Neuropsychiatry as a field and a subspecialty:
When used to refer to a scientific field, neuropsychiatry is the integrated study of psychiatric and neurologic disorders. This definition of neuropsychiatry does not connote a particular type of educational background or professional training; instead, it refers broadly and inclusively to the work performed by any basic or clinical scientist, educator, clinician, public policy maker, or other individual that seeks to advance our understanding of the neurological bases of psychiatric disorders, the psychiatric manifestations of neurological disorders, and/or the evaluation and care of persons with neurologically based behavioral disturbances.
In other words, one’s work can be neuropsychiatric regardless of whether one is trained as a neuropsychiatrist.
When used to refer to a medical subspecialty, neuropsychiatry is one of the two historically separate but parallel clinical disciplines that comprise the medical subspecialty known currently as Behavioral Neurology & Neuropsychiatry. While the knowledge base and clinical skills of behavioral neurologists and neuropsychiatrists are built upon on the foundation established by primary training in one or both of these specialties, expertise and clinical competence in Behavioral Neurology & Neuropsychiatry requires experience specific to the evaluation, differential diagnosis, prognosis, pharmacological treatment, psychosocial management, and neurorehabilitation of persons with complex neuropsychiatric and neurobehavioral conditions.
Behavioral Neurology & Neuropsychiatry: Our Medical Subspecialty
Recognizing the fundamental congruence between behavioral neurology and neuropsychiatry, the Joint Advisory Committee on Subspecialty Certification of the American Neuropsychiatric Association (ANPA) and the Society for Behavioral and Cognitive Neurology (SBCN) recommended in 2004 that these historically separate but parallel disciplines be merged into a single subspecialty area of medicine: Behavioral Neurology & Neuropsychiatry (BNNP). Based on that recommendation and the strategic and enduring partnership between ANPA and SBCN, the United Council for Neurologic Subspecialties (UCNS) approved BNNP for subspecialty recognition later that year.
In 2005, the UCNS began accepting applications for accreditation of Behavioral Neurology & Neuropsychiatry Fellowship Training Programs at academic healthcare institutions in the United States. In 2006, accreditation of BNNP fellowships and certification of BNNP subspecialists by the UCNS began. As of 2024, there are more than 45 UCNS-accredited BNNP fellowship programs and 448 UCNS-certified subspecialists (Diplomates) in BNNP. ANPA and SBCN remain the sponsoring organizations and medical society stewards of the BNNP subspecialty.
BNNP Fellowship training programs that are accredited by the UCNS help their trainees achieve the standards of competence for physicians and the measures of excellence for training programs in their subspecialty field. Accreditation is a voluntary process of evaluation and peer review based on UCNS accreditation standards.
The UCNS also certifies subspecialists in BNNP. Certification demonstrates to peers, employers, and patients that a physician has fulfilled a set of standards and knowledge requirements that sets them apart as a leader in their subspecialty field. Physicians who are certified by the UCNS have voluntarily taken extra steps to demonstrate their neurologic subspecialty expertise and knowledge by passing a high-stakes certification examination that is developed by subject-matter experts in their field. UCNS certification has been the recognized certification for emerging neurologic subspecialties, including BNNP, since 2004.
Visit the UCNS website for more information about BNNP program accreditation, fellowship training, certification, and Diplomates. For more information on the history of the development of the BNNP subspecialty, see PMID: 16525065 and PMID: 16720790.