Active Across All Disciplines

NVMHI has been a valued and integrated part of the Northern Virginia community since it was established over 50 years ago. We actively work with regional medical and psychiatric hospitals, all local Community Service Boards, and have extensive collaboration with law enforcement, jails, and the court system, to facilitate treatment of individuals that may have legal issues. We host NAMI family support groups, and regularly provide CIT (Crisis Intervention Training) to county and state police in order to familiarize them with our work and patient population. NVMHI also has a robust volunteer program, in which representatives of organizations such as the Jewish Community Center, and also individual community volunteers, donate their time and efforts to support our mission.

NVMHI is proud to be an active teaching hospital across all disciplines, with established affiliations to multiple institutions. We fulfill many requests from a diverse range of academic institutions to provide education, clinical experience, and supervision. Our clinicians have supported many trainees over the years, providing letters of reference and clinical experience that have strengthened applications for residency placement, APA/ SAMHSA fellowship, and other forms of career advancement.

Medical Education

Medical Services supports psychiatric trainees at multiple levels, including 3rd and 4th year medical students and PGY-2 residents, and also provides Observership opportunities for qualified candidates seeking postgraduate experience prior to residency training. Our current teaching faculty includes physicians with subspecialty expertise in Addiction, Forensic, and Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry, as well as highly experienced psychiatric Nurse Practitioners.

In addition to long-standing involvement in general psychiatry training with The George Washington University (students and residents), Walter Reed Army Medical Center (residents) and students from multiple international schools such as SABA and St. Matthew’s, NVMHI has expanded its forensic education and now offers a Forensic Psychiatry sub-internship. We also teach Physician Assistant students during their psychiatry rotations. Our psychiatric providers are recognized as clinical faculty at our partner academic programs.

NVMHI’s medical education programs are highly active, teaching many students and residents each academic year. NVMHI medical staff have won teaching awards from The George Washington University, and continue to be rated positively. NVMHI medical staff have also presented at conferences such as the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law.

Grand Rounds

NVMHI initiated its Grand Rounds program in mid-fiscal year 2017, in partnership with the University of Virginia. Grand Rounds occur approximately twice per month, with a varied roster of speakers, including NVMHI clinicians who present on various areas of expertise, as well as outside speakers, some of whom are nationally and internationally recognized. Several of these opportunities are also open to local Community Service Boards and other community professionals, further reinforcing NVMHI’s commitment to the region.

Multidisciplinary Educational Opportunities

In addition to Medical Services, Nursing, Psychosocial Rehabilitation, Pharmacy, Psychology and Social Work are also active teaching departments, encompassing work with students, interns and externs from multiple universities.

Nursing: In fiscal year 2017 (July 2016-June 2017), 184 students from 23 groups rotated through NVMHI, consisting of about 6-8 students each.

Pharmacy: Students receive education and interactive training to help prepare them for careers in pharmacy.

Psychology: Doctoral level psychology externs from accredited programs are selected via a highly competitive process and attend a 10-month long training experience. Externs are supervised by licensed clinical psychologists and psychology associates and have opportunities to run psychotherapeutic groups, provide individual therapy, conduct psychological testing, and risk assessments, and engage in didactic training. In addition, externs are offered a unique forensic experience.
NVMHI Clinical Psychology Externship Program Brochure 2024-2025

Psychosocial Rehabilitation: This department is comprised of Occupational Therapy, Recreational Therapy, Music Therapy, Art Therapy, Peer Support Services and Chaplaincy Services. Trainees in these highly sought rotations are selected through a competitive process that involves a referral, application and interview, and the rotations can last from several months to an entire academic year.

Social Work: Interns attend up to 20 hours per week for the duration of the school year (usually about 9-10 months) and are supervised by either a licensed clinical social worker or a master’s level social worker. An internship at NVMHI is recommended for second or third year Master’s level students, specifically those with a clinical focus.