The Global Mental Health program was developed to meet the growing demand for high quality, culturally/structurally competent, cost-effective mental health interventions in low and middle-income countries and in immigrant and underserved communities in the United States.

The goal of the program is to enhance the resident training experience by providing opportunities for deeper engagement with the field global mental health. The program provides a variety of opportunities, including scholarly projects and field work.  The program is tailored to the interests of residents. Within the Global Mental Health Program, two tracks are available: a general track that provides opportunities to develop a scholarly project and a research track.

Global Mental Health Track

Overview: The Global Mental Health (GMH) general track allows residents to explore their interests in GMH beginning during their PGY1 year and continuing with formal involvement in the GMH track in one or more additional years of their residency. The track is tailored to the interests and needs of individual residents and emphasizes participation in the monthly GMH seminar as well as both individual and group mentoring. Residents with a strong interest in research are encouraged to consider the GMH research track.

What to expect with our Global Mental Health (GMH) track curriculum by program year:

During the PGY1 year, residents explore and develop their interests in GMH through participation in the monthly seminar and through identification of potential mentors in GMH with the GMH director. At the end of the year, residents who wish to further explore their interests can apply to the GMH track starting in the PGY2 year. Residents wishing to apply for the GMH track in their PGY2 year are strongly encouraged to meet with the GMH program director (Dr. Hinton) prior to submission of their application.

  • Attend monthly GMH seminars
  • Consider application for PGY2 GMH track

During the PGY2 year, residents interested in further developing their interests in GMH are encouraged to submit a brief application describing their interests and to identify a mentor. A field experience can be included as part of the application (travel funds may be available). Residents accepted into the track have the option of continuing for one year in the GMH track or extending into their PGY3 and PGY4 years. 

  • Submit application for PGY2 year (due on July 31st of PGY2 year)
  • Attend GMH monthly seminar
  • Meet monthly with mentor
  • Field experience (optional)
  • ½ day blocked for GMH (optional)

Residents who continue in the GMH track in their PGY3 and PGY4 years are expected to complete a scholarly project. The project must be advised by a faculty member in the department, or by an approved faculty member outside of the department on a case-by-case basis, and of publishable quality. This may include: an article in a psychiatry or psychology journal; a workshop, paper or poster presented at a regional or national conference; a grand rounds or original seminar series; a sustainable community outreach program. Residents will also be expected to take a leadership role in the GMH program by helping to organize and lead GMH seminars and to identify the yearly GMH grand rounds speaker.

  • Submit application PGY3 & PGY4 years (due on July 31st of PGY3 year)
  • Leadership role in monthly GMH seminars
  • Meet monthly with mentor
  • Field experience
  • Complete a scholarly project
  • ½ day blocked for GMH (optional)

Application Timeline and Requirements

Applications are developed and submitted by July 31st of PGY2. Selection of Global Mental Health track residents will be announced by September 1st of the same year.

How to apply

Funding

The Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences will provide up to $5,000 for the Global Mental Health track resident’s project. Track residents are encouraged to work with their mentoring team to identify additional sources of funding as needed.

Our faculty mentors

Following are our Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences faculty mentors and their content areas of expertise and specific geographic focus, if applicable.

Amy Barnhorst, M.D.– Mental health services (Nepal, Central American Countries)

Caroline Giroux, M.D. – Trauma and refugee mental health

Ladson Hinton, M.D. – Geriatric mental health, family caregiving (Vietnam, China, Thailand)

Ruth Shim, M.D., M.P.H. – Social determinants of mental health

Guohua Xia, M.D., Ph.D. – Mental healthcare (China)

Peter Yellowlees, M.B.B.S., M.D. – Global telepsychiatry