How we think, perceive situations, and adapt to daily life, can be adversely affected by brain disorders. For years, mental illness engendered social stigma, but research has shown that mental illness is a disease with a physiological explanation-not a personal failing. Some predisposition to mental illnesss can be inherited, like diabetes or heart disease. Other factors can contribute to the onset of mental illness, including developmental problems prior to birth, traumatic personal experiences, life situations, and physical problems.

In this country, an estimated 30 million people suffer from anxiety, 30 million from depression, and countless more from obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic attacks and phobias. Three to five percent of children less than 18 years of age have a severe mental disorder. As many as 80 percent of these individuals may lead normal, productive lives with treatment, thanks to recent advances in the field of psychiatry.

Psychiatrists study, diagnose, treat and prevent behavioral disorders, and constantly strive to set new standards of excellence through advances in patient care, education and research. More than 60 faculty work toward an improved understanding of the causes and care of mental illnesses by participating in research and clinical programs that take place in research clinics, computer and animal laboratories, and neuroimaging facilities. Mood and anxiety disorders, schizophrenia, substance abuse and developmental disabilities are just a few of the research areas currently being investigated.