About Us
The CHA Department of Psychiatry is a leader in patient care, teaching and research. We play a key role in supporting mental health and strive to provide equity and excellence for every one, every time.
Improving Mental Health Care in Massachusetts
The Community Behavioral Health Center. CHA opened a CBHC in Cambridge and Malden. This service gives people timely, high quality care for mental health and substance use disorders, included daily walk-in services.
In 2023, CHA completed a major expansion of inpatient psychiatry services to help address the statewide shortage of beds and the record levels of emergency department boarding. As of January 2026, CHA has the largest Child and Adolecent inpatient psychiatry service in Massachusetts.
We have revised our academic programs to teach trainees about contemporary treatment methods and help them succeed, whether they choose careers in hospital care, outpatient care, public health, research, or education.
Timeframe of This Work
Transforming our mental health services is a multi-year effort, and the COVID pandemic has brought new challenges. For example, staffing shortages (which have affected hospitals across the U.S.) have temporarily reduced access in some areas. The good news is that CHA has been highly successful in recruiting new providers and we continue to attract applicants from across the nation.