Residency Training

The Residency Training Program at Western Psychiatric Institute & Clinic (WPIC) offers four PGY1 and up residency training options for a total ofapproximately 80 residents and fellows: general psychiatry,  child and adolescent psychiatry, triple board program (pediatrics, general psychiatry, child and adolescent psychiatry) and the most recent addition to our integrated training programs, a Combined Family Medicine and Psychiatry program.  Within the General and Child and Adolescent programs residents may choose to participate in an academic administrator, clinician educator track and/or the research track. In addition to these we also offer a Geriatric Psychiatry Fellowship, a Forensic Psychiatry Fellowship, an Addiction Psychiatry Fellowship and a Fellowship in Public Service Psychiatry. As well, we have opportunities for interested candidates to apply for a Sleep Medicine Fellowship and UPMC also offers a Pain Medicine Fellowship.

Each program provides rigorous and comprehensive instruction, as well as diverse clinical experience, in a challenging yet supportive atmosphere with an active mentorship program. Specifically, WPIC offers significant experiences in  psychopharmacology, psychotherapy and psychosocial interventions, neurosciences, public and community psychiatry, and psychiatric research. Despite the relatively large size of the program, faculty are interested and accessible, further, ample opportunities exist to meet individual residents' needs and career goals.

Message from Dr. David A. Lewis, Chair, Department of Psychiatry, WPIC

Who's Who in the Office of Residency Training at WPIC

"Our Residents speak about the program"

Pittsburgh - New Visions, New Tomorrow

Given the dual clinical and research training objectives of any residency training program and the wealth of state-of-the-art resources at this Institute, residents receive comprehensive training that defies categorization into typical dichotomies such as biological versus sociological or clinical versus research. The training ethos at WPIC is centered around bridging and integrating different fields.

Our attitude toward what constitutes the essentials of a residency training program is that these stereotypic divisions do not, in fact, represent opposite ends of a spectrum. WPIC is uniquely able to provide a well-integrated and balanced variety of experiences that, together, define the domain of contemporary psychiatry and represent a variety of major paradigms within the field. In addition to well-defined programs in the psychotherapies and somatic treatments, WPIC has experts in behavioral psychology, behavioral medicine, mental retardation/autism, psychiatric epidemiology, social and community psychiatry, forensic psychiatry, interviewing techniques, family and group therapies, and neuropsychology.

Through exposure to this wide spectrum of views and practices, residents learn to weigh and synthesize ideas based on the evidence. This empirical approach to training is the vital thread that unites the institute's highly diverse faculty.

The Residency Training Program has two equally important aims:

• To prepare clinical psychiatrists for the medical challenges of the 21st century by training them to evaluate critically new and established approaches to assessment and treatment of psychiatric disorders.
• To train psychiatrists who are likely to pursue academic and research careers and to make valuable contributions to knowledge in psychiatry, psychiatric education, program development, and/or mental health care policy.

One of the most important aspects of residency training is learning from and working with colleagues.  Hear what our residents have to say about our program.

Thank you for your interest in our programs. 

• General Psychiatry Residency Training
• Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Residency Training
• Triple Board Program
• Combined Family Medicine and Psychiatry Program
• Geriatric Psychiatry Fellowship
• Forensic Psychiatry Fellowship
• Addiction Psychiatry Fellowship
• Public Service Psychiatry Fellowship
• Center for Public Service Psychiatry
• Living in Pittsburgh
• Life as a Resident

Please feel free to contact us for additional information.