Dept. of Neuropsychiatry
 

In our department, we see diseases through the point of view of korea traditional medicine which doesn't separate a mind from a body and regards them as one.
With this point of view, we treat neuropsychiatric diseases such as sleep disorder, alcoholism, dementia, depression, Hwa-byung(anger syndrome) as well as stress related diseases by korean traditional medicine including herb-medicine therapy, acupuncture therapy and mind-body relaxation program and by some new therapeutic methods.

 
1.Specialized Clinics
 

1) Hwa-byung Clinic
Hwa-byung(anger syndrome) is a form of psychogenic illness associated with persistent mental stress such as familial problem, financial problem and personality. Such illness occurs frequently among  people especially middle-aged women in Korea,  and was recently listed  in the DSM-Ął as a culture-bound syndrome of Korea.

Characteristics of patients with Hwa-Byung include 'Hwa' that means accumulation of anger and it causes several somatic symptoms such as chest discomfort, feverish feeling, headache, dizziness and several mental symptoms such as depression, anxiety, agitation, resignation. Recently Hwa-Byng occurs among not only middle-aged women but also men, students who inevitably go through harsh conditions.

In this clinic, we assess, diagnose Hwa-Byung and treat it for improvement of somatic symptoms and reduction of stress and anger by korean traditional medicine.

2) Dementia Clinic

Dementia is a neurological disorder that affects memory, personality and other cognitive functions. Dementia can be caused by a number of diseases. Many of them are potentially treatable, but some get worse with time. In this clinic, we especially focus on Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia that are frequent causes of dementia.

The aim of this clinic is an early diagnosis and management of dementia to help patients and their family to maintain a good quality of life as long as possible. This clinic uses Korean traditional medicine mainly. According to our research, this treatment can prevent progression of symptoms and sometimes improve cognitive functions of patients. Family education about dementia is provided in this clinic.