Program description
Thank you for your interest in Stanford’s forensic psychiatry fellowship program. Our mission is to train the next generation of leaders in forensic psychiatry embodying the highest standards of ethics, scientific rigor, scholarship, and professionalism.

Correctional rotations are based in the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) system, primarily at San Quentin and CMF (California Medical Facility, a California State prison dedicated to inmates with medical and psychiatric needs). Fellows with a particular interest in exploring a career in correctional psychiatry leadership may elect to rotate with the chief of psychiatry and other administrative leaders in the CDCR to gain deep systems-level knowledge. Fellows may also have the opportunity to testify in administrative law hearings, such as PC2602 involuntary medication hearings.

Fellows rotate at the VA PM&R inpatient and outpatient units with the goal of developing particular expertise in evaluating claims of brain damage and other biological factors in leading to offensive behaviors, guiding sentencing determinations, and assessing disability.

Fellows participate in the Santa Clara County court panel to perform court-appointed forensic psychiatric examinations including competency to stand trial evaluations and evaluations of criminal responsibility. These evaluations provide ample opportunity for supervised preparation of forensic psychiatric reports in criminal contexts.

Our program’s didactic curriculum connects fellows to a diverse network of forensic psychiatrists and psychologists. Program faculty meet with fellows in weekly case conferences to share insights on the forensic assessment, report-writing, and planning for testimony in a wide range of civil and criminal cases.

Our fellowship is integrated with the Stanford School of Law. Fellows can elect to participate in didactics at the School of Law, which include courses on Neuroethics by Hank Greely, Mental Health Law, and Criminal Law. In addition, fellows interface with law students on a range of cases as part of the Law Student Clinic.

Fellows have protected time throughout the year to access and participate in a wide range of research efforts in the Law School, School of Medicine, Center for Biomedical Ethics, and Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute. Stanford is fortunate to house all its schools on one unified campus, thus enabling ideal conditions for cross-fertilization and idea incubation, which drive innovation and scholarship.