The overall goal of the program is to train physicians to become skilled specialists in child and adolescent psychiatry, competent to provide comprehensive medical care to children and adolescents who are suffering from psychiatric disorders and to achieve certification by the ABPN in this field. Training takes place over a period of two years in a series of graduated clinical and didactic experiences that are intended to help residents achieve the following goals:

• Comprehensive and critical understanding of the knowledge base of the field including biological, psychological and social factors in development and in psychopathological disorders from infancy through young adulthood.
• Skills in the evaluation, treatment, prevention and clinical investigation of psychiatric disorders in children and adolescents from a variety of socio-cultural and economic backgrounds and in a variety of settings, including psychiatric inpatient and day treatment programs, a hospital-based psychiatric outpatient program, pediatric inpatient and emergency room settings, schools, family court, and community agencies.
• Professional attitudes consistent with the principles of the American Medical Association Code of Ethics, the American Psychiatric Association Annotations of these principles, and the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Code of Ethics.

The knowledge base is systematically taught in accord with a written didactic curriculum, and clinical skills and professional attitudes are developed through supervised clinical rotations in multiple settings.