Message from the Training Director and Division Chief

Welcome to the Child & Adolescent Psychiatry training program at Maine Medical Center and Spring Harbor Hospital. Our two-year subspecialty training program is located primarily at Maine Medical Center for outpatient and consultative services and at Spring Harbor Hospital, a 100-bed psychiatric hospital of which 46 beds are dedicated to child and adolescent programs for adolescents, children, and the developmentally delayed population.

Our goal in training is to train excellent child and adolescent psychiatrists who upon graduation may chose a clinical career, further research training, or public sector work. We want our graduates to be able to appreciate the whole child and adolescent with respect to the biopsychosocial model, developmental aspects, and family. Thus, we also support and have the expectation of psychotherapy training in multiple models (DBT, CBT, family therapy, social skills groups, to name a few) throughout the two years of training. Our graduates are well-versed in pharmacotherapy, evidence-based practice, and systems of care issues to treat the child and family.  Because the child and adolescent psychiatrists of the future will need to work with and through others, we emphasize learning collaborative care models with primary care physicians, consultation to schools, and to be a leader of multidisciplinary teams.

Maine Medical Center is the academic hub serving much of the state of Maine and parts of New Hampshire.  Academic affiliation is currently partnered with the University Of Vermont College Of Medicine, and over the next two years a new medical school program with Tufts University will be developed.  Our child and adolescent psychiatry program is the only training program north to Montreal, south to Boston, and west to Hanover, New Hampshire. Thus, we have full access to a broad array of training resources including the juvenile justice system, school-based mental health treatments, and innovative collaborative care models of mental health services in primary care.

We are a growing program with ten child & adolescent psychiatrists directly affiliated with Maine Medical Center or Spring Harbor Hospital, numerous psychologists, LICSW’s, and adjunct community faculty. Currently there is ongoing research in prevention, substance abuse, and obesity in children.

As the only training program in the largest city in Northern New England, we utilize several community resources as ancillary training sites including: 

• Longcreek Youth Correctional Facility in South Portland
• The Collaborative School in Gray,  a unique special education program
• The Spurwink School
• The New England Eating Disorders Program at Mercy Hospital

Other training aspects that may be unique to our program include:  

• Adolescent Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) groups
• Child Forensic experience with Diane Schetky, M.D., a national expert in the field.
• Telepsychiatry to rural primary care physicians
• Telemedicine course in Neuroscience taught by faculty at UVM
• Clinical experience at the juvenile justice program
• A longitudinal experience at The Collaborative School
• Early childhood evaluations, including the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS)
• Standardized patient program for assessing competencies 
• ANCHOR (an intensive community-based program or child Assertive Community Treatment team)
• Developmental disabilities experience
• “Selective”/Elective: two-month block in the second year to focus on an area of interest which may include:
  • Legislative advocacy
  • Administrative psychiatry
  • Eating disorders
  • Developmental Disabilities
  • Child abuse/attachment
  • Forensics
  • PIER – an innovative clinical research program for early intervention in psychotic disorders

Portland (and the state of Maine) is a wonderful area with much to offer. Between the waters of nearby Casco Bay and the Calendar Islands for kayaking, fishing, surfing, and watching the migratory birds, and the White Mountains to the west, virtually any sporting activity is readily available. Public schools are excellent and Maine is a safe, supportive environment for families and young people.  Portland is a vibrant, youthful town with music, artists, and even a Dog Wash! Personal development is supported along with training needs. After all, the state motto is “Maine, the way life should be”. For applicants, we look forward showing you our program and what we offer.

Sandra L. Fritsch, M.D. Residency Director Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Maine Medical Center Portland, Maine 207 662-4377 fritss@mmc.org

Douglas R. Robbins, M.D. Director of Child & Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Services Maine Medical Center Portland, Maine 207 662-2160 robbid@mmc.org