Joshua Berman, MD, PhD

Psychiatry
Accepting New Patients
Virtual Visits/Telehealth
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Overview

Dr. Berman has served as Director for the Program in Experimental Brain Stimulation, a component of the Division of Experimental Therapeutics in the department of Psychiatry at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and the New York State Psychiatric Institute. He is currently responsible for the day to day operation of the ECT service at NYPH Irving Campus, 9 Garden North including outpatient continuation ECT. At ColumbiaDoctors Midtown he conducts evaluations for ECT and other brain stimulation treatments as well as pharmacotherapies for complex mood disorders.

He received his undergraduate education at Yale University and his MD and PhD from the Mount Sinai School of Medicine.

He completed his residency in psychiatry at Columbia University Medical Center and New York State Psychiatric Institute, prior to research fellowships there in Affective Disorders and Substance Abuse. He has been recipient of a NARSAD Young Investigator Award and a K08 Award from NIDA, studying striatal mechanisms for integration of hedonic drive and stress in rodent models with emphasis on systems affected by both nicotine and stress.

Dr. Berman has extensive background in brain stimulation treatments such as Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS), tDCS (transcranial direct current stimulation), Deep Brain Stimulation and Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT). He has been credentialed at Columbia in ECT, rTMS, and other brain stimulation techniques, and has served as Medical Director for the Brain and Behavior Clinic and Brain Stimulation Service Outpatient Clinic.

Areas of Expertise / Conditions Treated

  • Affective Disorder
  • Anxiety and Depression
  • Anxiety Disorders
  • Bipolar Disorder
  • Depression
  • ECT (Electroconvulsive Therapy)
  • Psychopharmacology
  • Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS)

Academic Appointments

  • Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at CUMC

Hospital Affiliations

  • NewYork-Presbyterian / Columbia University Irving Medical Center

Gender

  • Male

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Virtual Visits/Telehealth

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Location(s)

Insurance Accepted

Aetna

  • Aetna Signature Administrators
  • EPO
  • HMO
  • Medicare Managed Care
  • NYP Employee Plan
  • NY Signature
  • POS
  • PPO
  • Student Health

Affinity Health Plan

  • Essential Plan
  • Medicaid Managed Care

AgeWell

  • Medicare Managed Care
  • Special Needs

CHP Student Health

  • CHP-NYU

Empire Blue Cross/Blue Shield

  • Medicare Managed Care

Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield HealthPlus

  • Child/Family Health Plus
  • Essential Plan
  • Medicaid Managed Care

Fidelis Care

  • Child/Family Health Plus
  • Essential Plan
  • Medicaid Managed Care
  • Medicare Managed Care

Healthfirst

  • Child/Family Health Plus
  • Leaf (Exchange)
  • Medicaid Managed Care
  • Medicare Managed Care

Medicare

  • Railroad
  • Traditional Medicare

Quality Health Management

  • Quality Health Management

RiverSpring

  • Special Needs

UnitedHealthcare

  • Behavioral Health (Columbia University Employee Plan)

WellCare

  • Medicaid Managed Care
  • Medicare Managed Care

World Trade Center Health Plan

  • World Trade Center Health Plan

*Please contact the provider’s office directly to verify that your particular insurance is accepted.

Credentials & Experience

Education & Training

  • Internship: NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center
  • Residency: New York State Psychiatric Institute
  • Fellowship: NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center

Board Certifications

  • Psychiatry

Research

Dr. Berman studies the safety, efficacy, mechanisms of action, and predictors of response for brain stimulation treatments using electromagnetic energy to modulate connectivity and activity of targeted brain regions in psychiatric illness.

Current research includes clinical studies in deep brain stimulation, transcranial magnetic stimulation, and deep transcranial magnetic stimulation in treatment of mood disorders.

Research Interests

  • ECT, rTMS, other brain stimulation techniques

Selected Publications

Holtzheimer, Paul et al.,: Subcallosal cingulate deep brain stimulation for treatment-resistant depression: a multisite, randomised, sham-controlled trial. Lancet Psychiatry 2017: 4(11)

Berman, Joshua: Commentary. Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation: Does It Matter Where or What or Whom You Target? Journal of Psychiatric Practice: March 2017 23(2) 148-149

Berman, Joshua. Electroconvulsive Therapy. Sage Encyclopedia of Abnormal and Clinical Psychology, Sage Publications 2017

Lefkowitz, Yechiel et al.,: Efficacy and safety of deep transcranial magnetic stimulation for major depression: a prospective multicenter randomized controlled trial. World Psychiatry 2015 Feb 14(1) 64-73

Berman, Joshua and Prudic, Joan. Electroconvulsive Therapy. Clinical Handbook for the Management of Mood Disorders, Cambridge University Press 2013

Robinson LA, Penzner JB, Arkow S, Kahn DA, Berman JA.: Electroconvulsive therapy for the treatment of refractory mania. J Psychiatr Pract 2011;17(1): 61-66

Berman JA Talmage DA Role LW: Cholinergic circuits and signaling in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. Int Rev Neurobiol 2007;78: 193-223

Laje, PR, Berman JA, and Glassman, AH: Depression and Nicotine: Preclinical and Clinical Evidence for Common Mechanisms. Current Psychiatry Reports 2001;3: 470-474