Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Residency:  Curriculum

The curriculum provides a broad range of clinical and didactic training experiences which have been developed by a group of highly dedicated teachers. It is based on a biopsychosociocultural model of normal and pathological development. Both the classical literature and contemporary epidemiology and research findings are utilized throughout the curriculum.

The clinical curriculum is designed to expose residents to the full continuum of mental health services available for children, adolescents and their families (please refer to the block diagram). In the outpatient clinic, residents have the opportunity to follow patients over the full two years of training. In the first year, the Community Rotation provides a unique opportunity for residents to work closely with faculty in consultation to diverse systems including public schools, residential treatment centers, juvenile justice programs, and foster care/adoption programs. In the second year, there is an increasing emphasis on administrative and teaching responsibilities with residents leading multidisciplinary treatment teams in the IOP/PHP settings. Also, residents have the opportunity to consult to the therapeutic day school located on The Institute of Living campus.

The didactic curriculum complements the clinical rotations and includes:

• A one-year seminar in psychobiology
• A one-year seminar in psychopharmacology
• A six-month consultation-liaison seminar
• A two-year continuous case conference, which focuses on psychodynamic therapy including transference and counter-transference issues
• A one-year therapeutic modalities seminar, which includes group therapy, play therapy, behavior management, and cognitive behavioral therapy
• A forensics seminar, which includes mock trials
• A two-year seminar on normal development and pathological development
• A special topics seminar focusing on infant psychiatry, family therapy, substance abuse, cultural competence, formulation and clinical ethics

An Example of a Resident's Training Curriculum**

Year I

Year II

*IOL=Institute of Living

**This is only an example. Due to on-going programmatic changes in clinical services as well as changes in ACGME requirements, the residents’ schedules may vary, but the overall service experience will generally remain the same.

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