Harvard Programs?

[scruffy821]

Can anyone provide up-to-date insight on the four Harvard psych residency programs? What makes them unique? What's the deal with the multiple "new" programs that seem like rearranged combos of BW/BI/Harvard Longwood?

Thanks!

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[FlowRate]

MGH/McLean is not changing and will continue to be one of the two or three most competitive residency programs in the country. Major strength compared to other Harvard psych programs is the freestanding, specialized psych facility (McLean). Strong in CL, inpatient, and research IMO, but I'm not as familiar with it. Clinically demanding.

BIDMC and BWH are probably more similar than different. BWH has an edge as far as academic CL and neuropsychiatry goes, BIDMC is more likely to give a pure/heavy therapy experience, but they both have a full compliment of psychiatric training.

CHA is well known for its psychoanalytic affiliation and for being one of the most psychotherapy focused residencies in the country.

McLean probably has the most wealthy patient population and almost exclusively takes private insurance. BWH tends to have more complex outpatients and has increased their inpatient complexity mix. BIDMC has more young folk and potentially the sickest patients (major site for medically complex DMH patients). CHA has more of a community and indigent population.

South Shore is separate and largely VA focused. They do a few rotations at other sites but I don't know the details.

That makes 5 Harvard-affiliated psych programs.

 

[hebel]

They're all wicked smaaht.

 

[Monkey House]

BIDMC/Harvard has a new website under development with some details: http://www.bidmcharvardpsychiatry.org/ and will be recruiting for a class of 10.

 

[SmallBird]

MGH/McLean is not changing and will continue to be one of the two or three most competitive residency programs in the country. Major strength compared to other Harvard psych programs is the freestanding, specialized psych facility (McLean). Strong in CL, inpatient, and research. It's probably also strong in other things, but I think the residency is particularly geared toward research.

I don't know if this last sentence is quite true - no doubt this is an incredibly prestigious residency and may be the hardest to get into, but my understanding is that it has a very busy clinical curriculum and that the residency is less 'geared' toward research. I don't mean to say its a bad place to go for a researcher but certainly other places offer more protected time and its also a great place to go for people who want to be top-notch clinicians.

 

[Bearrie]

How do BCH and Cambridge compare to McLean in child?


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[SmallBird]

How do BCH and Cambridge compare to McLean in child?


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Fellows that I have spoken to at McLean paint a much more positive picture than those at BCH.... I don't know much about Cambridge except that if I had to do any more play therapy than I currently have to I'd be very unhappy about it.

 

[TheWalkingCotard]

Can anyone provide up-to-date insight on the four Harvard psych residency programs? What makes them unique? What's the deal with the multiple "new" programs that seem like rearranged combos of BW/BI/Harvard Longwood?

Thanks!

Hi, I'm a senior resident at the current Harvard Longwood Psychiatry program. As people have been saying, starting this application cycle BWH and BID will be recruiting for 2 individual programs, which means there are now five Harvard programs accepting applications, no longer four. The decision to divide the residency was an upper level hospital decision that affected a number of training programs not just psychiatry (derm, rad onc). The two departments are continuing to work amicably together and anticipate doing so as we each launch of our new programs, especially since Longwood residents will be around for several more years as the seniors for the BIDMC and BWH interns/junior residents.

BIDMC Harvard Psychiatry website- http://www.bidmcharvardpsychiatry.org/

BWH/HMS website- http://www.brighamandwomens.org/Departments_and_Services/psychiatry/Residency-Program.aspx

 

[3lefts]

I had read the Harvard Longwood is a great place to be for C-L psychiatry. Do you think this will be true of both of the new programs or will one have an advantage educationally?

 

[Monkey House]

I had read the Harvard Longwood is a great place to be for C-L psychiatry. Do you think this will be true of both of the new programs or will one have an advantage educationally?

Both BIDMC + BWH (=Longwood) have large emergency departments and busy C-L services and each will offer a solid C-L experience going forward.

 

[sunlioness]

I know a guy who did a CL fellowship at one of the Harvard programs. I'm not sure which one. It sounded awful. Not that the education was bad. No. Just that it was stressful as ****. Lots of confrontational interaction styles. Needing to advocate for ones opinion strongly in the face of very large egos.

I would've crumped.


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[Monocles]

Fellows that I have spoken to at McLean paint a much more positive picture than those at BCH.... I don't know much about Cambridge except that if I had to do any more play therapy than I currently have to I'd be very unhappy about it.

What did you not like about play therapy? I'm looking at CAP fellowship in a few years in the Boston area and would like to know more about it.

 

[SmallBird]

What did you not like about play therapy? I'm looking at CAP fellowship in a few years in the Boston area and would like to know more about it.

It has all of the ambiguities of dynamic therapy in being reliant on hard to quantify processes (being with the child, being responsive to them) - perhaps even more so - and in patients who are often quite symptomatic. And then theres the fact that we have a growing evidence based for CBT and parent-based interventions. Besides my generally skepticism, its also not particularly fun (to me anyway), and I have enjoyed most other types of therapy. Of course there are people who like play therapy but it is quite rare for this to be a major task of a Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist in practice (although definitely possible and potentially lucrative if you are in the right market).

 

[Monocles]

It has all of the ambiguities of dynamic therapy in being reliant on hard to quantify processes (being with the child, being responsive to them) - perhaps even more so - and in patients who are often quite symptomatic. And then theres the fact that we have a growing evidence based for CBT and parent-based interventions. Besides my generally skepticism, its also not particularly fun (to me anyway), and I have enjoyed most other types of therapy. Of course there are people who like play therapy but it is quite rare for this to be a major task of a Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist in practice (although definitely possible and potentially lucrative if you are in the right market).

Interesting, thanks!

 

[AClassicRisetotheOccasion]

They're all wicked smaaht.

Haha!