Electives Completed by Our Fellows

Research

The purpose of this elective is to understand how research is essential to the progress of the field of child and adolescent psychiatry. Research should be hypothesis-driven and seek to advance our understanding of this field. Our Assistant Program Director for Research helps fellows identify a mentor and a research project that will also be presented at a departmental year-end conference and/or submit an abstract for AACAP.

Recent Projects:

  • Metabolic Side Effects of Antipsychotics
  • Training of Pediatric Residents in Identifying Depression and Suicide Risk
  • fMRI Studies of Preschoolers at High Risk for Depression
  • Review of Pre- and Post-Black Box Warning Prescription Patterns
  • Alcoholism and Trauma
  • Anxiety and Brain Networks in Young Children
  • Literature Review on Best Practices for LGBT Youth at High Risk of Suicidal Behaviors
  • Screening for Psychiatric Symptoms at the Supportive Positive Opportunities with Teens (SPOT)
  • Analysis of Insight into Youth with Autism
  • Piloting Gaze Cueing Experiments for Autism Studies

Clinical

  • Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA): Our Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) has created an educational experience where fellows learn the basics of ABA therapy, including completion of training required for Registered Behavior Technicians (RTBs), and how to craft a behavioral plan while working with very young children.
  • Autism Clinical Center: Fellows work with a faculty member in the Autism Clinical Center to gain exposure to autism evaluations for children of all ages.
  • Collaborative Care: Fellows learn about the principles of integrated mental healthcare and work with a behavioral health care manager (LCSW), child psychiatrist, and community pediatricians to provide care for children and adolescents with mild to moderate disruptive behavior, anxiety, depression, OCD, and trauma through the Collaborative Care Model (CoCM). CoCM is an evidence-based integrated mental healthcare model. In addition to providing clinical care, fellows also complete online training in the model and brief psychotherapeutic techniques utilized within it.
  • Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT): Fellows attend DBT skills groups and other psychotherapeutic sessions through the WashU Accelerated DBT program.
  • Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT): Fellows assist with the evaluation of psychiatric patients referred for specialty interventional treatments and learn the technical aspects and clinical indications for brain stimulation treatments with a heavy focus on ECT. If you are interested, there may be an opportunity to participate in transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS).
  • Global Health Psychiatry: Fellows gain the experience of practicing child psychiatry in multiple healthcare systems in either Singapore or Thailand. We will help facilitate the necessary paperwork and administrative process, set up the rotation, and connect you with faculty and mentors at the identified university. Fellows are responsible for their expenses, including airfare, lodging, and food.
  • LGBTQ+ Youth Mental Health: Fellows have the opportunity to work clinically with a child psychiatrist who specializes in caring for LGBTQ+ children and adolescents. Due to the current laws in MO, we no longer have a multidisciplinary, pediatric transgender center, but fellows may have the opportunity to rotate in the adult transgender center and observe the care of transitional-age young adults. Fellows also read scientific articles and view films related to LGBTQ+ youth mental health.
  • Neurodevelopmental Disorders: Fellows work with faculty in child and adolescent psychiatry and pediatric neurology in the Autism Clinical Center to care for a diverse population of children with neurodevelopmental disorders.
  • Perinatal Psychiatry: Fellows work with our Perinatal Behavioral Health Service, a team of psychiatrists, therapists, and social workers, to provide psychiatric care for perinatal patients.
  • Physical Therapy-Occupational Therapy-Speech Therapy (PT-OT-ST): Fellows work with physical, occupational, and speech therapists at St. Louis Children’s Hospital in both the inpatient and outpatient settings to provide care for patients with and without mental health diagnoses to gain a better understanding of the care these allied health professions can provide for our patients.
  • Sleep Medicine: Fellows work with sleep medicine physicians to learn more about the treatment of insomnia and even see a sleep study. Fellows complete an online training for cognitive behavioral therapy insomnia (CBTi), and may have the opportunity to work with a psychologist to observe CBTi in practice.
  • Synchrony Clinic: Fellows evaluate and care for children in the foster care system, and have the opportunity to interact with Missouri’s Children’s Division and the Family Court System during routine case reviews as part of a multidisciplinary team.
  • University Student Mental Health: Fellows work with child and adolescent psychiatrists at the Washington University in St. Louis Student Health and Wellness Center to gain an understanding of the psychiatric disorders that occur in college students and enhance their knowledge and skills in treating this patient population.
  • We CA/N Help: This elective is designed to give fellows a comprehensive exposure to the management and impact of child abuse and/or neglect (CA/N) from incident to intervention in clinical and therapeutic settings in psychiatry, pediatrics, and forensics as well as how we interact with Missouri’s Children’s Division and the Family Court System. Fellows work on a forensic case, engage in multidisciplinary conferences, and see patients and families in the clinic (both medical management and trauma therapy) to learn how teams manage the impact of CA/N on patients, their families, and the system. Fellows also become certified in Trauma Focused-Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) online.

Non-Clinical

  • Clinician Educator: Fellows have direct teaching opportunities with medical students, general pediatrics residents, general psychiatry residents, and other learners, along with guided and independent reading related to medical education. Fellows create a related project of choice that is presented at a departmental year-end conference and/or submit an abstract or publication.
  • Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI): Fellows work with one of our department’s DEI champions on a DEI project to produce a scholarly work or develop a program that can be implemented in our program, division, or department.
  • Reading: The purpose of this elective is to provide time for extra self-directed learning on a topic of choice. Fellows identify a supervisor with expertise in the area, develop a reading list, and meet weekly for review. Fellows may also use this time for a scholarly project such as a literature review, book chapter, or manuscript.

Create Your Own

If you have an area of interest that is not listed, we would be happy to work with you to design a rotation. Once a faculty supervisor has been identified, fellows will work with them to create a daily schedule, identify didactic resources, and create a project.