Following his residency, Ira S. Halper, MD, joined the faculty of University of Illinois and became the assistant director of its psychiatry clinic. After several years, Halper moved to Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center to become the psychiatric consultant to its chronic hemodialysis program and to expand his private practice with extensive clinical experience in the field of psychosomatic medicine. When Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center reactivated Rush Medical College, Halper joined its faculty. Halper is an assistant professor of psychiatry at Rush University Medical Center. Halper's contributions to the Department of Psychiatry include serving as its Director of Continuing Medical Education and coordinating its quality assurance activities. After more than a decade of practicing general psychiatry, Halper established the Cognitive Therapy Center in the Department of Psychiatry at Rush to offer the model of cognitive therapy developed by Aaron T. Beck, MD, at the University of Pennsylvania for the treatment of depression. Subsequently, Halper added additional cognitive-behavioral protocols to meet the needs of patients with anxiety disorders and other disorders. Halper was a pioneer in the combined use of cognitive therapy and pharmacologic treatment. Halper's wide interests include the effect of religious ideas and values on psychological functioning.
