Clinical Child Psychology Training Program

The clinical-specialty track is designed for fellows seeking intensive advanced clinical training with protected time for research, education, and professional development. Fellows typically devote approximately 80% of their time to clinical responsibilities and 20% to research and educational activities. 

The research-specialty track is designed for fellows seeking a balanced program of advanced clinical training and mentored scholarship. Fellows typically devote approximately 50% of their time to clinical responsibilities and 50% to research and professional-development activities.  

All fellows work with their primary mentor to develop an individualized training plan aligned with their clinical interests, research goals, and career plans. 

All fellows maintain an outpatient caseload and participate in new-patient evaluations. Additional rotations are selected with the fellow’s primary mentor. Rotation availability may vary by year, staffing, and fellow interest. 

Specialty programs and rotations 

• Child OCD & Anxiety Disorders Program (COAP): Assessment and evidence-based treatment of pediatric anxiety, OCD, and related conditions, including CBT and exposure and response prevention. 

• Infant & Early Childhood Clinic: Developmental, relational, and trauma-informed assessment and intervention for infants, young children, and their caregivers. 

• Perinatal & Reproductive Psychiatry Clinic: Interdisciplinary assessment and psychotherapy with pregnant and postpartum patients and their families. 

• Trauma & Grief Clinic: Assessment and treatment of children and adolescents with trauma- or grief-related concerns, including TF-CBT and Trauma and Grief Component Therapy. 

• Youth & Young Adult Depression and Suicide Prevention Program: Interdisciplinary evaluation and care for youth with depression, self-harm, and suicide risk. 

• Program for Risk Evaluation & Prevention (PREP): Differential diagnosis and early intervention for adolescents and young adults experiencing possible psychosis-risk symptoms. 

• Comprehensive Eating Disorders Program: Assessment and evidence-based care across outpatient, intensive outpatient, and partial-hospitalization services for patients ages 8–22. 

• Child & Adolescent Partial Hospitalization Program: Short-term, intensive care for adolescents with mood and anxiety symptoms, self-harm, and suicidality, with opportunities that may include CBT, DBT, and exposure-based groups. 

• Psychotherapy Mentorship & Training Clinics: Intensive, supervised training opportunities that may include child CBT, parent management training, DBT, and other evidence-based psychotherapies. 

• Psychoeducational and developmental assessment: Optional supervised assessment experiences addressing diagnostic, cognitive, learning, autism, and developmental questions. 

Fellows may also have the opportunity to pursue focused training in interventions such as Child-Parent Psychotherapy, Parent-Child Interaction Therapy, Comprehensive Behavioral Intervention for Tics, Habit Reversal Training, SPACE, TF-CBT, CBT for pediatric anxiety and mood disorders, and family-based treatment for eating disorders. 

Each fellow participates in research throughout the two-year program. The goal is to help fellows strengthen their scholarly skills and develop a program of work they can continue after fellowship. Applicants should identify their preferred research mentor or program in their application. 

Research opportunities may be available through: 

• ACCESS Lab: Exposure therapy training, clinician competence, implementation, and strategies to improve access to effective care for pediatric anxiety and OCD. 

• Youth & Young Adult Depression and Suicide Prevention Program: Suicide-risk screening and assessment, adaptive interventions, mobile health, caregiver supports, and community-based prevention. 

• Zero to Thrive: Perinatal, infant, and early childhood mental health; parenting; trauma; risk and resilience; and community-engaged prevention and intervention. 

• Women & Infants Mental Health Program: Perinatal mental health, parenting, infant mental health, trauma, intervention, and access to care. 

• Comprehensive Eating Disorders Program: Treatment processes and outcomes within family-based and higher-level eating-disorder care. 

Available mentorships change from year to year. Applicants may contact Training Director Emily Bilek at [email protected] with questions about opportunities for the 2027–2029 cohort. 

Fellows typically devote approximately 10% of their time to didactic learning. The curriculum combines required activities with optional opportunities selected in consultation with the fellow’s mentor. 

Required activities 

• Weekly Professional Development Seminar for first-year fellows 

• Weekly Child Seminar 

• Monthly Postdoctoral Forum 

• Bioethics Conference at least twice per year 

Additional opportunities 

• Department of Psychiatry Grand Rounds 

• Child Psychiatry Grand Rounds and multidisciplinary case conferences 

• Research Development Seminar for second-year fellows 

• Multidisciplinary clinical team meetings 

• Visiting lectures and educational events across the university 

• Rackham professional-development and diversity, equity, and inclusion programming 

Teaching & Supervision 

Fellows may supervise psychology practicum students, mentor undergraduate research assistants, assist faculty with seminars, and participate in other teaching activities as available.