Christina G. Weston

US Military Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Training Programs and Careers of Military Child Psychiatrists

Military child and adolescent psychiatry (CAP) fellowship programs offer educational experiences universal to all civilian training programs in the USA. They also offer unique training opportunities not found in civilian CAP fellowships in order to prepare graduates to serve the needs of military families. Military-specific curricula and exposures prepare trainees to address various issues faced by military families, in contending with frequent military moves, parental deployments, and disrupted social ties. Curricula are also designed to provide the psychiatrist with a greater understanding of the rigors of military service. CAP training and subsequent assignments prepare military psychiatrists for diverse career paths in the military environment. CAP military careers often include duties in addition to treating patients. Administrative roles, academic teaching positions, as well as school consultation positions are all career options available to military CAP.

Driven to Depression: Overachieving College Student with Recurrent Depressive Episodes

Depressive disorders are common in the adolescent and young adult years. The stressors of transition to college may cause them to recur in students who have had a depressive episode before starting college. This chapter describes the case of a young man with a history of depression in high school who had recurrences of his depression while at college which resulted in hospitalization and breaks in education. This case illustrates the challenges of remaining the treating psychiatrist when patients go to college far away from home and have a recurrence of their symptoms. The discussion focuses on understanding how to engage parents and students in selecting a college that will not put them at risk for a recurrence of depression, how to engage students and families in treatment, and how to access local mental health services to remain healthy when in college. The literature on depression in college students is reviewed.