Behavioral Science

The Behavioral Health Curriculum at Mountainside Family Medicine Residency is a pragmatic, comprehensive, integrated program. The curriculum focuses on teaching psychosocial assessment and intervention skills useful in the primary care arena. In addition to reviewing common mental health issues such as depression and anxiety, the program teaches residents health behavior change techniques, strategies to help patients cope with and manage chronic illness, and methods to optimize challenging clinical encounters. Residents are also taught to integrate cognitive behavioral and family therapy skills into their practice, and ensure that residents learn to prescribe psychotropic medications appropriately. In addition, the program addresses the challenges of providing whole person health care in the context of the time challenges intrinsic in primary care medicine. Teaching occurs via lectures, clinical consultation, psychosocial precepting and individual tutorials with the faculty psychologist and psychiatrist.