Didactics and Learning Series

Throughout the two year fellowship program, all fellows participate in a series of seminars each Friday morning. The series begins with an extensive clinical orientation and follows with a month-long typical development seminar, then proceeds with an extensive series of seminars spanning child and adolescent psychopathology, social and structural determinants of health, ethics, forensics, neuroscience, genetics, integrated care, complementary and integrative medicine, and more. First-year residents will also participate in 2-hour Clinical Intensives on Wednesday mornings designed to teach practical skills for evaluating and treating children and their families.

Our didactics are regularly reviewed. Presenters are given feedback based on the level of fellow engagement, inclusion of diversity and culturally relevant information, use of visuals or other media, pacing, relevance, use of clinical examples, etc. Beyond expanding our fellows knowledge base for clinical practice and board examinations, we strive to build cultural competence, comfortability with research and scholarly inquiry, and practical skills in establishing a career as an attending physician.

Highlights from Didactics and Learning Series

• Wednesday Clinical Intensive Series

  First-year fellows only. This series includes didactics or training in behavioral interventions in school settings, family systems therapy, CBT, neuropsychology and IEP/504 concepts, psychodynamic psychotherapy, Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders and parent training.

• Evidence-Based Learning Group

  Fellows examine landmark articles and studies in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

• Journal Club

  F1 fellows choose a journal article with clinical relevance to their current rotation and present it to a group of faculty and trainees.

• Grand Rounds and Developmental Influences

  Fellows attend Division Grand Rounds monthly and speak directly with the presenter after the main presentation has concluded in a segment called "developmental influences." During Developmental Influences, fellows may ask questions to the presenter and generally gain a more in-depth perspective of the topic presented. The UW Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and Seattle Children's Hospital offer additional weekly or monthly grand rounds that the residents are encouraged to attend.

• Typical Development

  F1 fellows cover core theories in child development.

• Psychopathology

  Includes didactics on topics such as ASD, ADHD, OCD, Anxiety and Mood Disorders, Tourette Syndrome and tic disorders, childhood and early-onset psychosis and bipolar disorder, trauma and stressor related disorders and other childhood disorders, delivered by experts in the field.

• Psychopharmacology

  Includes reviewing pharmacology, evidence and practice recommendations for antipsychotics, mood stabilizers, stimulant and non-stimulant ADHD medications, antidepressants, anxiolytics, etc.

• Psychotherapy

  Please see our Psychotherapy Training and Supervision pages for more information.

• Measurement Based Care, Neuropsychology and Psychometrics

  This didactic series focuses on the application of common measurement tools used in clinical practice and neuropsychologic testing including intelligence testing, achievement tests, adaptive function testing, etc.

• Neuroscience and Genetics

  Covers core concepts in neurodevelopment and neuroscience, somatic treatments including ECT/TMS, genetic disorders and genetic considerations in the manifestation of psychiatric disorders.

• Ethics and Professionalism

  We discuss ethical considerations related to working with children and families.

• Forensic Child Psychiatry

  This series includes topics related to involuntary treatment, the juvenile justice and reform system, forensic evaluations, and legislative advocacy. We also review and discuss various social and structural determinants of health.

• Addiction Psychiatry

  Fellows will learn about different models of care in addiction medicine, psychopharmacologic and behavioral management techniques, motivational interviewing, and strategies for working with children and families dealing with addiction.

• Scholarly Inquiry and Research Literacy

  Fellows are required to complete a scholarly inquiry project during their two years of fellowship. They also participate in didactics related to literature review and research methodologies.

• Integrated Care, Complementary Medicine and School-Based Consultations

  UW remains a pioneering institution in integrated care and experts from this field deliver didactics to our fellows. Fellows also learn about school-based consultations and complementary medicine relevant to psychiatry.

• Transition to practice

  Second-year fellows only. Fellows learn about the different aspects of contract negotiation, transition to practice, financial literacy and planning for becoming an attending psychiatrist.

CAP Didactics Schedule 2020-2021      CAP Clinical Skills 2020-2021