From the Faculty's Perspective

Melissa Arbuckle, MD, PhD 

Being the Director of Residency Training at Columbia has been an amazing and rewarding career. I love being immersed in the residency experience and grappling with the administrative and curricular issues that I face daily. However, meeting individually with residents for supervision and mentorship are the highlights of my week. At the same time, I’ve also brought my love of research to this position.

One of the most challenging tasks of a residency training director is keeping up with advances in the field. From an academic standpoint, this requires continuously evaluating and updating the curriculum to keep pace with emerging science. In addition, it includes teaching residents how to “evaluate their care of patients, to appraise and assimilate scientific evidence, and to continuously improve patient care based on constant self-evaluation and life-long learning,” one of the core training requirements within residency. In line with these efforts, my particular focus has been training residents in neuroscience and quality improvement. I am also actively involved in our research track program and enjoy mentoring residents as they develop their scholarly interests.

The opportunity to combine my interests in education, clinical work, and research, as part of an academic community with supportive colleagues and generous mentors, has made Columbia a special place for me. Getting to work with residents and seeing the bright future facing the field of psychiatry makes it all the more rewarding.

E. David Leonardo, MD, PhD

As the Associate Director of Residency Training and for Neuroscience and Research, I oversee resident research experiences, help residents to identify opportunities, and provide guidance and mentorship once the research experience is underway. In addition, I oversee the neuroscience curriculum for the residency, ensuring that our residents have broad exposure to key neuroscience concepts in ways that are accessible and applicable to their clinical experience.

I arrived at Columbia almost 20 years ago with the goal of establishing a basic neuroscience research career that was informed by excellent clinical training in psychiatry. Since then, I have been fortunate to pursue this goal amongst a group of immensely talented colleagues- both psychiatrists and neuroscientists endeavoring to understand how the brain works with the aim of restoring function when things go awry. At the same time, I have maintained a clinical practice, which, while deeply rewarding, keeps me humble about the limitations of our current knowledge.

This is an exciting time to become a psychiatrist as the field wrestles with integrating our clinical lexicon with the rapid progress in the understanding of brain biology. I look forward to working with and helping to develop a new generation of psychiatrists passionate about moving the field forward through research and practice.

Yael Holoshitz, MD

As Director of Psychotherapy Training, I oversee the psychotherapy curriculum and learning opportunities for psychiatry residents. I am also Associate Director of the Washington Heights Community Service Outpatient Clinics, with a particular interest in early psychosis and recovery-oriented care.

I began my residency at Columbia in 2010 and have remained ever since. It has been my professional home and the foundation of my identity as a psychiatrist. From my own mentors and supervisors, I developed a deep conviction that psychotherapy is central to all areas of psychiatric practice. I trained in psychoanalysis and work to help residents grasp the core principles of psychodynamic therapy and how they can be applied across diverse clinical settings. The fields of psychoanalysis and psychodynamic psychotherapy have evolved and grown in remarkable ways, and I am committed to helping preserve their relevance in contemporary psychiatry.

Teaching and supervising residents is among the most meaningful parts of my career. Together, we grapple with essential questions: What does psychological wellness look like? How do we help people get there? How does therapy actually work? And why do we think certain therapies are right for certain patients?

I feel so grateful to be part of this community and to continue learning and growing alongside the next generation of psychiatrists.