One-year clinical fellowship focusing on evidenced-based treatment to improve patient and family function, with the goal of preventing mental health disorders in future generations.
We are proud to announce a new learning focus in the UNM Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. During this 1-year clinical fellowship, you have training opportunities in the areas of women’s mental health and attachment rarely found at other institutions.
We have several sites where you can learn to treat women with mental health disorders in the perinatal period in collaboration with the UNM Psychiatric Center as well as the OB/GYN, Family Medicine, and Pediatrics departments.
For those fellows with an interest in Infant Mental Health, we coordinate electives with faculty from our Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Division and the Center for Development and Disability. You can work with child psychiatrists and psychologists to learn treatment modalities for disruption in the mother/infant dyad.
You also have opportunities to pursue your own special interests with electives outside the perinatal period including premenstrual dysphoric disorder, perimenopause, chronic pelvic pain, gynecological cancer, and eating disorders. Your training will help us in our mission to improve the mental health of New Mexico families and prevent mental health disorders in future generations.
“There is a tremendous need for providers who are trained in women’s mental health, but there are not enough programs in the country to address them. I wanted to offer this experience to learners, to keep practitioners here, and to expand the level of knowledge in our state.”
Send materials via email to Desirae Ramirez
Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
2400 Tucker Avenue NE
1 University of New Mexico
MSC09 5030
Albuquerque, NM 87131
Reproductive Psychiatry Fellowship Application
For best consideration, complete applications should be submitted between August 1st and December 15. The fellowship cannot guarantee that applications submitted after December 15 will be reviewed.
Fellows have core requirements of perinatal psychopharmacology, perinatal dual diagnosis clinics, elective clinics, and psychotherapy
Perinatal Psychopharmacology Clinics
Journeys clinic is co-located in an offsite OB/GYN clinic. There are two psychologists providing psychotherapy at this site to help support our patients.
Start Clinic is a PGY3 psychiatry resident outpatient clinic located at UNM Mental Health Center. Fellows will have the opportunity to help supervise and teach PGY3’s.
Milagro Clinic is a family medicine run program providing OB care to women with substance use disorder. Our fellows provide psychiatric evaluations/recommendations for the primary care team.
Focus Clinic is a family medicine/peds run the program located in a primary care clinic that serves postpartum women with co-occurring substance use disorders.
UNM Neonatal Intensive Care Unit-fellow will do mental health evaluations of mothers who have a baby admitted to the UNM NICU.
Consult Liaison Service: Fellow will have opportunities to do psychiatric evaluations for perinatal pts admitted to a medical service.
Infant mental health clinics
Zero to Five Clinic is located at UNM Children’s Psychiatric Hospital, Cimarron clinic. This clinic focuses on the dyad of mother and baby.
UNM Center for Development and Disability is under the Department of Pediatrics. Fellows have opportunities to gain experience in diagnosing and treating social-emotional, developmental, attachment, and regulatory conditions in infants, young children, and their caregivers.
UNM Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Nina Higgins, MD
Reproductive Psychiatry Fellowship Director
Medical Director, Journeys Clinic, UNM
Kimothi Cain, MD, MPH
Program Director, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship
Medical Director, Outpatient Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
Medical Director, 0-5 Clinic
Kristina Sowar, MD
Program Director, General Psychiatry Residency
Directory for Wellness Initiative, GME
Eating Disorder Clinic, UNM
UNM Department of Pediatrics
Peggy MacLean, PhD
Associate Professor in Pediatrics
Clinical Director, FOCUS Early Intervention Program
Principal Investigator and Director, HATCH Home Visiting Program
Principal Investigator and Co-Director, Facilitating Attuned Interaction (FAN) Training Program
Julia Oppenheimer, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics
Clinical Director, Early Childhood Evaluation Program
Clinical Director, Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Program
Director for Early Childhood Clinical Services
Center for Development & Disability, University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center
Fellows participate in the National Curriculum for Reproductive Psychiatry didactic series once a week. Core faculty provide additional didactics throughout the year. There is also a journal club and case conference once a month.
Visit the state’s wonderful tourism website for stories and videos about living in the Land of Enchantment
Medical Education Program Specialist
Desirae Rosales
Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
2400 Tucker Avenue NE
1 University of New Mexico
MSC09-5030
Albuquerque, NM 87131