Psychiatry

Peter O’Donnell Jr. Brain Institute

Women's Mental Health Fellowship

Women’s Mental Health is a rapidly growing and evolving subspeciality of psychiatry, and as such, requires additional training and education to provide sufficient clinical expertise. Women are disproportionately affected by common psychiatric disorders such as major depressive disorder, anxiety disorders, eating disorders, and trauma-related disorders. Additionally, the reproductive events in a woman’s life add greater complexity to psychiatric disorders and especially to the standard treatment options. Tragically, mental health disorders currently account for one of the leading causes of perinatal death in Texas and the nation.

Despite these facts, very few psychiatry trainees are formally educated in perinatal psychiatry. The goals for the UT Southwestern Women’s Mental Health Fellowship align with the national and state movement towards increasing support and treatment for mental illnesses affecting women throughout their life course, in particular the perinatal period.

Graduates of the UT Southwestern Women’s Mental Health fellowship will have in-depth knowledge of women’s mental health, with a focus on perinatal psychiatry. Fellows will become highly skilled in treating women throughout their reproductive life stages, beginning with preconception through perimenopause, as well as understanding the nuances of treating women with trauma and treating eating disorders. Fellowship graduates will also be equipped to be leaders in women’s mental health and advocacy for Texas women.

Program Overview

The Women’s Mental Health Fellowship, with support from Parkland Health and the Texas Child Mental Health Care Consortium (TCMHCC), is a 1-year, funded, clinical specialty training program for psychiatry residency graduates that is accredited by the Texas Medical Board. Fellows will gain expertise in treating perinatal psychiatric disorders, trauma-related disorders, substance use disorders, and eating disorders as they relate to women’s mental health. Training will take place in Dallas, within Parkland Health and UTSW.  

Fellows will rotate on various clinical sites, including at community clinics and faculty practices and on a hospital consult service. Case consultation experience will be provided by supervised time on the Perinatal Psychiatry Access Network (PeriPAN) hotline with UTSW faculty.  Fellows will work with patients with a wide range of demographic and diagnostic categories and participate in multidisciplinary teams, including obstetrics/gynecology and addiction specialists. Formal learning will include weekly didactics with psychiatry faculty specializing in women’s mental health. Fellows will have the opportunity to teach medical students and psychiatry residents at UTSW and will be expected to complete a scholarly project. Applicants will further be supported in their specific interests within research, psychotherapy, and/or academic projects. 

Eligibility

  • Completion of a US-accredited psychiatric residency training program by program start date
  • Licensed to practice in Texas by start date
  • Either board certified or board eligible in Psychiatry

Training and Education

Clinical rotations will be 4 months long for outpatient settings, and one month long for inpatient settings.  Fellows will treat peripartum patients for one day a week for one year as their continuity clinic.  Didactics will be half a day a week and focus on areas of perinatal psychiatry, as well as trauma and eating disorders.  Fellows will complete a scholarly project on a women’s mental health topic and will submit their project to annual women’s mental health related conferences for the opportunity to present.  Fellows will have the opportunity to work with UTSW psychiatry residents and medical students and provide teaching to trainees.

Clinical Sites

  • Parkland Women’s Mental Health Center
  • Parkland Victim Intervention Program
  • Parkland Maternal Fetal Medicine Clinic
  • Parkland Psychiatry Consult service
  • TCMHCC Perinatal Access Network (PeriPAN)
  • UTSW Psychiatry Clinic- Women’s Mental Health
  • UTSW Psychiatry Clinic- Obstetrics and Psychiatry
  • UTSW Psychiatry Clinic- Eating Disorders

Application Process

Applications are accepted from July 1 to January 1, with interviews taking place between September 1 and February 1. Submit the following application materials via Email: 

  • Curriculum Vitae
  • Personal Statement
  • Three Letters of Recommendation (one from training director, attesting applicant is in good standing, without any discipline or remediation actions pending)

Faculty