The Forensic Psychiatry Fellowship at MUSC is a 12 month accredited program that provides a diverse training experience in areas where psychiatry is applied to legal issues. Our program is committed to educating clinicians in the theoretical and practical aspects of forensic psychiatry. While doing so, the Division of Forensic Psychiatry at MUSC provides an invaluable service to the state of South Carolina and the Lowcountry in particular.

At MUSC we provide Consultation Liaison service to the Institute of Psychiatry and the Medical University Hospital for issues such as violence and suicide risk assessment and capacity. We also provide evaluation services to Charleston, Berkley and Dorchester County Probate Courts. Disability evaluations and conservator and guardianship cases are utilized to round out the civil law core experience.

For the criminal law core experience we utilize South Carolina’s Department of Corrections. Fellows provide clinical care one day a week at Lieber Correctional Institution, a maximum security facility that houses South Carolina’s Death Row inmates. Fellows also perform evaluations for the South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice. To round out the criminal core experience, our program has a contract with the South Carolina Department of Mental Health to provide competency to stand trial and criminal responsibility evaluations for 8 counties in the coastal region.

Fellows have the opportunity to participate in private evaluations. Faculty perform Criminal Responsibility, Competency to Stand Trial, Independent Medical and Malpractice evaluations that fellows will work together on hand in hand. Fellows may also secure private cases of their own as experience and skill allow. A fellow’s training can be tailored to fit specific personal interests. Our faculty includes five board certified forensic psychiatrists. Among those, two are board certified in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. We also have clinicians who specialize in Correctional Psychiatry, Addiction Psychiatry and Neuropsychology.

Didactics include a weekly landmark case series and courses in the basics of law and psychiatry. Videotapes and mock trials are utilized to prepare fellows to present testimony in court. Fellows are allowed to audit classes at the Charleston School of Law. As part of the academic component of the program, fellows complete an academic project (paper, local, regional or national presentation, etc) and participate in a forensic psychiatry journal club once a month. They are responsible for some teaching to general residents.

Fringe benefits include fully funded trips to the annual meeting of American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law (AAPL) and the Forensic Psychiatry Review Course. There is also a $500 book allowance. Fellows also get the benefit of enjoying the relaxing coastal environment of Charleston, South Carolina.

Application Guidelines (pdf)

To learn more about training in forensic psychiatry through the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law (AAPL), click here.

To learn more about forensic psychiatry at MUSC, click here.