Program description
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.