Skip to main content

Clinical Experience in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

The primary clinical practice site for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry fellows is at Riley Hospital for Children; however, residents also spend time at Eskenazi Health Midtown Community Mental Health in various locations across Indianapolis. Several opportunities are available to residents for elective rotations based on individual interests.

Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship Curriculum

Riley Hospital for Children at IU Health

Riley Hospital for Children at IU Health is one of the nation's leading children's hospitals, consistently receiving national rankings for the quality of care.
Learn More Riley Hospital for Children at IU Health
Eskenazi Hospital and surrounding campus

Eskenazi Health

IU School of Medicine physicians at Eskenazi provide an emphasis of comprehensive primary and specialty care to underserved populations in Marion County, Indiana.
Learn More Eskenazi Health

IU Neuroscience Center

The Neuroscience Center offers IU School of Medicine trainees access to state-of-the-art equipment, research and a diversity of clinical experience. 
Learn More IU Neuroscience Center

Pediatric Care Center

The newly established Pediatric Care Center is an excellent site for patient clinical care and the training of future child and adolescent psychiatrists. 
Learn More Pediatric Care Center

Clinical Opportunities 

  • ADHD and Disruptive Behavior Program

    Team Leadership: Rachel Yoder, MD, Gabriela Rodriguez, PhD and Hillary Blake, PsyD

    The ADHD and Disruptive Behavior Program integrates cognitive behavioral therapy, parent management training, executive functioning therapy, and medication management to comprehensively address these common, multifactorial concerns. Within the ADHD/DBD program learners have full responsibility for their patients with supervision. Residents and fellows become experts at assessing these incredibly common presenting concerns including their comorbidities and environmental contributing factors. This includes gaining expertise in evaluation of and approach to trauma, anxiety, depression, and developmental concerns. Correspondingly, residents and fellows also become adept at communicating and interfacing with schools and community resources.  

  • Family-Based Treatment Program

    Team Leadership: Rachel Yoder, MD and Gabriela Rodriguez, PhD

    In the family-based treatment program, children and caregivers are both seen for individual cognitive behavioral therapy, parent management training, and if applicable, medication management. By providing integrated mental health care for both children and their caregivers, FBT offers a convenient and comprehensive way for families to address mental health concerns together. Residents see both caregivers and children for medication management appointments and meet weekly with the FBT team (child psychologist, adult therapist, child and adult psychiatrist) to develop integrated family treatment plans. Residents also have the opportunity to observe and gain skills in parent management training. Through FBT, residents gain keen insight into and are able to directly positively impact caregiver mental health, a major contributing and perpetuating factor of child mental health. 

  • ENCOMPASS

    Team Leadership: Leslie Hulvershorn, MD and Zachary Adams, PhD

    The Adolescent Dual Diagnosis Program at Riley Hospital for Children approaches youth drug addiction differently from other rehabilitation and mental health clinics in the region. We are the first and only substance abuse therapy program in the Midwest to use ENCOMPASS to tackle this treatment gap. ENCOMPASS is an evidence-based therapy program for kids and teens ages 10-18 who struggle with the difficult combination of substance abuse and mental health disorders. This program brings together cognitive behavioral therapy, motivational interviewing, contingency management, medication assisted treatment, measurement-based care and family therapy. In addition to being certified to use ENCOMPASS to treat our patients, we are the only site certified by the University of Colorado to train other therapists to learn to use the ENCOMPASS model. 

  • Autism Clinic

    Team Leadership: Martin Plawecki, MD, Noha Minshawi-Patterson, PhD and Emily Roth, PsyD

    Autism spectrum and other developmental disorders are increasingly common yet finding psychiatric services remains a challenge due the complexities surrounding their care. The Christian Sarkine Autism Treatment Center consists of psychologists and psychiatrists aiming to provide behavioral and psychopharmacologic treatment to this underserved population with patients from all over the state, and not-infrequently out-of-state. Psychiatric residents and fellows rotating in this clinic will have the opportunity to treat this population, addressing common medical and psychiatric comorbidities, and collaborate with psychologists providing behavioral intervention and standardized assessments. The cases are frequently challenging, but the impact is as frequently profound. 

  • Tic/Anxiety/Compulsion (TAC) Clinic 

    Team Leadership: Kelda Walsh, MD and Ann Lagges, PhD

    The Tic/Anxiety/Compulsion (TAC) clinic is a multidisciplinary clinic focusing in the care of children with tic and anxiety spectrum disorders, including selective mutism, Tourette disorder and separation anxiety disorder. Kelda Walsh, MD is the medical director of TAC and supervises residents, who manage these complex patients with several families of medications. Therapy training is led by Ann Lagges, PhD; therapeutic modalities include Comprehensive Behavioral Intervention for Tics (CBIT), exposure and response prevention (E/RP), and anxiety management therapy. TAC clinic sessions begin with a short didactics section each week in which shared patients are reviewed and team members take turns reviewing articles and key diagnoses and treatments. 

  • Down Syndrome Psychiatric Specialty Clinic at the Indiana University Neuroscience Center 

    Team Leadership: Cassie Karlsson, MD and Jill Fodstad, PhD

    This weekly clinic specializes in the diagnostic evaluation and treatment of children and adults with Down Syndrome and psychiatric illness/behavioral concerns. This collaborative clinic is led by both a child and adolescent psychiatrist and psychologist, both with expertise in the evaluation and treatment of children and adults with Down Syndrome and other neurodevelopmental disorders. Trainees are able to participate in diagnostic evaluations, medication management, and behavioral therapy techniques for patients throughout the lifespan. There is a particular emphasis on the evaluation and treatment of regression and catatonia in Down Syndrome and other developmental disorders, and the opportunity to become more familiar with the medical evaluation and ECT treatment for patients with catatonia. There is close collaboration with other medical specialties in the IU Health System, including a strong connection with the Down Syndrome clinic in Developmental Pediatrics. 

  • Riley Hospital Behavioral Health Assessment Center (BHAC) 

    Director: Kristen Schroeder, MD

    The BHAC is a secured space with four patient rooms within the Riley pediatric emergency room. Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (Physician and a Nurse Practitioner), Pediatric Emergency Medicine Physicians, Behavioral Health Clinicians, Nursing, and Medical Technicians work together to provide emergency psychiatric care to patients in Riley Hospital for Children, as well as some child and adolescent patients throughout the state by use of our phone line. Learners including medical students, residents and fellows are also incorporated into the team in different ways at different times of the day. In 2019, there were over 850 resource or assessment consults for patients completed by the BHAC team. The top chief complaints were suicidal ideation, aggression/agitation, suicide attempts, or non-suicidal self-injury in children ranging 3 - 19 years old  

Addressing the Shortage of Child Psychiatrists 

For many Hoosiers, it can be challenging to find a child psychiatrist. From navigating complex insurance plans to understanding various treatments and therapies availableit can be a lengthy and difficult process. With a low percentage of practicing psychiatrists in Indiana and a growing population of children and adolescents in need of behavioral health support throughout the state, IU School of Medicine is leading the way to ensure future generations are supported when it comes to their children's mental health.