Wright State University, Department of Psychiatry, Division of Forensic Psychiatry

Psychiatrists who join our fellowship program become learners and instructors in a psychiatry department that has a national reputation for excellence in post-graduate education. The Wright State fellowship emphasizes the importance of using up-to-date scientific knowledge and validated assessment tools when formulating forensic opinions. We also help fellows develop all the customary skills of forensic psychiatrists — conducting evaluations, appreciating the role of psychiatrists in the legal system, knowing relevant case law, and communicating effectively in reports and testimony.

Fellows may choose a full-time, one-year schedule or a half-time, two-year schedule. At a local public hospital, fellows perform evaluations of adjudicatory competence, criminal responsibility, competence to refuse treatment, need for involuntary hospitalization, and conditional release to the community. Experience with civil issues (e.g., psychological damages in tort litigation) comes from private cases referred to faculty members. Fellows observe and participate in treatment programs in a traditional prison setting, and gain experience in evaluating sex offenders.

Fellows attend didactic activities at Wright State and attend tutorials with University of Cincinnati fellows. We provide funds to attend the annual AAPL meeting and the forensic psychiatry review course. Fellows participate in the Internet course on Law and Mental Disability taught by Professor Michael L. Perlin of New York Law School. Structured reading, grand rounds, a monthly forensic seminar, and faculty- or fellow-initiated research round out the training experience.

Faculty members include two attorneys with widely recognized expertise in law and psychology issues, and a psychiatrist with faculty appointments at the school of medicine and the law school. Ten other psychiatrists with added qualifications in forensic psychiatry are on the faculty.

Case Western Reserve University, University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center

The fellowship is designed to train psychiatrists in law and psychiatry who will devote their careers to practice, teaching, and research in forensic psychiatry. Although the program presents a firm theoretical background, its major strength lies in teaching the pragmatic skills of performing evaluations, detecting malingering, and critical thinking about complex reasoning in writing forensic reports. Fellows also receive instruction in teaching methods. Videotapes of mock testimony of fellows are used in teaching courtroom skills.

Since the service requirement is less than four days per week, fellows have the opportunity to participate in research and a wide array of civil cases, such as PTSD, disability, guardianship, workers compensation, and psychiatric malpractice. Our library contains 100 educational forensic videotapes. Extensive supervision by Stephen Noffsinger, M.D., Phillip Resnick, M.D. and Susan Hatters-Friedman, M.D. is a major strength of the program.

The faculty includes six fellowship-trained forensic psychiatrists with Added Qualifications in Forensic Psychiatry. Fellows take courses at CWRU Law School and participate in a seminar on Landmark Mental Health Law Cases. Clinical experience in a criminal court psychiatric clinic, juvenile court psychiatric clinic, county jail and inpatient forensic unit are tailored to the interests of each fellow.

Fringe benefits include fully paid trips to the annual meeting of AAPL, the AAPL Forensic Psychiatry Review Course, and Midwest AAPL; and a $200 book allowance.

Website:  https://www.uhhospitals.org/medical-education/psychiatry-medical-education/forensic-psychiatry-fellowship/

 

University of Michigan, Center for Forensic Psychiatry

The University of Michigan/Center for Forensic Psychiatry Fellowship is a one year training program fully accredited by the ACGME offered by the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Michigan Medical School. The program combines a robust didactic curriculum with a variety for forensic experiences and is situated in a vibrant academic community surrounded by numerous learning, social, and cultural opportunities.

The Center for Forensic Psychiatry (CFP) serves as the primary site for many fellowship activities. It is a 272-bed inpatient forensic facility that also maintains a separate evaluation unit, which conducts over 3500 forensic evaluations annually. Additional experience is provided by University of Michigan Department of Psychiatry Forensic Evaluation Service. Fellows gain experience in the following areas: 1) competency to stand trial evaluations, 2) criminal responsibility evaluations, 3) competency restoration, 4) inpatient management of special forensic populations, 5) risk assessment evaluations, 6) civil forensic cases, and 7) court testimony. All fellow activities are closely supervised by a diverse, experienced faculty. Opportunities for court testimony are encouraged and closely supervised with special emphasis on report preparation and the role of the forensic expert. Additionally, fellow evaluation experiences at CFP enable them to obtain certification as Consulting Forensic Examiners under Michigan law.

The didactic curriculum offers seminars on landmark cases and civil and criminal forensic topics. It also features frequent outside speakers. Fellows audit classes at the University of Michigan Law School and meet with select faculty of the law school for individual instruction in an open forum type discussion. Fellows also participate in activities related to public policy and the legal regulation of psychiatry. A scholarly project is expected from all residents.

Benefits include support for professional meetings, use of extensive library facilities at CFP and the University of Michigan Medical School, and life in a diverse and cosmopolitan community. We are still accepting applications for the 2021-2022 academic year. We are accepting applications for the 2022-2023 academic year, and e-mail submission of applications is preferred. Interviews for the 2022-2023 academic year will be starting in April 2021. Due to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, we will be completing interviews by video teleconference.

University of California, Los Angeles

The UCLA forensic psychiatry fellowship program emphasizes educational value over service and will prepare fellows not only for forensic practice but also to become leaders in academic and organizational forensic psychiatry. Fellows will become proficient in the roles of expert witness, forensic consultant in and out of the courtroom, informed advocate for public policies that affect the regulation and practice of psychiatry and forensic psychiatry.

UCLA has unusual breadth to our high quality faculty (including four past AAPL Presidents) many of whom have national and international reputations and have been involved in high profile cases. There will be an emphasis on learning how to do strong forensic assessments, reports, and testimony. There will be seminars on all aspects of forensic psychiatry including a special forensic ethics curriculum that will equip fellows with frameworks to resolve ethics dilemmas in the field. Additionally, the fellows have a Landmark Case Seminar in a consortium with Hastings Law School and UCSF Forensic Psychiatry. They have special forensic case seminars with faculty that delve deeply into criminal and civil cases.

The forensic fellows receive their clinical training in a wide variety of forensic settings. These rotations include the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health (DMH), the Greater Los Angeles (GLA) VA Healthcare System, the Los Angeles County Superior Court Expert Witness Panel, the Sonoma County Court, as well as being supervised by faculty on private criminal and civil forensic cases. Forensic fellows will have unique opportunities to work at UCLA Law School

During their LA County DMH rotation, fellows learn unique approaches to treating special correctional patient populations in the Men’s Reintegration Clinic, to liaising with judges, attorneys, and other stakeholders in the LA County Mental Health Court, to opining on Felony Mental Health Diversion and other special forensic evaluations (including juvenile) for the County. At the VA, fellows perform psychiatric disability evaluations for service connected disabilities. As members of the GLA VA Disruptive Behavior and Ethics Committee, fellows learn and perform specialized violence risk and ethics assessments that the implement in their consultative role. Fellows virtually perform competency to stand trial evaluations for Sonoma County where they have opportunities to testify including for Sell Hearings. The fellowship is on the Los Angeles County Superior Court Approved Panel of Expert Witness Psychiatrists and perform criminal forensic evaluations on issues of insanity defense, diminished responsibility, sentencing considerations, diversion, among other.

Fellows will be guided in completing scholarly project(s) with a faculty member mentor. The aim is to produce one or more presentations for national professional meetings and/or publications. Fellows receive guidance on how to teach residents on forensic topics in addition to instruction on how to effectively present forensic material to various audiences (e.g., other psychiatrists, legal professionals, laypersons).

Fellows receive a $2,000 educational stipend towards the AAPL annual meeting and board review course; they are encouraged to attend other professional meetings with protected time when they are presenting or play a role in the organization. All fellows receive the Rosner and Scott Principles and Practice of Forensic Psychiatry textbook.

Saint Louis University

The program is designed to prepare fellows to competently perform both civil and criminal case work. Areas of focus on learning to conduct civil and criminal forensic psychiatric assessments, consult with attorneys/agencies, and present deposition/trial testimony. Fellows are also taught to write well-organized, concise forensic reports that clearly convey their opinions.

In addition to conducting forensic evaluations and writing reports, fellows also rotate at a variety of sites including the Saint Louis County Jail (clinical care), VA (independent medical evaluations), and Missouri DMH (clinical care associated with competency restoration program and sexual offender unit). Each rotation is specifically designed to offer an experience that contributes toward development as a forensic psychiatrist.

The didactics broadly cover the field of forensic psychiatry. There is a year-long seminar covering landmark legal cases that have directed and shaped forensic psychiatry in the United States. Fellows also learn to conduct pertinent psychological testing pertaining to competency evaluations, malingering assessments, violence risk assessment instruments, and sexual offender assessment instruments. Our group of forensic psychologists also administer a year-long seminar designed to increase each fellow’s knowledge of statistics and comfort with additional psychological testing that may be encountered during case work, such as the MMPI.

During the year, each fellow will also be guided in completing a scholarly project or projects. The aim is to produce one or more presentations and/or publications. Extensive time will be spent teaching the fellows how to effectively present material to large groups.

We strongly encourage applicants to apply as soon as possible. Feel free to contact either Dr. Newman or Ms. Ehrenreich directly to express interest in the program.

University of California, San Francisco (UCSF)

The UCSF fellowship program in Psychiatry and the Law offers rigorous training in civil, criminal, clinical, and consultative forensic psychiatry. The core faculty includes three board certified psychiatrists including a forensic child and adolescent psychiatrist. Affiliated faculty members include a Board Certified (ABPP) neuropsychologist, another board certified forensic psychiatrist with expertise in the evaluation of sex offenders, psychiatrists with special expertise in correctional psychiatry and faculty of the UC Hastings School of Law. The Psychiatry and the Law Program is accredited by the ACGME.

Seminars include a Landmark Case Review and extensive didactics, case conferences, and a Forensic Research Seminar. Additionally, fellows attend courses relevant to forensic psychiatry at the UC Hastings School of Law.

Fellows participate in a wide variety of civil and criminal forensic evaluations with intensive faculty supervision. These include psychic injury, medical malpractice, psychological autopsy, family court issues, and juvenile and adult criminal court referrals. Fellows participate in clinical rotations at San Quentin Prison and the Veterans Hospital and clinics. Consultative experiences to health professionals, employers, and professional organizations exist as well. The program provides comprehensive supervision on forensic report writing and training in court testimony in both civil and criminal settings. There are elective opportunities, depending on the interests of the fellows.

During the fellowship year, fellows are expected to make a scholarly contribution by participating in a forensic research project or by undertaking a review of the legal and/or psychiatric literature. Fellows will receive direct research supervision from faculty members. Research interests of faculty include violence risk assessment, civil commitment, and criminalization of the mentally ill.

University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine, Program in Forensic Psychiatry

The University of Colorado at Anschutz School of Medicine offers a one-year, full-time fellowship training program in forensic psychiatry. We have 4 fellowship positions each year. The University of Colorado at Anschutz Forensic Psychiatry Services and Training Program partners with the Colorado Office of Civil and Forensic Mental Health (CO-OCFMH) and the Colorado Department of Corrections (CO DOC) in offering a 1-year fellowship program that exposes fellows to various criminal justice evaluations (sanity, competency, NGRI release evaluations) and clinical experience in the treatment of incarcerated patients. Fellowship faculty include academic and clinical faculty in the Department of Psychiatry, in the Behavioral Health Program at Denver Health Medical Center, forensic experts from CO-OCFMH, CO DOC, private forensic practitioners, and faculty from Denver University’s Forensic Services and Training program. Dr. Martinez specializes in ethics in forensic psychiatry, issues in criminal forensic psychiatry including neonaticide and infanticide and is involved in setting standards for forensic report writing and testimony. Dr Adi, the associate director, specializes in evaluations of refugees and trauma victims seeking asylum. Dr. Jeff Metzner, associate director, is an international expert in correctional psychiatry. In addition, the program has several faculty members with expertise in child/adolescent and forensic psychiatry, forensic psychology and testing, and a professor of law from the Sturm School of Law at University of Denver. https://medschool.cuanschutz.edu/psychiatry/education/psychresfellowships/forensic
https://medschool.cuanschutz.edu/psychiatry/community/new-forensic-psychiatry-services

The program is designed to familiarize fellows with all aspects of forensic psychiatry, and to prepare them for forensic practice in forensic and correctional settings, teaching, research and system consultation, and/or academic careers. Topics covered through didactic seminars and supervised practical experience include procedures for forensic evaluations, report writing, relevant research and phenomenological literature, landmark mental health cases, treatment of patients in correctional and forensic settings, system consultation around forensic issues, collaboration with other professionals (law enforcement, correctional, etc.), the evaluation of foreign victims of torture, fitness for duty examinations, IMEs, and ethical issues involved in forensic practice. Didactic seminars are taught in interdisciplinary structure with forensic psychology fellows from Denver University and Colorado Mental Health Hospital -Pueblo (CMHH-P). All Fellows rotate at the CMHH-Pueblo, the state forensic facility in Pueblo, CO, and rotate on an in-jail restoration unit, Restoring Individuals Safely and Effectively (RISE), providing restoration services for those adjudicated incompetent to proceed. The program seeks to balance experiences that involve both the treatment and management of patients within correctional and forensic settings, while learning the skills of doing expert evaluations and reports involving both the criminal and civil justice systems.

Fellows are provided the opportunity to observe experienced forensic professionals performing evaluations, preparing reports, and testifying in civil and criminal cases. They then have direct, supervised experience in performing forensic evaluations in those areas, preparing reports, and testifying in court. Mock trial experiences are conducted in coordination with DU Sturm School of Law. Fellows are encouraged to conduct research in forensic areas. The program strives to organize the fellowship experience around each Fellows area of interest. We have trained numerous Fellows with backgrounds in child/adolescent psychiatry. For fellows interested in teaching, there are numerous opportunities to supervise PGYII and PGYIII general psychiatry residents and medical students.

Fellowships are funded at a PGY-5 level. 2025-26 Annual Stipend for PGY-5 $92,282.46 plus benefits.

Salary includes funding to attend the annual meeting of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law (including enrollment in the Forensic Psychiatry Review Course) and a second trip to the APA annual meeting or an alternative chosen by the fellow.

We accept application materials through ERAS starting July 2, 2025. Interviews begin July 16 – October 3rd. We also participate in the NRMP MATCH and MATCH Day will be October 22.

University of Maryland School of Medicine

The University of Maryland program is one of the oldest and most well-established forensic training programs in the country. It is fully accredited by the ACGME. Our graduates include many successful and highly regarded forensic clinicians throughout Maryland and the country. Former fellows serve as clinicians, educators, and hospital administrators. Previous fellowship program directors have served in leadership positions in national and state organizations, including the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law. The program is rigorous and well-received by trainees.

Fellows divide their time between Clifton T. Perkins Hospital Center, the state’s only maximum-security forensic hospital; the Medical Office of the Circuit Court for Baltimore City; and the Howard County Detention Center. The fellows perform evaluations under supervision, participate in some treatment settings, and provide forensic reports and testimony.
Offers forensic elective for residents at the University of Maryland, Georgetown University, and Johns Hopkins University. Contact program director for details.

University of North Carolina Forensic Psychiatry Fellowship Program

The University of North Carolina Hospitals Forensic Psychiatry Residency Training Program is a 12-month educational program with the aim of preparing psychiatrists for a career in forensic psychiatry through a combination of supervised clinical experiences and didactic programs. The program has an emphasis on producing forensic psychiatrists for the public sector. The program provides educational opportunities in a wide range of criminal and civil settings. Residents will receive opportunities to engage in supervised evaluations of individuals involved with the criminal justice system in both pre-trial and post-conviction settings. In addition, residents will obtain training in courtroom testimony, family law, child forensic issues, and civil litigation. Residents will rotate on the forensic unit for the State of North Carolina, the mental health services in a nearby prison, the forensic unit of the Federal Medical Center in Butner, and the child forensic team at the University of North Carolina. They will receive opportunities to provide consultation and liaison to hospitals and work with a preceptor on civil cases. Residents will be expected to engage in scholarship and teaching. The forensic board-certified faculty members and invited speakers provide the didactic portion of the training.

University of Rochester, New York + Charles E. Steinberg Fellowship, Forensic Psychiatry Fellowship Program

The University of Rochester fellowship program is organized to provide a balance of forensic psychiatric evaluations, consultations, clinical care, didactic seminars, and supervision. These experiences take place in a number of settings: (1) The Rochester Regional Forensic Unit, a 115-bed facility delivering evaluations and treatment to mentally disordered, unsentenced defendants and individuals found NGRI; (2) The Monroe County Sociological Center providing consultations to local state courts, and community Departments of Correction; (3) Wayne County Behavioral Health Center and Jail; and (4) The University of Rochester Medical Center.

The training experience includes supervised forensic psychiatric evaluations, consultations and treatment, and didactic seminars including: (1) Legal seminars conducted by faculty composed of a judge and attorneys; (2) Landmark Cases seminar; and (3) Psychiatry & Law seminar. The fellows will evaluate individuals involved in civil and criminal litigation and provide expert witness testimony. Fellows will also have the opportunity to perform risk assessments, participate in a program that follows post-insanity acquittees now residing in the community, and law enforcement examinations. Throughout the year, the fellows are expected to teach psychiatric residents, contribute to a JAAPL Legal Digest Case Report, with the option for additional supervised scholarly projects. Opportunities exist for fellows with special interests in Child & Adolescent, Addiction, or Geriatric psychiatry to participate a specialized track.
Fringe benefits include travel stipend to the Annual AAPL Meeting and Forensic Psychiatry Review Course.
Offers forensic electives for psychiatric residents. Contact program director for details.