Child and adolescent psychiatry is a subspecialty area of psychiatry that focuses on the behavior of the child. It is based on a preventative approach that focuses on early screening and detection of suspicious signs and providing adequate therapy at the earliest. Thus, the primary function of these specialists is the early detection of any kind of abnormality in behavior or other disorders. More than half of the adult health problems start before 18 years of age. This study makes it important to retain the best talent in the field of psychiatry, especially child and adolescent psychiatry. The number of growing cases in India has propelled the need for specialists in the domain of child and adult psychiatry. It was found that India recorded approximately 7.3% of cases of mental disorders among children aged 13-17. The same survey also reported the majority of the cases from urban India. Most frequently found illnesses include agoraphobia, anxiety disorder, psychotic disorder, autism, depression etc. This is an exciting time for this field as many research studies have been happening related to behavioral aspects. This has also promoted the shift from time-consuming and old methods to the development of more precise and personalized evaluation of behavioral changes. Hence, the future scope in the domain is also very promising.

Postdoctoral fellowship in child and adolescent psychiatry is targeted to enhance the clinical skills related to psychiatry that are required to identify, evaluate, and treat any kind of behavioral changes. It enables the fellows to gain proficiency in the identification and diagnosis of illness through various social, psychological, biological factors. The nature of the course is to train in the assessment and management of different kinds of mental disorders in children. The fellows will also be trained in research methodology and research findings tools for co shutting studies in child and adolescent psychiatry. The programme is aimed at fellows looking for career advancement in the speciality of the psychiatric medical system. The course provided in-depth knowledge about all aspects of child and adolescent psychiatry along with its allied subspecialties of ADHD developmental disorders, issues of diversity, psychology, psychopharmacology, electrophysiology, psychopathology, child psychiatry, behavioral health, imaging and epilepsies. It is expected that during the course the fellows will be posted in the agency ward to deliver the highest quality of service in the intensive care unit. The programme is committed to developing the fellows’ skills by following legal dimension, professional ethical methods and administrative perspective on this subspecialty of psychiatry. The curriculum is designed to develop a clear understanding of psychiatric disturbances in adolescents. The fellows will also get the opportunity to develop a new research capacity and will be able to address the challenges of child and adolescent psychiatry. The fellows will be required to give consultative service too. These include outpatient service, substance abuse service, child inpatient service, emergency service, paediatric neurological unit. Hence, the fellows will receive training in handling children diagnosed with certain mental disorders. 

The course can be taken by the candidates who have completed MD in psychiatry or its equivalent from a recognized university. The post-doctorate programme takes 2 years to get completed. A career in this field is very promising as one can seek employment in various sectors as a role of an advisor. Fellows can even work as a researcher in the same field. They also provide consultative service and their expertise, in the form of research studies, can be used for making various policies in the field of child and adolescent psychiatry.