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Department of Psychiatry Department of Psychiatry
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UC San Diego Community Psychiatry Residency Track​

The Community Psychiatry Residency Track, within the General Psychiatry Residency, was developed out of a partnership between the University of California, San Diego and the County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency. This specialized track trains providers to address the mental health needs of the community and the public sector. In the course of the program, residents receive training at rotation sites that treat underserved communities. During this time, they are exposed to a variety of clinical settings and specialty populations. This allows our residents to develop an understanding of the public mental health system and the skills necessary to provide quality patient care to each unique population.

In addition to clinical rotations within the UCSD Medical Center, our residents rotate at Community Based Organization (CBO) training sites. CBO placement sites include San Ysidro Health Care Centers, Family Health Centers of San Diego, San Diego Youth Services, Survivors of Torture International, Deaf Community Services, Community Research Foundation Programs, San Diego Center for Children, and Vista Hill Programs.

Community Track Residents also have a special didactic seminar series in their 3rd and 4th year, every Thursday afternoon, that is focused on learning about population health, advocacy, healthcare leadership, program design, finance, budgeting, collaborative care, outcomes-based research, and more!

UC San Diego Child and Adolescent Community Fellowship

The Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (CAP) Community Fellowship Track is available for applicants to apply for using a separate match number from the primary Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship Training Program. UCSD will recruit five fellows per year; four fellows will train in the CAP Fellowship and one fellow in the CAP Community Track Fellowship. Applicants can rank either or both tracks separately on their match list.

The mission of the CAP Community Track is to train fellows to become well-rounded clinicians with expertise in caring for underserved youth. The curriculum and training focus on the San Diego County System of Care, school-based services, juvenile justice programs, federally qualified health centers (FQHC), residential programs, and "wrap-around" services. Fellows will acquire clinical experience and knowledge of the system to help them become leaders in the public sector, wherever they choose to practice.

During the first year of the CAP Community Track Fellowship, our fellows complete core rotations that are almost identical to that of a Categorical Fellow rotation schedule. The community-focused rotation, in the first year, is at the newly established Youth Counseling Center at Family Health Centers of San Diego; which is an FQHC. First-year CAP Community Track Fellows are eligible for up to 5 educational days and financial support to attend one conference.

During the second year, CAP Community Track Fellows gain in-depth clinical experience in community settings that offer a range of treatment modalities. The placements are primarily outpatient although, some programs do offer 24 hours of direct clinical care. In addition to outpatient services, CAP Community Track Fellows rotation placements offer residential treatment, "WRAP" teams, school-based mental health care, juvenile justice mental health, and treatment for at-risk and unsheltered youth. There are no additional call requirements at any of the community sites.

Second-year CAP Community Track Fellows participate in community-focused didactics in efforts to enhance their understanding of the system of mental health care for both underserved youth and adults. Topics range from the history of community psychiatry, program design, and grant writing. These didactics take the place of an elective which Categorical Fellows receive. However, there is still an opportunity for individualized projects or a community selective. The community selective is developed with a Community Track supervisor and can include time to work on a scholarly project or other educational initiatives relevant to community psychiatry.

Furthermore, our second-year CAP Community Track Fellows receive funds to attend the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) Annual Meeting and have the option to attend a second conference that is related to community psychiatry.