Saint Vincents Hospital/ New York Medical College

The St. Vincent’s Forensic Psychiatry Fellowship Program, located in the vibrant and diverse Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan, was founded in July 1997 and offers the expertise of a broad-based faculty. As many faculty members of this fellowship program are child psychiatrists involved in substantial forensic activities, this residency uniquely provides in-depth exposure to child and adolescent forensic issues of abuse and neglect, juvenile delinquency, foster care, and custody evaluations.

The forensic fellows are fully integrated into the Department of Psychiatry and provide teaching to trainees at all levels and consultations to a wide variety of clinical services. One of the forensic fellow’s primary responsibilites is to evaluate forensic cases for assessment and adjudication in court, including providing expert testimony. Because the fellows will be expected to testify in various court settings, a New York State license is required. All activities are fully supervised by experienced forensic psychiatrists and attorneys.

The residents receive substantial exposure to criminal aspects of forensic psychiatry, both treatment-oriented and consultative, at the Supreme Court Clinic of the State of New York and at the New York City Department of Corrections on Riker’s Island. Both locations are accessible to the hospital and are supervised by forensic faculty.

A particular strength of the program is the close mentoring and guidance by the forensic faculty on their private cases. This aspect of the fellowship allows for the opportunity to observe varied approaches of psychiatrists in the private practice of forensic psychiatry. In addition, throughout the academic year, residents will join trainees from other New York City forensic programs at weekly didactic symposia conducted by faculty from other forensic programs on the New York City area.