Residency Training Program
in Psychiatry

Advanced Residency Training

Forensic Psychiatry Residency Program
(PGY 5 and above)

The aims of this one-year training program are to provide clinical and didactic experience for residency trainees in Forensic Psychiatry. The major topic areas include the use of psychiatric expertise to aid in the resolution of legal issues, the treatment of patients in maximum security treatment centers/correctional departments, and the legal regulation of psychiatric practice. The goals of the program are to develop the knowledge, skills and competencies necessary to:

1. Understand the needs of the legal system for psychiatric opinions in civil and criminal cases;
2. Consult and participate effectively in the legal system-maintaining appropriate boundaries and roles;
3. Become knowledgeable regarding current legal regulation of psychiatric practice such as civil commitment, confidentiality, privacy, informed consent, right to treatment, malpractice, and managed care;
4. Conduct forensic evaluations and prepare forensic reports;
5. Testify in court and before administrative boards;
6. Provide forensic consultations to general psychiatrists in inpatient, outpatient and correctional/security settings;
7. Provide leadership in organizing private, state, and community forensic services;
8. Read legal cases and distinguish holdings and dicta;
9. Research medical-legal questions using medical and legal databases, and search instruments and libraries on the internet;
10. Master the technique of critical review of forensic literature and develop the elements of written presentation in forensic scholarship;
11. Become knowledgeable regarding the ethical guidelines for the practice of psychiatry and forensic psychiatry.

This program is designed with sufficient flexibility so that it will be able to accommodate psychiatrists with little or no prior experience to those who may have fairly extensive experience in certain areas, but are deficient in others. The three major elements of the program consists of:

• Clinical and Consultative Work
• Course Work
• Scholarship and Teaching

Clinical and Consultative Placements

The source of the flexibility in the program is based on the wide variety of supervised clinical settings that are available. Trainees are assigned to multiple placements during the course of the year, with a minimum of six months spent in each of the placements:  

1. CMHC Law and Psychiatry
   
2. Whiting Forensic Division
   
3. Department of Children & Families
   
4. Yale Law School

To Apply Contact:

Howard Zonana, M.D.
Director, Law and Psychiatry
Connecticut Mental Health Center
34 Park St
New Haven, CT 06519
(203) 974-7169
howard.zonana@yale.edu

Yale is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer. Women and minority group members are encouraged to apply.

Application information is available here

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