Catherine Birndorf, MD

Dr. Birndorf is Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Obstetrics & Gynecology at The New York Presbyterian Hospital - Weill Cornell Medical Center. She is Program Director of the Payne Whitney Womens Program, a program designed to evaluate and treat women with emotional distress and psychiatric illness throughout the life cycle. Dr. Birndorf has expertise in reproductive psychiatry, treating women before, during and after pregnancy as well as at other times of hormonal changes in the life course.

Formerly the Director of Medical Student Education for the Department of Psychiatry at Northwestern University Medical School, Dr. Birndorf was an attending psychiatrist in the Womens Health Program at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, Illinois. Board-certified in Psychiatry and psychosomatic medicine and a member of the American Psychiatric Association, Dr. Birndorf, a Smith College graduate, received her medical degree from Brown University and completed her psychiatry residency at New York Presbyterian Hospital/Payne Whitney Clinic, serving as chief resident. Dr. Birndorf is also a board memeber of Postpartum Support International and part of a newly formed task force called the Repropsych group, which is comprised of experts in the field of reproductive psychiatry.

She is published in the area of both womens mental health and medical student education. She has also been the recipient of numerous teaching and academic awards. Dr. Birndorf has lectured around the country on the topic of womens mental health as well as appeared on national and local television including the Today Show, CBS Evening News, CNN and MSNBC. She is currently a contributing columnist for Self Magazine. She is also the Founder of the Womens Mental Health Consortium, a resource of approximately 150 mental health professionals in the greater New York area.

Degree

Title

Program Director, Payne Whitney Women’s Program; Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Obstetrics and Gynecology at New York Presbyterian Hospital – Weill Cornell Medical Center

Clinical Appointments/Hospital Affiliation

Attending Psychiatrist, New York Presbyterian Hospital Weill Cornell Medical Center

Description of Practice/Services Offered

-Psychiatric Evaluation and Consultation

-Psychopharmacology

-Psychotherapy

Areas of Research

Medications during pregnancy and lactation, postpartum spectrum illnesses and premenstrual dysphoric disorder.

Professional Education

Psychiatry Training:

1998-1999 Chief Resident, Psychiatry Payne Whitney Clinic, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center

1997-1998 Resident in Psychiatry Payne Whitney Clinic, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center

1996-1997 Resident in Psychiatry University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL.

1995-1996 Intern in Psychiatry Payne Whitney Clinic, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center

Medical School:

1991-1995 Brown University School of Medicine, Providence, RI

Post-baccalaureate pre-medical certificate:

1990-1991 Bryn Mawr College, Bryn Mawr, PA

College:

1984-1988 Smith College, Northampton, MA

Credentials/Board Certification

Psychiatry, American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology
Psychosomatic Medicine, American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology

Honors/Awards

2004: Selected Representative at the Sixth Annual Future Leaders in Psychiatry(Emory University School of Medicine), Palm Beach, FL

2001: Robert J. Winter Clinical Teacher Award. Presented by third year medical students at Northwestern University Medical School to one outstanding teaching faculty in each department.

2000: Robert J. Winter Clinical Teacher Award. Presented by third year medical students at Northwestern University Medical School to one outstanding teaching faculty in each department.

1999: George Ginsberg/AADPRT Fellowship Award for Excellence and Accomplishments in the Areas of Education and Teaching

1999: Association of Women Psychiatrists/Wyeth-Ayerst Fellowship Award for excellence in and commitment to womens health

1999: Senior Psychiatry Residents Award for Leadership and Service at The New York Presbyterian Hospital, Payne Whitney Clinic, New York, NY

1995: Awarded the American Medical Womens Association, Janet M. Glasgow Memorial Achievement Citation for Scholastic Achievement

Publications

Cumberbatch CJ, Birndorf C, Dresner N: Psychological Implicatons of High-Risk Pregnancy in International Journal of Fertility, 50(4):180-186, 2005
Nuzzarello A, Birndorf C: An Interviewing Course for a Psychiatry Clerkship. Academic Psychiatry, 28:1, Spring 2004
Birndorf C, Kaye M: Teaching the Mental Status Examination to Medical Students Using a Standardized Patient in a Large Group Setting, Academic Psychiatry, 26:3, Fall 2002
Birndorf C, Madden A, Portera L, and Leon A: Psychiatric Symptoms, Functional Impairment, and Receptivity toward Mental Health Treatment among Obstetrical Patients, International Journal of Psychiatry in Medicine, Vol. 31(4) 369-379, 2001 .

Contact

DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHIATRY
525 E. 68TH STREET, BOX 140
BAKER F-1167B
New York, NY 10021

Phone: (212) 746-3979
Fax: (212) 746-8800
cbirndor@med.cornell.edu
www.cornellphysicians.com/cbirndorf/index.html

Appointment Scheduling: Call (212) 746-5928

Office Hours: Monday-Thursday, 8:30AM - 6PM

Insurances Accepted/Managed Care Accepted: None privately (but some insurances accepted through the Women’s Clinic services)