NYU Langone Health has appointed Joshua A. Berman, MD, PhD, as the new director of its interventional psychiatry services. Dr. Berman is recognized for his experience in treating complex psychiatric conditions and previously held leadership roles at Columbia University Medical Center.
In his new position, Dr. Berman will focus on developing a comprehensive interventional psychiatry program at NYU Langone Health. The initiative aims to provide advanced treatments for various psychiatric disorders by integrating research and clinical practice across the institution’s network.
“NYU Langone Health has all the pieces necessary to rapidly put this kind of program together. We have specialists and researchers in psychedelics, neuromodulation, and novel pharmacotherapies,” said Dr. Berman. “Most importantly, we have a nimble collaborative environment where we can effectively and efficiently implement new kinds of clinical care.”
Interventional psychiatry uses direct approaches such as electrical, magnetic, and pharmacological therapies to treat severe mental health conditions like treatment-resistant depression and bipolar disorder. These therapies often involve procedures that require close supervision or specialized equipment not suitable for home use.
“Dr. Berman has a long and successful career, and we are honored to have him join us,” said Charles R. Marmar, MD, the Peter H. Schub Professor of Psychiatry and chair of the Department of Psychiatry at NYU Grossman School of Medicine. “His leadership and expertise in building this ambitious interventional psychiatry service will further our commitment to providing the best outcomes for patients with severe and complex psychiatric conditions.”
Dr. Berman’s background includes leading hospital programs focused on electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), deep brain stimulation, and ketamine-based treatments for resistant depression at Columbia University Medical Center. He also served as medical director of Columbia’s Interventional Neurotherapeutic Psychiatry Program.
He received his undergraduate degree from Yale University in molecular biophysics and biochemistry before earning both a PhD in neurobiology and an MD from Mount Sinai School of Medicine. His postgraduate training was completed at New York Presbyterian Hospital and the New York State Psychiatric Institute, followed by fellowships at Columbia University focusing on affective disorders and substance abuse research.
Dr. Berman has participated as site principal investigator in multicenter studies evaluating deep TMS and deep brain stimulation for depression as well as industry collaborations developing MRI-guided TMS techniques. His publications include articles in journals such as Lancet Psychiatry, World Psychiatry, and the Journal of Neurochemistry; he has also contributed to textbooks on mood disorders and ECT while mentoring trainees in interventional psychiatry.
NYU Langone Health operates an integrated health system with inpatient locations across New York City and Florida along with over 320 outpatient sites throughout these regions. The institution reports $15.5 billion in annual revenue this year with two tuition-free medical schools located in Manhattan and Long Island supporting its educational mission alongside its clinical services.
Vizient Inc., a healthcare performance improvement company, has ranked NYU Langone first among 118 academic medical centers nationwide for four consecutive years based on quality measures (https://newsroom.nyu.edu/news/vizient-rankings-2024). Additionally, U.S News & World Report recently placed four of NYU Langone’s clinical specialties at number one nationally (https://www.usnews.com/best-hospitals/area/ny/nyu-langone-medical-center-6213340).
