Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Subspecialty Residency Program

Welcome to the Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry at Western University’s Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (CAP) Subspecialty Residency Program website.

Our program is well-established and experienced in providing CAP subspecialty education. We received accreditation from the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons Canada in 2012, making Western one of the country’s longest-running CAP programs.

The CAP Subspecialty program supports collegiality and resident wellness, with a robust curriculum that includes process support with narrative reflection and volunteering opportunities. The Wellness curriculum was acknowledged as a Leading Practice/Innovation by the Royal College accreditors in 2019.

Curriculum, Training, and Research Overview

We provide two years of curriculum in a full academic day format.

Three training sites in London and various sites in rural and urban Southwestern Ontario communities (e.g., Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry - Windsor) provide extensive on-the-job training. We also have a robust Telepsychiatry service to more remote communities.

We offer over 25 clinical training opportunities at several facilities. Some examples of clinical training opportunities that residents have participated in include:

  • London Health Sciences Centre: Inpatient, Day Treatment, Ambulatory Clinics, Eating Disorders Inpatient, Eating Disorders Day Treatment, Eating Disorders Ambulatory Clinic, First Episode Mood and Anxiety Program (FEMAP), The Prevention and Early Prevention Program for Psychosis (PEPP), Sleep Medicine, Pediatric Medicine, Pediatric Neurology Clinics.
  • Vanier Children's Centre: Residential, Day Treatment, Ambulatory clinics
  • Child and Parent Resource Institute (CPRI): Residential and ambulatory services including developmental pediatric clinics, The Brake Shop (Tic Disorders, OCD, and impulse control), Selective Mutism Clinic, Sexual Behaviours Clinic
Psychotherapy training is provided to residents by a dedicated team of faculty members. Psychotherapy training is available in Family Therapy, Group Therapy, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Dialectical Behavioural Therapy, Behavioural Therapy, Play Therapy, Trauma Based therapies, and Psychodynamic Psychotherapy.

CAP has a wide range of research options. Residents have participated in Quality Assurance, psychotherapy research, education scholarship, and clinical research.

We support residents in achieving their career goals by offering a flexible program to meet individual learning needs. We have unique learning opportunities, such as our education administrator/leadership training program. Residents also receive collaborative support to earn a Master of Education, Master of Business Administration, or Master of Epidemiology concurrently. These opportunities uniquely reflect our philosophy of innovation and adaptability to our trainee’s needs and aspirations.

Application Process

Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University welcomes all eligible applicants to obtain the FRCPC Specialty in Psychiatry.  The first step in our application process includes a file review. Following this review, selected applicants will participate in an interview. Applicants are considered for final selection and acceptance into the program based on their file review, interview, and overall impression of Goodness of Fit: the program’s fit with the resident's future career goals.

Please note applicants who demonstrate an interest in Western University through their personal, clinical, or research experience at the file review stage are given some preference. Applicants do not receive preference during the interview stage.  The Goodness of Fit discussion is based on objective criteria and is applied to all applicants.

We have residency positions for at least two candidates each year. 

To learn more about the program from a resident perspective, please see the testimonials from our Child and Adolescent graduates/residents.

Application Dates:

Application deadline: September 3, 2024
Interview date:  September 27, 2024 for Western
First offers of acceptance will be sent: October 24, 2024
Deadline for candidates to accept/decline the first offer of acceptance: October 29, 2024

Application requirements include:

  1. Letter of Intent
  2. Updated CV
  3. Letter of Good Standing from Current Residency Program Director
  4. Two Reference Letters - At least one reference from a referee commenting on clinical ability in CAP
  5. List of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Resident Experience
  6. Assessment forms from CAP core and elective rotations

Applicants who are past the application due dates, or if you are in your PGY5 year and are interested in starting the residency program in your PGY6 year, please contact the Program Director.

Dr. Michelle Ngo
Program Director
Michelle.Ngo@lhsc.on.ca 

All applications must be submitted electronically to:

Tracy Henebry
Program Administrator
Tracy.Henebry@lhsc.on.ca

Questions regarding the process can be directed to Tracy Henebry
by telephone 519-667-6671 or by email at Tracy.Henebry@lhsc.on.ca