How We Learn

Residents participate in a robust and comprehensive didactic curriculum every Wednesday from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Protected educational time includes year-specific instruction tailored to each stage of residency training, with content covering the full spectrum of core psychiatric knowledge and clinical skills.

In addition to weekly didactics, residents participate in Journal Club, Morbidity & Mortality (M&M) Conferences, class meetings, and quarterly Program Evaluation Committee (PEC) meetings. Residents also attend Department of Psychiatry Grand Rounds every Friday from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. (September through June), featuring presentations from distinguished UNM faculty and nationally recognized leaders in behavioral health.

Together, these educational experiences foster lifelong learning, clinical excellence, scholarly inquiry, and professional development.

Didactic Curriculum

PGY-1
The PGY-1 curriculum focuses on building the foundational knowledge and clinical skills required for emergency psychiatry, inpatient psychiatry, and consultation-liaison psychiatry. Residents are introduced to core topics including psychopharmacology, ethics, and mental health law, while gaining experience caring for patients with mood, psychotic, substance use, trauma-related, and personality disorders. Through a combination of lectures, case discussions, and experiential learning, residents develop essential skills in psychiatric interviewing, diagnostic assessment, and motivational interviewing.

PGY-2
The PGY-2 curriculum supports the transition to greater clinical responsibility and subspecialty training. Didactics expand upon foundational psychiatric knowledge while introducing key areas including geriatric psychiatry, child and adolescent psychiatry, rural and community psychiatry, cross-cultural psychiatry, refugee mental health, women's mental health, and neuropsychiatry. Residents also begin formal training in supportive psychotherapy and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), while participating in journal clubs and wellness-focused educational activities.

PGY-3
The PGY-3 curriculum is centered on outpatient psychiatry and advanced psychotherapy training. Educational experiences explore topics such as outpatient psychopharmacology, ethics and professionalism, child development, neuroscience, forensic psychiatry, and cultural psychiatry, alongside landmark journal discussions. Residents manage their own psychotherapy patients, participate in patient panels, and further develop skills in CBT and other evidence-based psychotherapies. Additional training includes an in-depth introduction to psychoanalytic concepts as well as family and couples therapy.

PGY-4
The PGY-4 curriculum is designed to support residents' transition to independent practice while providing opportunities to pursue individual clinical and academic interests. Didactics focus on advanced professional development topics such as board preparation, billing and documentation, telepsychiatry, practice management, and financial planning. The final year allows residents to explore subspecialty interests, refine leadership skills, and prepare for successful careers in psychiatry.

PGY-1
Residents are introduced to the fundamentals of psychotherapy, including the psychiatric interview and development of the therapeutic alliance. Training emphasizes effective communication strategies, management of challenging clinical interactions, and foundational skills in Motivational Interviewing.

PGY-2
Residents begin formal training in the three core psychotherapy modalities required for psychiatric education: Supportive Psychotherapy, Psychodynamic Psychotherapy, and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). During this year, residents are paired with a psychodynamic psychotherapy supervisor and begin developing psychotherapy competencies through didactics and supervision. Opportunities to take on an initial supportive psychotherapy case may be available based on individual readiness and in consultation with psychotherapy faculty.

PGY-3
Psychotherapy training expands significantly during the PGY-3 year through advanced didactics and supervised clinical practice. Residents participate in training in psychodynamic psychotherapy and CBT, including third-wave therapies such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT), and Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT). Residents typically carry two CBT cases and two psychodynamic psychotherapy cases, receiving dedicated supervision in each modality. CBT supervision is conducted in a group format, while psychodynamic psychotherapy supervision is provided individually. Elective opportunities in group, couples, and family therapy are also available.

PGY-4
Residents continue their psychotherapy training through ongoing CBT and psychodynamic psychotherapy cases and supervision. Additional elective opportunities in group, couples, family, and other specialized psychotherapy modalities allow residents to further refine their interests and achieve advanced competency prior to graduation.

At the University of New Mexico, PGY2-PGY4 residents have a large selection of electives:

Addiction and Substance Abuse (ASAP) Clinic
Learn about alcohol and drug detoxification, replacement therapy, and counselling.

Academic Medicine
Pursue academic projects, educational mentorship/teaching opportunities, and curricular innovation within our department and the School of Medicine.

Child Psychiatry
You can select multiple inpatient, outpatient, and research options.

Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) with Albuquerque Police Department
Participate in field and home visits with specially trained CIT team, and also join/present at their educational seminars and case discussions.

EARLY (first episode) clinic
Work with psychiatrists and therapists to assess, support and monitor youth/young adults with first episode severe mental illness.

Community/Rural Options
Rotate at community and school-based sites in Albuquerque and throughout the state.

Indian Health Service (IHS) Clinic
Learn about the Indian Health Service system in action.

Truman Street Clinic
Learn treating both the medical and behavioral health of patients with HIV/AIDS.

Refugee Clinic
Learn about psychiatric and psychotherapy care for refugees at one of UNM’s local primary care clinics.

Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT)
Participate in direct ECT care and consultations. You may obtain certification as part of the rotation.

Eating Disorders
Participate in clinical time, multidisciplinary collaboration, and training while working with individuals of all ages with eating disorders.

Seniors Clinic
Manage an outpatient panel of geriatric patients (usually 75 years or older) on a weekly basis. These patients have a variety of diagnoses including primary psychotic, depressive, anxiety and neurocognitive disorders.

Treatment Resistant Affective Disorders (TRAD) Clinic
Work with patients who continue to struggle with depression despite multiple past treatment interventions.

Sleep Medicine Clinic
Work with sleep medicine fellows and faculty in both clinical care and assessment. The elective also includes didactics and research.

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS)/Transcranial Direct Current Simulation (TDCS)
Learn how to perform TMS and TDCS as well as how to consult with patients regarding these treatments.

Project ECHO (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes) Teleconsultation
Using interactive video technology, behavioral health experts at UNM provide didactics, facilitate case-based learning, and have real-time collaborative sessions with providers from around the state.

Esketamine Clinic
Learn how to complete evaluations and esketamine consultations for patients with treatment-resistant depression, and monitor patients while they are receiving these treatments.

Student Health and Counseling (SHAC)
Your options will include providing therapy, education, and medication management for UNM (undergraduate _ graduate level) students.

Integrative Medicine
Learn about complementary, alternative, and integrative approaches to psychiatric care, including supplements, mindfulness, yoga, Ayurvedic medicine, and more.

Veteran Affairs Medical Center (VAMC) Electives:
ECT and Ketamine Work one-on-one with an attending to evaluate patients and perform these treatments in both inpatient and outpatient settings.

Psych Primary Care Clinic
Gain additional experience working with attending psychiatrists and internists to treat SMI patients’ psychiatric and medical conditions.

Consultation-Liaison
Function as an upper-level resident on the VA Consultation-Liaison team.

Mental health intensive case management program (MHICM)
Work with the VA Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) team providing wraparound services for SMI patients in the community.

Neuropsychology
Through hands-on experience and didactics, gain a clear understanding of when to refer a patient for neurological testing, as well as the strengths and limitations of neuropsychological and psychological testing, for veterans with medical, neurological and psychiatric disorders

Our faculty are nationally recognized leaders in a wide range of research areas, including addiction psychiatry, bipolar disorder and psychosis, health services research, and neuromodulation. Residents pursuing the research track have opportunities to contribute to ongoing investigations while developing independent scholarly projects aligned with their interests and career goals. Through close mentorship from clinician-scientists and experienced investigators, residents gain the skills, guidance, and support needed to build successful academic and research careers.

Physician Scientist Track

At UNM, we are deeply committed to providing high-quality psychiatric care and training in rural, underserved, and culturally diverse communities throughout New Mexico and beyond. For residents interested in rural psychiatry, community mental health, public service, or systems-based practice, we offer the opportunity to develop a personalized rural training experience that evolves throughout residency.

Residents can build longitudinal relationships with communities across the state while progressively increasing their involvement in rural and systems-focused work. During the PGY-2 year, residents may spend up to one month immersed in a rural training site. In PGY-3, residents can maintain continuity through regular visits of up to two days per month at their selected site. During PGY-4, residents may pursue an elective experience ranging from three to twelve months, allowing for in-depth training and professional development in a rural setting.

Training sites include community mental health centers, primary care clinics, Indian Health Service facilities, Veterans Affairs clinics, private hospitals, and state-operated programs. Residents also have opportunities to develop expertise in telepsychiatry, an increasingly important tool for expanding access to mental health services in underserved areas.

These experiences provide valuable exposure to diverse patient populations and healthcare systems, including opportunities to work with New Mexico's Native American, Hispanic, and rural communities. Residents gain firsthand experience in culturally responsive care, interdisciplinary collaboration, community consultation, and population-based approaches to mental health.

The Rural Psychiatry Program is consistently among the most highly valued educational experiences in our residency. Residents appreciate the opportunity to make meaningful contributions to communities across the state while developing the knowledge, flexibility, and leadership skills needed to address mental health needs in a wide variety of practice settings. Through these experiences, residents build lasting professional relationships and gain a deeper understanding of psychiatry's role in improving the health of diverse communities.

Residents who select this year-long elective during the PGY-3 or PGY-4 year are provided with four protected hours per week to complete the Integrative Medicine in Psychiatry curriculum through the University of Arizona Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine. The elective also includes a weekly didactic and/or experiential learning component.

Clinical training is supervised by Judith Pentz, MD, who serves as the faculty mentor for residents caring for integrative psychiatry patients. Drawing on her extensive experience in integrative psychiatric care, Dr. Pentz provides individualized supervision and guidance as residents develop skills in evidence-based integrative approaches to mental health treatment.

At UNM, residents have the opportunity to match directly into the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Fast Track, which provides a guaranteed pathway into both the General Psychiatry Residency and the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship. Designed for individuals committed to a career in child and adolescent mental health, the Fast Track offers enhanced exposure to pediatric populations throughout training.

Residents in the track spend additional time working with children and adolescents during intern-year medical and neurology rotations, as well as on inpatient psychiatry and consultation-liaison psychiatry services. The program also provides expanded opportunities for mentorship, professional development, and engagement with faculty within the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

The Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Fast Track is a highly competitive program that supports the development of future leaders in pediatric mental health care.

Residency Information

Fellowship Information