Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Training Program

The Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship at Yale Child Study Center (YCSC) is a two-year program intended for physicians who have already completed their general psychiatry residency training. Fellows develop competence in clinical service, consultation, teaching, research, and administration.

The fellowship offers well-balanced professional training, including exposure to diagnostic assessment and treatment with children on a continuum of normal to abnormal development with a range of ages, backgrounds, and experiences. The formal didactic curriculum covers major areas in child and adolescent psychiatry; consultation experiences in pediatric, school, forensic and other community settings;, supervision of clinical experiences in each setting;, and a graduated level of responsibility throughout two training years.

Our program provides a comprehensive didactic curriculum and enriching immersive clinical experiences, ensuring that each graduate possesses the knowledge, skills, and professionalism to provide comprehensive assessments and skills in a range of psychotherapeutic modalities—including opportunities for a focus on psychodynamic therapy, dialectical behavior therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, trauma-focused therapies, family therapy, substance abuse treatment, Parent Management Training (PMT), Circle of Security (COS), and Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions (SPACE)—as well as psychopharmacotherapy, interventional psychiatry, consultation, advocacy, teaching, and presenting and writing skills.

Each fellow gains clinical competence in the following core areas:

• Clinical science/medical knowledge
• Patient care
• Interpersonal and communication skills
• Practice-based learning and improvement
• Professionalism
• Systems-based practice

At the end of training, each fellow is able to provide competent evaluations and appropriate treatment to children and adolescents with psychiatric disorders, and their families. Additionally, they provide competent consultation services to a variety of professionals in medical and non-medical disciplines related to children and adolescents with psychiatric disorders. They also demonstrate a strong commitment to the treatment of patients as well as high ethical conduct.

One of the true strengths of our program is the opportunity for fellows to pursue their passions through individualized selective and elective rotations. All fellows are afforded one month of a “choose your own adventure” elective. During this month, fellows pursue an area of interest with their own learning goals and educational opportunities. Fellows have pursued international experiences, research and scholarly activities, community projects, advocacy and leadership development, specialty training, coursework and certificate programs, and supported professional organization involvement. Additionally, all fellows have at least 20% elective time in their second year.

YCSC training supports wellbeing, creativity, curiosity, and motivation for lifelong learning to support fellows in becoming experts and leaders in the field of child and adolescent psychiatry.

We cultivate a culture of support, dedication, enthusiasm, collaboration, gratitude, and fun. Our program faculty members are deeply invested in providing supervision and support while promoting autonomy as fellows progress during their training, and we value the uniqueness that each of our trainees brings to the program. Diversity in all of its forms enriches the creativity, innovation, compassion, and collaborative teamwork that provide an ideal venue for learning.