Considering a career in child and adolescent psychiatry
What does a Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist do?
A child and adolescent psychiatrist is a medical doctor who specializes in the recognition, diagnosis and treatment of problems in thinking, feeling or behaviour that affect numerous children, teens and their families. Child and adolescent psychiatrists deal with things such as fears and worries, feelings of sadness, difficulties in attention and learning, self-esteem and self-image difficulties. They advocate for the best interests of children and teens.
While other professions also train people to help children and families with mental health concerns, medical training enriches the ways a child psychiatrist can approach individual and family care. A paediatric psychiatrist brings knowledge of biological, psychological, social and medical factors in working with patients, thus providing comprehensive care. Physical, genetic, developmental, emotional, cognitive, educational, family, and peer aspects of the child’s life may all contribute to the child’s difficulties. Child and adolescent psychiatrists employ an integrated approach to the treatment of mental health concerns; treatment options may include individual, group or family psychotherapy (“talk therapy”), medication, and/or consultation with other physicians or community professionals. The diversity of child psychiatry is also apparent in the number of settings in which they may work such as hospitals, community practices, schools, juvenile courts and social agencies.
Steps to becoming a child and adolescent psychiatrist
- Medical degree. Most medical degrees are four-year programs that students apply to after completing an undergraduate degree such as a BSc or BA.
- Psychiatry residency. In this five-year specialty program, physicians gain an integrated understanding of biological, psychological, and social aspects of mental health.
- Child and adolescent psychiatry specialty or fellowship. Although there are no formal exams, most child and adolescent psychiatrists have completed two years of study and supervised practice focusing on the mental health and psychiatric issues that pertain to children, adolescents and their families.
The University of Toronto program is one of the few faculties in Canada that offer a career track program in child psychiatry. Two years of the five-year residency are dedicated to specialized training in child psychiatry. In Toronto, training takes place at one or more of five sites – including The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) – associated with the Division of Child Psychiatry, University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine.