In addition to the standard curriculum, the Psychiatry Residency offers two tracks — the Psychotherapy Scholars Track and the Physician Scientist Track — for residents who want to deepen their experience in a particular area.
Psychotherapy Scholars Track
The Psychotherapy Scholars Track is a four-year track within the Psychiatry Residency during the PGY-1 through PGY-4 years. It is designed for psychiatry residents who seek advanced psychotherapy training and psychotherapy scholarship during residency and who plan to utilize various forms of psychotherapy in a wide range of future clinical sites and/or practices.
This track builds upon the comprehensive psychotherapy curriculum that is a core component of the residency program. Residents have a psychotherapy caseload; intensive supervision, including the apprentice supervision; seminars; reading; and a scholarly project broadly related to psychotherapy.
The goals and outline of the Psychotherapy Scholars Track include:
- Advancing residents’ knowledge base in psychotherapy theory, literature and the history and evidence base of the psychotherapies.
- Achieving clinical competency in five forms of psychotherapy with options including brief treatment (e.g., crisis intervention), behavioral therapies (cognitive behavioral therapy, behavioral activation therapy, dialectical behavioral therapy, cognitive processing therapy), motivational interviewing, psychodynamic psychotherapy, group therapy and family/couples psychotherapy.
- Completing one scholarly project related to psychotherapy. The program helps residents choose and formulate a project that is closely related to their ultimate career goals and specialty choices.
Track Components
- Connect with a psychotherapy mentor
- Optional weekly seminars
- 10 hours of weekly psychotherapy and apprenticeship supervision built into the outpatient year
- 3 hours of weekly supervision
- 1 hour of psychotherapy seminar per week
- 10 hours of weekly psychotherapy and apprenticeship supervision
- 3 to 5 hours of weekly supervision in diverse modalities
- 1 hour of psychotherapy seminar per week
- Scholarly project
- Teaching psychotherapy
- Attending local and national psychotherapy meetings and conferences, etc.
Psychiatry Residency Physician Scientist Track
The Psychiatry Residency Physician Scientist Track aspires to educate future academic psychiatrists, offering a unique opportunity to residents interested in developing independent research careers in psychiatry.
The Physician Scientist Track provides research mentoring, research-focused didactics and protected time to complete a mentored research project that is designed and conducted by the resident. Graduates are highly qualified to compete for early career grant awards as they begin their careers in academic psychiatry.
Residents who wish to participate in the Physician Scientist Track must remain in good standing, continually meeting all requirements of the Psychiatry Residency.
For more information, email Jeffrey Newport, associate chair for research in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences.
Track Components
- 1 half-day per week for 3 months
- The resident selects a research mentor and establishes a working relationship.
- 20% of residency training time (2 half-days per week for 12 months)
- The resident further cements relationship with mentor. Together, they develop the resident’s research project.
PGY-2 Deliverables:
- Resident Research Project Proposal: This proposal serves as the resident’s application to continue into the PGY-3/PGY-4 research project phase of the research track. The training and scientific merit of the proposals are subject to approval by the research track executive council.
- 40% of residency training time (4 half-days per week for 12 months)
- The mentor assists the resident in further developing the research question, leading to Institutional Review Board approval and the launch of the resident’s research project.
- The resident also completes the weekly Ideas to Results course providing classroom didactics in research design, data analysis, etc.
PGY-3 Deliverables:
- IRB approval of the resident’s research project (due Jan. 1).
- Quarterly research project enrollment and retention reports (due March 31 and June 30).
- One manuscript (review or original research) submitted for publication.
- One abstract to present a poster or oral presentation at a national scientific meeting.
- Successful completion of the Ideas to Results course.
- 60% of residency training time (6 half-days per week for 12 months)
- The resident becomes increasingly independent, working to complete the objectives of their own research project.
PGY-4 Deliverables:
- Quarterly research project enrollment and retention reports (due Sept. 30, Dec. 31, March 31 and June 30).
- One data-based manuscript submitted for publication, preferably with the resident as first author.
- One abstract accepted to present data (poster or lecture) at a national scientific meeting.
- Submission of a Specific Aims page for at least one research grant application, along with detailed plans for obtaining appropriate pilot data (due April 30).
- Research Track residents opting to go directly into a faculty appointment are expected to have a Specific Aims page, an outlined proposal and a plan for pilot data related to a National Institutes of Health K-series career development award submission (due April 30).