Melissa Nishawala, M.D.

Assistant Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
Director, Tisch Young Adult Program
Clinical Director, Autism Spectrum Disorders Service
Clinical Director, Eating Disorders Service

I feel privileged to work in a place where we evaluate and treat children from the New York Metropolitan area and also from all over the country. A few come from as far away as England, Africa and Japan to receive the thorough and comprehensive evaluation that we provide at our Center of Excellence. As Clinical Director of both the Eating Disorders and the Autism Spectrum Disorders Services at the Child Study Center, I have the opportunity to supervise the Child Psychiatry Residents on evaluations as well as ongoing psychopharmacology and therapy cases. We also meet weekly in a small group for a psychopharmacology seminar in which the Residents present challenging cases and we review pertinent journal articles as well as faculty cases with relevant teaching points.

Each week a group of residents meets behind a mirror to observe one of their colleagues evaluate a child under my direct supervision. After the interview, a rich discussion ensues, and in addition to providing guidance and supervision to the residents, I find that I always learn something from them as well! The discussion continues in our weekly case conference in which the Resident receives input from all disciplines. As much as I enjoy working with children and their families, the favorite part of my job is training the residents—the brightest, most promising Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Residents in the world.

Richard Oberfield, M.D.

Clinical Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychiatry
Director Consultation/Liaison Service
Bellevue Hospital Center

The Pediatric Consultation-Liaison Unit at Bellevue Hospital is a very dynamic and diverse rotation for the first year fellows. The Unit encompasses both a traditional inpatient pediatric component, as well as a free-standing outpatient component attached to the Pediatric Clinic; the latter functions as an evaluation and short term treatment setting for children and adolescents with acute and chronic medical conditions. The Unit is staffed by a highly dedicated team of psychiatrists, psychologists and social workers. Our primary teaching goal is to communicate the enthusiasm and interest which we have for our work to our trainees.

On the inpatient component, the patients referred have significant psychological issues related to surgical and medical procedures, accidents, trauma, and chronic pediatric illnesses. The outpatient component's location, a few steps from the Pediatric Outpatient Clinic, leads to ease of referral, and a rich and unusual ability to communicate with our pediatric colleagues. Informal "curbside" consultation is very common, in addition to the more formal referral to our staff for evaluation.

On a personal note, I had the good fortune of being trained at NYU-Bellevue in the time of great early pioneers in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, such as Stella Chess. One of the many gratifications of my job as Unit Chief of Pediatric Consultation-Liaison is the sense of "passing the torch" and the tradition of clinical curiosity and excellence of NYU-Bellevue to younger colleagues.

Andrew Roffman, LCSW

Clinical Assistant Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychiatry
Assistant Clinical Director, Family Studies Program

One of the most unique aspects of our training program is the extensive degree to which residents get exposed to and trained in working with families and couples. As a passionate advocate of family therapy and "systems thinking," I'm very excited to introduce the future leaders of the field of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry to family therapy theory and practice. Since there is widespread agreement that families are the most significant psychological and emotional context for the child's development, growth and well-being, it is essential that psychiatrists are well-trained in family assessment and treatment. While individual psychopathology in the context of the family and family pathology are taught, our emphasis is on family resourcefulness, strength, and resilience, as these are the clinician's greatest allies in working with children and adolescents. Each year it is a privilege and pleasure to watch residents grasp the contextual, relational framework of family therapy, and to see how this both humanizes and makes more effective their work with children and families.