Academics & Unique Features
Academics & Unique Features
Academics & Unique Features
Mission Statement
The child psychiatry program at University of Utah Health is training the next generation of child psychiatrists, emphasizing the integration of primary care and mental healthcare, in an effort to provide earlier access to treatment and serve as a bridge to educate primary care providers. Our graduates are equipped to provide psychiatric care in urban or rural settings, using in-person or telemedicine platforms, with skill in treating the spectrum of disease acuity. Our graduates thrive in team environments, using a biopsychosocial perspective to optimize treatment for family systems. We strive to provide low cost, high quality healthcare that is patient-centered, trauma-informed, and evidence based. Our program supports each other with our motto “Never Worry Alone."
Mentoring
Each fellow is assigned an advisor when they start the program, to help them navigate their journey into child psychiatry. They pick a formal mentor by the end of their first year of fellowship.
Academics & Scholarship
The fellowship has protected didactics every Wednesday afternoon for the entirety of fellowship. There is a protected interdisciplinary psychotherapy seminar with psychology interns which runs the entire year.
Fellows train side-by-side with triple board residents, who are completing a 5-year combined pediatrics, adult psychiatry, and child/adolescent psychiatry program. This relationship allows for creating a greater community of residents and also enhances the relationships and opportunities available between the Departments of Pediatrics and Psychiatry. As well, the child fellows train with residents in the general psychiatry and pediatric programs, with psychology interns, and with social work students.
There is ½ day per week of protected scholarship time throughout the fellowship (with the exception of inpatient months). Fellows are expected to complete a scholarly project throughout fellowship and present 30-minute grand rounds to the Child Psychiatry Division at the end of training.
Catchment Area
The University of Utah Department of Psychiatry and its Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry serves children and adolescents from all of Utah and much of the Intermountain West, including Idaho, Nevada, and Wyoming.
Training in Multiple Systems & Levels of Care
Exposure to the two largest healthcare systems in Utah and a large group of supportive faculty provides our residents with a wide variety of learning, mentorship, and research opportunities. For fifteen consecutive years, the University of Utah has ranked in the Top 10 of Vizient's Quality Leadership Award, highlighting the organization's emphasis and ability in providing high value healthcare. Our main training site, Huntsman Mental Health Institute has a 66-bed inpatient child and adolescent psychiatry unit, a youth crisis care program, two day treatment programs, and a youth residential treatment program. Likewise, Intermountain Health has been nationally recognized throughout history as a leader in healthcare quality, leadership and innovation. The Primary Children's Taylorsville Behavioral Health Campus, opened in 2025, welcomes our fellows with additional experiences in crisis psychiatry, day treatment, inpatient, and outpatient.
Faculty Size
The University of Utah Division of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry includes over 40 full-time faculty members, and the Division of Behavioral Health through Primary Children's is continuously expanding to meet community education needs. Our faculty care deeply about residents and fellows and value teaching and mentoring our future colleagues. Our program supports each other through our motto, "Never worry alone." offering both winter and summer activities, and there are six national parks within a six0hour drive. For those not as into the outdoors, Salt Lake City has a large variety of restaurants, a vibrant arts and music scene, and is home to several national sports teams.
Protected Learning Time
All fellows have Wednesday afternoons dedicated to didactics.
Dedicated Research Time
All fellows have a half-day per week of dedicated research time to pursue and area of interest. Many of our faculty are actively engaged in research and welcome collaboration with fellows. At the end of training, our graduates present a scholarly area of interest during Grand Rounds.
Program Perks
Primary Children's and the Huntsman Mental Health Institute provide free parking. There is a parking stipend that fellows receive to use for other sites. Our fellows receive an annual book fund, and are eligible for travel funds to support attendance at conferences. Utah Transit Authority (UTA) and other local attractions offer free access for University of Utah trainees.
Program Wellness & Connection
We value our trainees' professional and personal lives. We have a fall program retreat, a spring group wellness activity, and monthly lunches to enhance our training community.
Life in Utah
Many physicians find themselves coming to Utah to train, and end up laying down roots because of the great lifestyle in the Salt Lake Valley. Salt Lake City is a safe, beautiful, and family-friendly city. Mountains and trail systems are literal steps from our back door. There are multiple resorts within 30-minutes of Salt Lake City offering both winter and summer activities, and there are six national parks within a six0hour drive. For those not as into the outdoors, Salt Lake City has a large variety of restaurants, a vibrant arts and music scene, and is home to several national sports teams.
