Psychiatry & Behavioral Neurosciences
General Psychiatry
As part of an academic medical center, the USF Health Psychiatry Center provides care for the most common and the most challenging conditions affecting patients and their families.
Our patients meet with our highly trained psychiatrists and psychologists to discuss their mental health concerns and how they are impacting their lives with symptoms that range in severity. To further define a mental health concern, testing may be recommended, so that a comprehensive care plan can be developed.
A mental health concern that is prevalent in our society today is depression. Our team of psychiatrists and psychologists at USF Health give patients ways to cope with depression, from medication and therapy in milder cases to TMS for medication resistant major depression. As the only academic medical center on the West Coast of Florida, our patient care is directly impacted by our on-going clinical trials.
At USF Health, we want to make it easy for patients to get the care they need.
Mental Health Conditions
- ADD and ADHD
- Adjustment Disorder
- Alzheimer’s Disease and other dementing illnesses
- Anxiety disorders and traumatic stress
- Autism spectrum disorders
- Bereavement and grief
- Bipolar disorder
- Child and adolescent psychiatry
- Deaf mental health services
- Depression
- Dialectical behavioral social skills groups and therapy (DBT)
- Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)
- End of life care and communication
- Forensic services
- Geriatric psychiatry
- Insomnia and other sleep disorders
- Individual, group, family and marital therapy
- Learning and education disorders
- Learning and education disorders
- Memory disorders
- Movement disorders neuropsychology testing
- Neurotherapies clinic
- Obsessive compulsive disorders
- Parent child interactive therapy (PCIT)
- Pseudo-seizures
- Psychological testing
- Psychotic disorders
- Quantative electrocephalogram (gEEG) and neurofeedback
- Tourette’s disorder
- Transcranial magnetic stimulation for severe depression
- Trauma-related cognitive behavior therapy
- Traumatic brain injury
- Schizophrenia
- Social skills groups
- Vagal nerve stimulation
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Please contact us at (813) 974-1404 to learn more about clinical research trials at USF Psychiatry. All study related visits, procedures, and study-medications are provided.
Why is Research so important?
Without medical research, medicine would not have made the advances that we enjoy today. For you and for future patients, research is essential. Volunteering for medical research provides participants with opportunities to contribute to society, to the community and to others who have health problems.
Who can take part in a research study?
Each research study has requirements about who can participate. Using specific requirements is an important principle of research that helps to produce reliable results. These requirements are called inclusion and exclusion criteria. Inclusion criteria explain exactly what kinds of people may participate, while exclusion criteria explain exactly what kinds of people may not participate. These criteria are often based on such factors as age, gender, medical history, current health and past medical treatments. Some research studies seek participants with specific illnesses or conditions, while others need healthy volunteers.
What is informed consent?
Informed consent is the process of learning the key facts about a research study before deciding whether to participate. The consent process continues to provide information to you throughout your time in the study. To help you decide whether or not to participate, the researchers and staff will meet with you to explain the details of the study. You should feel free to ask any questions and to tell them if you don't understand something. The research team then provides an informed consent document that explains details about the study, such as its purpose, its length, required procedures, and key contacts. Known risks and potential benefits are also explained. You may also take a 'read only' copy of the informed consent document home with you to review and consider.
If you decide to participate, you must sign the informed consent document. You will be given a copy of the document to keep. Informed consent is not a contract; by signing it you do not give up any of your rights and you can quit at any time. If you decide to quit, you should tell the research team.
How can I prepare for the first meeting with the researchers?
- Bring a friend or relative along for support and to hear the responses to your questions.
- Bring pen and paper to take notes.
- You can ask questions or stop the discussion if you don't understand what is being said.
- Make a list of questions to ask.
Moms open up about dealing with postpartum depression and psychosis
USF Health's expert Dr. Deborah Knudson Gonzalez, specialist in reproductive psychiatry appears on ABC's Nightline. Dr. Gonzalez shares her expertise on postpartum depression and psychosis.
Moms open up about dealing with postpartum depression and psychosis
USF Health Explores Psychedelics for Treatment-Resistant Depression
USF Health psychiatrists Dr. Ryan Wagoner and Dr. Deborah Knudson Gonzalez discuss their psilocybin and psychedelic compounds research for major depressive disorders, including treatment-resistant and postpartum depression. Watch and see if you qualify for ongoing trials.