What you start in residency, takes a whole career to refine. Here at the UConn Psychiatry Residency Program, we strive to support and challenge trainees through their formative residency years, by offering a broad range of experiences and fostering a discerning evidence-based approach to patient care. We attract residents who have a zeal for learning and we seek to prepare them for a rewarding, intriguing, and constantly-evolving profession. Our residents learn to recognize the commonalities and the unique characteristics of their patients while they practice the science of medicine, and the art of human interaction.

As part of a public university, UConn Health seeks a diverse group of residents who are committed to serving our community. We value the native compassion and energy that residents bring to our program. All of our faculty have a keen interest in mentoring, and their doors are always open to trainees. We balance the medical model with a longstanding tradition of quality training in psychotherapy. Being a mid-sized program (7 residents per class) allows us to focus on small, group-learning environments, along with dyadic mentorships and team-based clinical settings. This helps residents develop a strong professional identity so they may succeed in today's ever-changing workforce.

Some unique features of our program include psychiatry rotations at four hospitals, a variety of subspecialty electives, a busy ECT service, and an Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) with multiple tracks. Our residents work within numerous clinical practice settings including the Newington VA, community mental health centers, correctional mental health settings, a Huntington's Disease clinic, the Neag Comprehensive Cancer Center, and a medical/dental student psychotherapy clinic, among others. We also have extensive opportunities for engagement in scholarly activities, with multiple research scientists among our faculty who are enthusiastic about resident involvement. Our well-rounded clinical training program and excellent reputation enable UConn psychiatry graduates to match with competitive fellowships and jobs throughout the country.

We hope this website provides a broad overview of our Program and shows why we are so proud to be involved in residency education. We encourage you to explore the Bioscience Connecticut and Greater Hartford area links to learn why this is such a vibrant place to live and work. Finally, we hope you apply to our program through ERAS so we might have the opportunity to meet each other in person.

With Warm Regards,

Surita Rao, M.D.
Program Director

Jon Covault, M.D., Ph.D.
Associate Program Director

Debra Forrest, M.D.
Assistant Program Director