Women’s and Reproductive Mental Health Fellowship

The Women’s and Reproductive Mental Health Fellowship at Columbia University Irving Medical Center is a one-year non-ACGME specialty training program for psychiatrists. The fellowship provides opportunities for participants to gain expertise in how events throughout one’s reproductive life cycle can influence psychiatric illness, including menstrual cycle, pregnancy, postpartum, parenting, child loss, fertility difficulties, and menopause. The fellowship is directly embedded within the Columbia Women’s and Reproductive Mental Health (WARM) Program, a comprehensive clinical program that provides state-of-the-art collaborative and integrative care for women and birthing individuals.

About the Fellowship

The Columbia Women’s and Reproductive Mental Health Fellowship is dedicated to providing equitable care and promoting training in diverse settings. Fellows will have the opportunity to rotate on various clinical sites, including at a community clinic, faculty practice, and on a hospital consult service; this allows fellows to see patients across a wide range of demographic and diagnostic categories and participate in multidisciplinary teams. Fellows will have a robust educational experience. All fellows will attend twice-weekly lectures on relevant mental health topics ranging from trauma-informed care to perinatal mood disorders. All fellows will, at minimum, be matched with two mentors for weekly supervision; one mentor will include program director Dr. Elizabeth Fitelson. Applicants will have support for research, academic, and scholarly projects. 

Core Faculty

Eligibility

  • Completion of a US-accredited psychiatric residency training program by program start date 
  • Must be able to be licensed to practice in New York State by start date 
  • Either board certified or board eligible 

Application Process

All materials must be uploaded into the application portal.  

The application includes:

  • Curriculum Vitae
  • Letters of Reference. At least 2 letters of references from individuals who are well acquainted with your work/educational background. One letter should be from your training director. 
  • Personal Statement: Please write and submit an essay (max 750 words) on your interest in women’s mental health and why you are applying to our program. 

Applications are accepted from July 1st to September 15th, with interviews taking place between September and November. 

Contact Us

Please direct all questions to:

Featured Press

  • King BC, Eastin SM, Ho SY, Shapiro P, Sheen JJ, Fitelson EM. Inpatient obstetric consultation-liaison services: Meeting unmet needs in perinatal mental health. Gen Hosp Psychiatry. 2023 Jul-Aug;83:179-184. doi: 10.1016/j.genhosppsych.2023.04.014. Epub 2023 May 1. PMID: 37267727.
  • Mahmoodi, V., Akhavan, A., & Virk, Z. (2023). Integration of Islamic spirituality in the treatment of grief for pregnancy loss: A case series of loss during early, mid-, and late pregnancy. Spirituality in Clinical Practice, 10(1), 52–61. https://doi.org/10.1037/scp0000312
  • Ogbu-Nwobodo L, Shim RS, Vinson SY, Fitelson EM, Biggs MA, McLemore MR, Thomas M, Godzich M, Mangurian C. Mental Health Implications of Abortion Restrictions for Historically Marginalized Populations. N Engl J Med. 2022 Oct 27;387(17):1613-1617
  • Frackman G., Fertility treatments can be particularly difficult for survivors of sexual assault. 2022. Women’s Health
  • Storey, J., Pacheco, N., White, C., Fitelson, E. The Importance of expanding parental leave benefits to support family mental health and wellbeing. 2022. Thrive Global
  • Yeaton-Massey A, Fitelson E, Robertson P. Continuation of Antipsychotic Treatment in Pregnancy-Do Not Panic. JAMA Intern Med. 2021 Oct 1;181(10):1341-1342. (Invited commentary)
  • Weiss M, Benavides MO, Fitelson E, Monk C. The Domestic Violence Initiative: A Private-Public Partnership Providing Psychiatric Care in a Nontraditional Setting. Psychiatric Services 2017 Feb 1;68(2):212.
  • Fitelson EM, McGibbon C. Evaluation and management of behavioral health disorders in women: an overview of major depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorders, and sleep in the primary care setting. Obstetric & Gynecologic Clinics of North America. 2016 June;43(2):231-46
  • Osborne LM, Hermann A, Burt V, Driscoll K, Fitelson E, Meltzer-Brody S, Barzilay EM, Yang SN, Miller L; Reproductive Psychiatry: The Gap Between Clinical Need and Education. National Task Force on Women's Reproductive Mental Health Am J Psychiatry. 2015 Oct;172(10):946-8
  • Fitelson E, Kim S, Baker A, Leight K. Treatment of post-partum depression: A review of clinical, psychological and pharmacological options. International Journal of Women’s Mental Health. 2010 Dec 30;3:1-14