The subject of psychiatry and psychotherapy

Form and content of psychiatry lessons

Psychiatry lessons take place as block lessons (two weeks). We have named eight didactically justified key topics, each of which is taught on one morning. This provides a good overview and insight into this wide-ranging field.

The main topics covered are

• Classification of psychiatric disorders/evaluation of psychopathological findings
• Affective disorders
• Anxiety/compulsive disorders and post-traumatic disorders
• personality disorders
• Schizophrenia and delusional disorders
• addictive disorders
• Organic mental disorders
• Emergency psychiatry/suicidality

The two-week block begins with an introductory lecture day, which provides a good introduction to this extensive subject. Attendance is compulsory for the morning seminar classes (approx. 15 students per teaching group over 2.45 hours). Fixed teams of lecturers are assigned to the teaching groups, and the polyclinic and external locations are also included as training locations.

The day's topic is explored in greater depth in the seminar lessons. With the support of the script, the topic is worked out together in the seminar group by the lecturer responsible. The lessons are usually supplemented and illustrated by a suitable patient presentation with their medical history and associated experiences. Particular emphasis is placed on interactive work in the context of a physician-patient relationship.

In the afternoons, students are then divided into small groups for bed-side teaching, where they have the opportunity to get to know various psychiatric clinical pictures intensively together with the supervising physician and to put into practice what they have learned in the morning.

Practical days ("external days") with work shadowing or excursions are also integrated into the lessons. Excursion destinations are external psychiatric hospitals, including a forensic facility or Institutions.