Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry Fellowship

 

Program Overview

The Consultation-Liaison (C-L) Psychiatry Fellowship at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) and the VA Boston Healthcare System is a one-year, ACGME-accredited program affiliated with Harvard Medical School. The fellowship prepares psychiatrists to care for patients with complex medical and psychiatric needs through intensive clinical training, close faculty mentorship, and subspecialty experience across medicine, surgery, neurology, oncology, perinatal psychiatry, transplant psychiatry, critical care, and emergency psychiatry.

Mission

Our mission is to train future leaders in Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry through:

  • Extensive, hands-on clinical experience in diverse medical and psychiatric settings
  • Interdisciplinary, team-based care that bridges psychiatry with medicine, surgery, and subspecialty fields
  • Close mentorship from Harvard-affiliated faculty who model excellence in teaching and scholarship
  • Person-centered, recovery-oriented practice that emphasizes dignity and whole-person care
  • Expertise in systems-based care and ethical decision-making for complex health systems
Media Select
File Caption
Program overview video (approx. 2 minutes).
VA Boston - West Roxbury
VA Boston West Roxbury Campus
VA Boston Jamaica Plain Campus
ACLP 2023 Austin, TX
ACLP 2024 Miami, FL
BIDMC Main Campus

Training in Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry

Fellows divide their year equally between BIDMC and the VA Boston Healthcare System, alternating in three-month blocks. This structure provides balanced exposure to academic, tertiary-care medicine and the VA’s integrated system of care.

Inpatient Training

On the inpatient services, fellows provide psychiatric consultation for patients admitted with complex medical and surgical conditions. Rotations span general medicine, neurology, surgery, oncology, obstetrics, critical care, and emergency psychiatry. A focused two-week block on the Addiction Psychiatry Consultation Service at BIDMC supplements this experience.

Outpatient Training

Each fellow maintains a longitudinal outpatient clinic (½ day/week) across the year, gaining subspecialty experience in:

  • Reproductive Psychiatry & Women’s Mental Health (BIDMC)
  • Psychosocial Oncology / Cancer Wellness Psychiatry (BIDMC)
  • Memory Disorders Clinic (VA Boston)
  • Movement Disorders Clinic (VA Boston)

Rotations & Sample Schedule

The fellowship year alternates three-month blocks at BIDMC and the VA Boston (West Roxbury and Jamaica Plain). Fellows spend 6 months at each site, with outpatient clinics running longitudinally.

Inpatient Rotations

BIDMC

  • Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry & Emergency Services – 5.5 months total
  • Addiction Psychiatry Consultation Service – 2 weeks

VA Boston

  • Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry – 6 months

Outpatient Clinics (½ day per week, year-round)

  • Reproductive & Perinatal Psychiatry (BIDMC) – 3 months
  • Cancer Wellness Psychiatry (BIDMC) – 3 months
  • Memory Disorders Clinic (VA Boston) – 3 months
  • Movement Disorders Clinic (VA Boston) – 3 months

Sample Yearly Schedule (Jul–Jun)

  • Jul–Sep: BIDMC – Inpatient C-L (+ outpatient clinic)
  • Oct–Dec: VA Boston – Inpatient C-L (+ outpatient clinic)
  • Jan–Mar: BIDMC – Inpatient C-L (+ Addiction Psychiatry rotation; outpatient clinic)
  • Apr–Jun: VA Boston – Inpatient C-L (+ outpatient clinic)

Additional Details

  • Vacation: 2 weeks during BIDMC rotations + 2 weeks during VA rotations
  • Protected Time: Weekly didactics and supervision (year-round)
  • Call: No overnight or weekend call required
  • Moonlighting: Opportunities available, not required

Professional Development & Benefits

The fellowship provides a rigorous yet supportive environment where fellows are guided by faculty recognized nationally in C-L Psychiatry. Training emphasizes clinical depth and professional growth, preparing fellows for academic, hospital-based, and leadership careers.

Highlights

  • Didactics & Supervision – Weekly protected time for seminars, case conferences, and one-on-one mentorship
  • Faculty Expertise – Collaboration with ~20 Harvard-affiliated faculty across neuropsychiatry, geriatric psychiatry, addiction, oncology, and perinatal psychiatry
  • Board Certification Eligibility – Graduates are eligible to sit for the ABPN C-L Psychiatry subspecialty exam
  • Harvard Medical School Appointment – Clinical Fellow title with access to HMS academic resources
  • Teaching & Mentorship – Opportunities to supervise residents and medical students
  • Academic Community – Participation in seminars, workshops, and departmental activities at BIDMC and VA Boston
  • Work-Life Balance – Four weeks of vacation (two at each site), no overnight or weekend call, optional moonlighting

For details, see Trainee Benefits and Resources via the BIDMC GME Office.

Eligibility & Application

Eligibility

  • Completion of an ACGME-accredited psychiatry residency
  • Passing USMLE Steps I–III (or COMLEX equivalents)
  • Eligibility for Massachusetts license, MCSR, and DEA registration

Application Materials

  • ACLP Common Application Form
  • Curriculum Vitae (CV)
  • Three Letters of Recommendation (including one from residency Program Director)
  • Personal Statement (1 page)

How to Apply

  • Preferred: Submit through ERAS
  • Alternate: Email the ACLP application and supporting documents directly to the Program Director and Coordinator
  • Applications accepted through November 7, 2025 (end of business)

Match Participation

Interview Timeline

  • Virtual interviews via Thalamus, late September–early December
  • Offers extended on a rolling basis

Program Alumni

Graduates pursue careers in academic medicine, hospital-based psychiatry, and leadership across the country. Recent alumni include:

  • Wei-Li Suen, MD (2025) – Attending, Interventional & Ambulatory Psychiatry, University of Rochester Medical Center; Senior Instructor in Psychiatry, University of Rochester School of Medicine & Dentistry

  • Carlos Hallo Carrasco, MD (2025) – Attending, Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry, NYU Langone Long Island; Clinical Assistant Professor, NYU Grossman Long Island School of Medicine

  • Rashad Alikhan, MD (2024) – Attending, Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry, VA Boston; Fellowship Site Director; Instructor in Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School

  • Haley Euting, MD (2024) – Attending, Primary Care–Behavioral Health Integration and Perinatal Psychiatry, Cambridge Health Alliance; Instructor in Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School

Contact

Program Director
Joshua R. Leo, MD, MPH
Email Dr. Leo

Program Coordinator
Renetta Johnson
Email Renetta Johnson