The consultation-liaison service at Yale features integrated teams of psychiatrists, social workers, and clinical nurse specialists working together in both consultation and outpatient settings. The model is based on the tenets that (1) comprehensive evaluation of patients is essential for effective treatment; (2) role definition is necessary for specific disciplines, including the definition of overlapping and separate areas of expertise and practice. The multidisciplinary teams are coordinated by a psychiatric resident, who is supervised by an attending psychiatrist. The role of the resident is that of a diagnostician and coordinating physician. The social worker functions as an expert in family evaluation and treatment, and the nurse specialist functions as supportive therapist and liaison with the nursing staff. The structure of the division of consultation-liaison and ambulatory services at Yale is described and the advantages and disadvantages of the multidisciplinary team concept are discussed in comparison with other models of consultation-liaison psychiatry.
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