Residency Training Program in Psychiatry

Residency Training Program
in Psychiatry

Department of Children and Families

Forensic Psychiatry: Department of Children and Families

Department of Children and Families (DCF)
Janet Williams, MD, Medical Director Riverview Hospital for Children

Various DCF facilities are utilized for training, depending on the residents' and supervisor's interests. Most recently utilized facilities are described below.

Currently, the child psychiatry resident spends approximately 2 days per week over the 12 month residency at Riverview Hospital. The selection for this position is dependent upon interviews and agreement by both institutions. During the length of this rotation, the Law & Psychiatry division is responsible for teaching, supervision, and formal evaluation of the resident under the responsible attending faculty. On a quarterly basis, the resident will be evaluated in writing by the supervising faculty.

While at the Riverview the resident is expected to meet the following educational competency goals and objectives: ability to successfully negotiate the special complexities and potential conflicts related to the conduct of therapy of adjudicated delinquents within a locked hospital setting (at least two patients for 6 months each); ability to perform dangerousness and competency to stand trial evaluations of juveniles.

Riverview Hospital for Children and Youth in Middletown is a 100-bed facility, which includes services for the treatment of youths from detention facilities across the state, and for those from the Connecticut Juvenile Training School (CJTS). It is located approximately 35 miles from Yale University. Patients are mainly adolescents, usually from ages 12 to 16, with significant psychiatric diagnoses such as schizophrenia, mood disorders, conduct disorders, learning disorders, sex offending and substance abuse. Forensic training may include participation in treatment planning meetings, screening of potential patients at the 'feeder' site mentioned above, risk assessments, competency evaluations and facilitating a legal issues group.

Last modified: February 12, 2008