University of Washington, Western State Hospital and The Washington Institute
The fellowship was established at Western State Hospital (WSH) under the auspices of the University of Washington and the Washington Institute for Mental Illness Research and Training. Training includes supervised clinical rotations, weekly formal didactics, and research.
The primary site of training is the 270 bed forensic unit at WSH, where residents conduct a wide array of adult criminal forensic evaluations in inpatient and outpatient settings. Fellows participate in the treatment of incompetent defendants, insanity acquittees, and conditionally released insanity acquittees and provide consultation to professionals treating geriatric and civil psychiatric patients.
Fellows also receive training at the Child Study and Treatment Center where they conduct juvenile criminal forensic evaluations. Exposure to civil forensics occurs under the supervision of faculty working in the private sector. Residents may also become involved in the evaluation and treatment of sex offenders. During a rotation in the Pierce County Jail, residents focus on the treatment of the incarcerated mentally ill offender and systems issues.
The program is run in parallel with a forensic psychology fellowship.
Faculty includes psychiatrists with subspecialty certification in forensic psychiatry, forensic psychologists, lawyers (practicing and law school faculty), and other professionals with special interests and expertise in branches of forensic mental health.
Fringe benefits include: health insurance, malpractice insurance, three weeks of vacation, and educational leave.
Wayne State University
The fellowship is a 12-month academic training program that provides comprehensive didactic instruction and extensive, supervised clinical experience in both civil and criminal forensic psychiatry for residents at the PGY-5 level or higher. A major strength of the program is the extensive experience offered in civil forensic psychiatry. Fellows are primary evaluators and reviewers, as well as team members, on a wide variety of civil forensic cases, including emotional damages, fitness for duty, disability, competence and standard of care. There is a diverse faculty including ABPN certified forensic psychiatrists, forensic psychologists and an attorney.
The rotation sites include the following:
1. The Third Judicial Circuit Court Psychiatric Clinic, where fellows perform a variety of forensic evaluations on individual at various stages of legal proceedings from pretrial through post adjudication. Fellows may also provide treatment in a court ordered treatment program for sex offenders.
2. The Wayne County Jail, a 2,800 inmate facility that has a 138-bed inpatient psychiatric service. In addition, multi-disciplinary psychiatric services are also provided for approximately 250 mentally ill inmates housed in the general population of the jail.
3. The Clinic for Child Studies, which provides forensic evaluations and psychiatric treatment of juveniles involved in a variety of legal proceedings, including criminal and civil. The clinic also has an extensive treatment program for juvenile sexual offenders.
4. The University Psychiatric Center (UPC) is a clinical/education and research hub of the Wayne State University School of Medicine Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience. The UPC forensic psychiatry service is where the fellows gain civil forensic psychiatry experience under the supervision of the faculty which consists of one half-time psychiatrist and four part-time psychiatrists, two part-time psychologists and one part-time attorney.
The rotations are balanced with a comprehensive didactic program which includes a 25-week landmark legal cases seminar, three Wayne State University Law School courses, and other seminars and conferences including ethical issues in forensic psychiatry, forensic neuropsychology and regularly scheduled case conferences at each rotation site. On each rotation site, fellows are expected to testify on their own cases, and this testimony is observed and feedback is given by fellowship faculty. Fellows also participate in two mock trials per year. Fellows must be eligible for an unlimited Michigan Medical License.
West Virginia University
The Division of Forensic Psychiatry at West Virginia University offers a full-time one-year fellowship designed to provide a comprehensive and practical training experience. Fellows benefit from a balanced clinical and didactic curriculum resulting in an exceptional training experience in all aspects of forensic psychiatry. The breadth of forensic training prepares fellows for National Boards.
The primary training site, Chestnut Ridge Hospital, is the psychiatric center for West Virginia University Hospitals. The hospital is a regional referral center providing fellows with the quantity and diversity of experience necessary for training. Other training sites include a state hospital with designated inpatient forensic units, correctional facilities, a general medical hospital, and affiliated state-wide patient care facilities.
The multi-disciplinary faculty includes adult and child psychiatrists, forensic psychologists, social workers and attorneys. Fellows are supervised by Board Certified forensic psychiatrists. The didactic curriculum integrates a comprehensive review of forensic issues with in-depth concentration on the essential elements of forensic practice. Individual supervision includes both theoretical and pragmatic education.
Fellows are active participants in the educational activities of the department with supervised teaching responsibilities for residents, medical students and other trainees. There are opportunities for evaluations of civil and criminal cases, inpatient evaluations, research, and educational presentations in the community.
Benefits include provision of professional meeting allowance, educational materials, malpractice and health insurance. An additional benefit is living in a university town ranked as the best small city in America, according to a study by Demographics Daily. Please refer to the divisions website for additional information.
Yale University School of Medicine, Law and Psychiatry Division
The fellowship is a full-time, one-year program that uses clinical, didactic, and scholarly experiences to educate trainees about three major topic areas:
1. The use of psychiatric expertise to aid in the resolution of legal issues;
2. The treatment of patients in forensic treatment settings, including maximum-security hospitals, correctional institutions, and community programs; and
3. The legal regulation of psychiatric practice.
The program is based in the Law and Psychiatry Division of the Department of Psychiatry at Yale and includes rotations/placements at: 1) Yale Law School; 2) New Haven Office of Court Evaluations; 3) attorneys’ offices (states attorney, public defender); 4) Whiting Forensic Hospital (maximum and medium security treatment centers); and 5) VA Connecticut Health Care System. The program’s overall goals include:
1. Understanding the legal standards and concepts in civil and criminal forensic evaluations.
2. Learning the principles and current trends in the legal regulation of psychiatric practice; e.g. civil commitment, confidentiality, liability, duty to third parties, physician/patient relationships, ethics, right to refuse treatment, and informed consent.
3. Becoming familiar with public sector psychiatry administration and the special issues involved with mental health treatment in jail, prisons, and maximum-security psychiatric hospitals.
4. Developing a knowledge base in areas of psychiatry particularly relevant to forensics, such as malingering, neuropsychiatric disorders, sexual disorders, and substance use disorders.
5. Gaining experience in preparing forensic reports, testifying as an expert witness, and consulting to attorneys and governmental bodies regarding mental health policy.
6. Completing a scholarly project, either empirical research or review of the legal and/or psychiatric literature.
Graduates of the fellowship become leaders in forensic psychiatry, influencing the direction of clinical practice, research, education, and mental health policy at the national and international levels.
University of Pennsylvania, Fellowship in Forensic Psychiatry
This is a one year fully accredited fellowship for those who have completed an accredited residency program in psychiatry. All fellows will have access to hands on experiences at various state hospital forensic units, court clinics, law school clinics, VA Hospital, the Defender Association of Philadelphia’s Juvenile Justice Unit, and the forensic clinic at Penn where the fellows will assess civil and criminal cases under supervision. They will all have academic lectures of the core curriculum with literature and landmark cases by our faculty and present the results of their independent research at our weekly seminar which they will attend regularly. In addition they will follow Dr. Watacon, Dr. Ken Weiss, Associate Director and Dr. Annie Steinberg on private cases and observe testimony when available. They will also testify in their cases when requested. We are accredited for 4 fellows per year, but can take 3 fellows per year at this time
University of South Carolina, Prisma Health
One of the first accredited fellowships in the country, this fellowship is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. The faculty consists of five board certified forensic psychiatrists and uses resources of the University of South Carolina School of Medicine as well as the South Carolina Department of Mental Health, the South Carolina Department of Corrections, and University Specialty Clinics. The program is based in the Department of Neuropsychiatry and Behavioral Science at the School of Medicine.
The flexible clinical experience allows fellows to spend the first six months conducting pretrial competency and criminal resposibility evaluations in an outpatient specialized forensic evaluation service and providing court testimony. The second six months is spent in civil work in a forensic clinic at the School of Medicine performing personal injury, disability, testamentary capacity, and fitness for duty evaluations. Fellows also participate in evaluations for the USC Professionals Wellness Program which receives referrals for fitness for duty evaluations from the S.C. medical board and other professional licensing boards. Fellows assist faculty in the evaluation of medical malpractice cases. The remaining clinical experience is divided between treatment of adult offenders one half day for six months at a maximum security prison, testifying at release hearings for insanity acquittees, providing forensic consultation to general and child psychiatrists, and research. Fellows receive supervised courtroom experience, providing testimony about their evaluations. Fellows provide direct supervision of general psychiatry residents and medical students. Research is strongly supported and encouraged. Fellows receive a travel stipend to attend the annual meeting of AAPL, as well as the AAPL Forensic Review Course.
The didactic curriculum includes four seminars: Landmark Cases, The Psychiatrist in Court, General Topics in Forensic Psychiatry, and Overview of Legal Systems. The educational experience is also complemented with monthly Forensic Psychiatry Grand Rounds.
Medical College of Georgia, Forensic Psychiatry Fellowship Program
A strong academic orientation, an emphasis on public policy, and exposure to a large breadth of clinical experiences allow the fellowship to be tailored to the interests of each fellow. Developing the skills of critical analysis and writing for the courts is emphasized. An elective month and considerable protected time for expert witness work and academic projects makes this program unique.
The over 250 hours of didactics, include frequent collaboration with forensic psychology and occasionally with other nearby forensic psychiatry fellowships. An academic project is chosen early in the year with over two weeks of research time protected for it’s initial development. Presentation at AAPL is strongly encouraged. Given that the clinical responsibilities are less than 4 days per week, the fellows have ample opportunity to choose from a number of scholarly activities to pursue. Additionally, those interested in advocacy and public policy will be afforded opportunities to participate on national, state and local levels including projects with the Georgia Division of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities.
The program has multiple clinical sites including two forensic psychiatric hospitals in Georgia, Augusta State Medical Prison, MCG Consult-Liaison and Forensic Private Practices which emphasize expert witness work. This allows a breadth of clinical experience ranging from maximum security forensic patients to minimal security patients in a step down program involved in work study programs. A wide range of civil and criminal forensic evaluations are performed. The fellow is afforded the opportunity of a one month elective in the latter half of the year, to further develop their skills in an area of particular interest.
Faculty members include psychiatrists with subspecialty certification in forensic psychiatry, forensic psychologists, lawyers (from the medical school and hospital), judges, law enforcement officers, and other professionals with special interests and expertise in branches of forensic mental health.
Fringe benefits include fully paid trips to the annual AAPL meeting and the forensic review course.
Medical College of Wisconsin
The Medical College of Wisconsin offers a one-year full-time fellowship in forensic psychiatry. Fellows will spend most of their time in Madison at Mendota Mental Health Institute and part-time rotations also occur in Waupun at Dodge Correctional Institute and the Central Wisconsin Center, also in Madison. The fellowship offers a high faculty to fellow ratio with six forensic psychiatrists as part of our core faculty and forensic psychologists who supervise evaluations and lecture.
The rotation at Mendota includes emphasis on the inpatient evaluation and treatment of individuals who have been found not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect and who are being treated for competency restoration. Fellows will perform forensic evaluations at Mendota including guardianship, competency to proceed, and involuntary medication (Sell) requests.
Fellows will also see psychiatric patients at Dodge Correctional Institute for one day per week and participate in their longitudinal care. They also complete a six-month half day per week rotation at the Central Wisconsin Center seeing patients with intellectual disabilities, neurodevelopmental and genetic disorders who require long term care. Fellows will also participate in criminal responsibility evaluations throughout the fellowship, principally in jail or outpatient settings. They will also participate in civil evaluations including fitness for duty.
Our fellowship also offers joint didactics with psychology. Fellows participate in forensic case conferences, landmark lecture series, traditional didactics, mock trials and panels with legal professionals. We also offer unique opportunities in learning and conducting psychological testing, violence risk assessments, and evaluation of sexually violent persons, through our collaboration with our psychology department and the DOC.
Fellows are given leave time and funding to attend the annual AAPL meeting as well as the Forensic Psychiatry Review Course. Additional continuing medical education time is available, along with three weeks of vacation.
Mental Health Mental Retardation Authority of Harris County, Texas
In order to make it affordable to do a forensic fellowship, we are offering a unique program which will allow the fellow to complete the fellowship over a period of from 1 to 2 years. Those choosing an extended program will work for MHMRA in a regular staff capacity (1/2 to 3/4 time) at a staff psychiatrist salary.
It is a post residency position. The fellow must be eligible for a Texas medical license. The program is structured to prepare the fellow for the forensic psychiatric boards, as well as to provide the fellow with the essential skills and knowledge needed for a successful practice of forensic psychiatry. There is a heavy emphasis on the preparation of high quality written reports and on the presentation of effective courtroom testimony.
The educational experience is divided between the Forensic Psychiatry Unit (certified by the National Commission on Correctional Health Care) at the Harris County Jail, the Juvenile Forensic Program, the family court, the probate court and private attorney case loads. The criminal experience gained at the Harris County Jail is more comprehensive than at most programs. Screening, treating and forensic evaluations occur on site. At the Probate Court the emphasis is on civil commitment, guardianship, competency, and the refusal of treatment.
MHMRA oversees the Juvenile Forensic Detention Center. The Family Court offers an opportunity for involvement in custody issues. Arrangements will be made for the fellow to work with attorneys on personal injury and malpractice cases.
The program is directed by a psychiatrist/attorney who is Board Certified in forensic psychiatry. MHMRA has an experienced staff of Medical-School-affiliated psychiatrists with extensive backgrounds in forensic issues. There is also an opportunity to audit courses at the University of Houston Law School which offers an LL.M. in Health Law. Resources from the U.T.H.S.C. at Houston and the Baylor College of Medicine will be called upon where appropriate. The entire forensic faculty will supervise the fellow in preparing a research project.