Psychiatric Support for Multiple Sclerosis Patients
Corinne Goldsmith Dickenson Center for MS at Mt. Sinai
Dr. Fred Lublin
3 year grant, $110,475 per year, totaling $331,425
MS and the Importance of Psychiatric Assistance
There is a current realization that psychological disorders in the MS population occur at surprisingly high rates. In response to this, the opinion of experts strongly suggests that a specialist with psychiatric expertise would enhance the treatment of our MS patients. The Corinne Goldsmith Dickinson Center is thrilled to announce the inception of a three-year (time limited) clinical grant that will allow us to offer this service to our patients free of charge.
The “MS Hope for a Cure Grant” will provide for an on-site psychiatrist at the CGD Center, to assist in the identification and management of psychiatric and psychological disorders in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). This will include but not be limited to the screening of depressive disorders in this population; evidence based medication management (psychopharmacology) of patients with MS, and increased education and improved awareness in MS center staff regarding psychiatric co-morbidity in patients with MS.
Dr. Jennifer M. Finkel, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Neurology at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, will serve as the MS/Psychiatry Consultant for the CGD Center for the duration of this Grant. In this new and exciting role, Dr. Finkel will provide both outpatient and inpatient consultative psychiatric services to the MS Center’s patients. She will be available for initial psychiatric evaluations, psychopharmacologic recommendations and will also be available for collaborative projects with clinical staff.
Our hope is that this grant will not only serve our own patients, but will also serve as a model for other MS Centers in recognizing the importance of addressing the disease in its totality-- by treating the emotional symptoms as well as the physical.
For more information about The Corinne Goldsmith Dickinson (CGD) Center for Multiple Sclerosis at Mount Sinai Medical Center please visit www.mountsinai.org/mscenter