent contact with attendings, teachers, and researchers are major features of our program. In addition to clinical training, we have an extensive didactic curriculum composed of lectures and seminars targeted to each of the four years of training. The breadth and depth of these didactics ensure that our residents are presented with the most current psychological, sociocultural, and neurobiological theories in the field. Being part of the Mount Sinai Health System also allows for many shared research and educational opportunities for our residents.

Our department takes pride in providing training that will lead to the next generation of psychiatrists being equally at ease practicing psychotherapy and pharmacology. We integrate the various aspects of psychiatry from the first day of training and we believe that teaching by example has no substitute. You will find a faculty that is adept at teaching an integrated approach and marked by its enthusiasm and desire to impart these skills at every opportunity. Our residents take a very active role in continually shaping the program, and they are seen by the faculty not just as trainees, but also as colleagues who play a vital role in the success and reputation of our department.

As an integral part of the Mount Sinai Health System, our hospitals seek to  “offer exceptional clinical care and research within the comfort of a neighborhood hospital known for compassion and sensitivity.” We serve the Lincoln Center, Upper West Side, Morningside Heights, and Harlem neighborhoods of Manhattan – all vibrant communities. The population in these neighborhoods is culturally, ethnically, and socioeconomically diverse, providing residents with an opportunity to treat a broad range of patients.

We are excited to announce the new Mount Sinai Morningside/West VA Scholarly Track, starting in July 2025.  Residents in this track will spend focused time at the James J Peters VA Hospital in the Bronx, learning about the psychiatric needs of veterans and research on innovative treatments, in addition to completing the core rotations shared with the general residency track.  The VA track will allow residents to work within a unique environment of care, a single payer system, and a rich academic setting.  About one-third of patients in the VA system are engaged in mental healthcare and they have inspiring and compelling stories of heroism and loss.  The faculty of dedicated clinicians and researchers provide patient-centered care and are conducting research in a wide range of areas from suicide prevention and psychedelic psychotherapy for PTSD to imaging and biomarkers for addiction, psychotic disorders, personality disorders and dementia.  Residents in the track will have additional dedicated research time and mentorship.  We are accepting transfer applications for PGY2 and PGY3 positions in this track in addition to ERAS applications for PGY1 spots. 

We hope you find this website to be a helpful introduction to our department and program.

Paul Rosenfield, MD
Director, Psychiatry Education & Training

Lauren Sefton Cottrell, MD
Associate Program Director

Christine LaGrotta, MD
Associate Program Director for the VA Scholarly Track