Transgender Psychiatry Fellowship | Icahn School of Medicine

RESIDENCIES & FELLOWSHIP PROGRAMS

Transgender Psychiatry Fellowship Program at The Mount Sinai Hospital

The Transgender Psychiatry Fellowship at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai is a one-year community psychiatry program designed to train psychiatrists in comprehensive mental health care for transgender and gender diverse people. The fellowship provides training in how psychiatry integrates into gender-affirming medicine and surgery, including transgender-specific cultural competency, gender-affirming psychotherapy, consult-liaison skills for working with gender-affirming medical and surgical teams, and medical ethics as it relates to gender-affirming care. Fellows are based at The Mount Sinai Hospital, but work with teams across the Mount Sinai Health System, such as the Institute for Advanced Medicine, and see patients in an outpatient setting alongside our experienced faculty. Fellows carry a case load comprised of acute and longitudinal patients in addition to providing one-time gender-affirming surgical evaluations.

Fellows receive direct and indirect clinical supervision from attendings on each case, consisting of individual or joint patient interview and subsequent discussion with protected weekly supervision time. Throughout the program, fellows teach residents and medical students, provide comprehensive treatment, including psychopharmacology and group and individual psychotherapy, and develop a research project in the form of a Grand Rounds-style presentation. Fellows are provided time and financial compensation to attend the U.S. Professional Association for Transgender Health or World Professional Association for Transgender Health bi-annual conferences.

Fellows participate in semi-monthly lectures with expert faculty in the field of transgender health who have medical, surgical, and psychiatric backgrounds. In addition, fellows participate in a monthly journal club and weekly psychosomatic seminar. Fellows are also assigned and provided readings from an updated reading list for the first three months of the fellowship.

During the first half of the fellowship, trainees learn the following:

Cultural competency with gender diverse patients
Differential diagnosis of gender incongruence
The history and evolution of sexual and gender disorders as it relates to psychiatry and the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, as well as other conceptualizations of gender incongruence
The basics of gender-affirming hormone therapy and surgeries
The indications and contraindications to gender-affirming surgeries
How to perform pre-surgical psychiatric evaluations for gender-affirming surgeries
Pre- and post-operative management of psychiatric complications in patients undergoing gender-affirming surgeries
Psychiatric medication interactions and contraindications with gender-affirming hormone therapy
Psychological, physiological, and philosophical theories important to understanding gender incongruence and gender diverse people
Current and past civil rights movements and legislatorial changes affecting gender diverse patients

During the second half of the fellowship, trainees learn the following:

How to provide education to interdisciplinary teams on gender-affirming care
How to provide education, support, and therapy for family members and partners of transgender patients
Community-based resources for transgender and non-binary patients
Reproductive health options and fertility preservation for transgender and non-binary patients across the lifespan
Evaluation and assessment of gender incongruence in youths and adolescents
Important research considerations when working with gender diverse populations
Providing trauma-informed care as is relates to providing gender-affirming care
How to provide independent and comprehensive care to patients leading up to and following gender-affirming surgery

Fellows receive a competitive salary, health insurance, malpractice insurance, and other benefits. Eligible applicants must have completed or are currently completing an adult psychiatry residency or fellowship. Domestic and international applicants must be eligible for a New York State medical license.

To apply, please send the following to Max Lichtenstein, MD, at max.lichtenstein@mountsinai.org:

Curriculum vitae/CV
Personal statement
Three letters of recommendation
For international applicants, copy of your Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG) certification or United States Medical Licensing Examination (USLME) certification for Steps 1, 2CS, 2CK and 3