The University of Vermont Medical Center's Department of Psychological Services trains predoctoral students and postdoctoral fellows in clinical psychology under licensed doctoral psychologists. Training areas include Adult Medical Psychology, Rehabilitation Psychology, Pediatric Medical Psychology, and Clinical Psychology for both adults and children. Medical students and psychiatry and pediatrics residents may also rotate through the department's medical services. Additional psychology training is provided in the Department of Psychiatry at the Center for Children, Youth, and Families and through UVM's doctoral program in Clinical Psychology.

The six-week clerkship enhances students' understanding of psychiatric illnesses and their management. They learn to identify signs and symptoms of psychiatric disorders and understand the acute responses to pharmacological and psychotherapeutic interventions in inpatient and some outpatient settings. Through lectures and clinical teaching, students gain insights into the etiology, pathogenesis, and treatment of psychiatric disorders, including their indications, mechanisms, and potential adverse effects. This experience fosters empathy for individuals with mental illnesses and highlights the importance of psychiatric conditions across all medical specialties.

Members of our department are involved in the Introduction to Clinical Decision Making course, the Generations course, the Medical Student Leadership Groups, Professionalism, Communication and Reflections course, and individual student advising and mentoring.

Neural Science Course

This multidisciplinary Foundations course integrates basic science and clinical topics, is given in the spring of the first year of medical school, and has consistently been highly ranked by the medical students. As part of the course, students perform mental status examinations, and interview standardized patients.

During the last fourteen months of medical school, students may choose rotations in inpatient psychiatry (acting internship), consultation psychiatry, emergency psychiatry, child and adolescent psychiatry, geriatric psychiatry, outpatient psychiatry, and/or psychiatric research.