Interventional Residency Track

UNC’s Psychiatry Residency Program ensures that all trainees gain exposure to interventional psychiatry through core experiences in electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), and esketamine during the PGY-3 year, with additional opportunities for elective training during PGY-4.

The Interventional Psychiatry Track offers an optional three-year longitudinal experience for residents who wish to develop advanced expertise in neuromodulation and procedural psychiatry. Residents in the track work closely with UNC’s interventional psychiatry team, whose members bring extensive experience in ECT, TMS, esketamine, and psychedelic research. A structured curriculum of didactic sessions complements this clinical training, emphasizing evidence-based principles, underlying mechanisms, and the clinical application of interventional treatments.

By the end of training, residents will have developed the technical skills, clinical judgment, and theoretical foundation to practice confidently as interventional psychiatrists and leaders in the field.

Curriculum

PGY-1:
Residents receive information about all track options within the program. Those interested in the Interventional Psychiatry Track may submit an application and participate in a brief interview. Accepted residents begin their track experience at the start of the PGY-2 year.

PGY-2:
Track residents spend two half-days per week in the UNC Interventional Psychiatry Clinic, gaining hands-on experience administering esketamine, performing TMS, and conducting outpatient interventional consultations. They also participate in a core curriculum of didactic sessions—held on Thursday afternoons—covering the principles and application of TMS, ECT, deep brain stimulation (DBS), ketamine/esketamine, and other emerging modalities, including introductory exposure to psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy research.

PGY-3:
During this year, residents complete a minimum of two weeks with the interventional psychiatry service as part of the general psychiatry residency training curriculum. Track participants have an additional two half-days per month devoted to patient care and advanced training in interventional psychiatry during their outpatient “plus-one” week. This may include work in the ECT suite or the Interventional Psychiatry Clinic. Track residents gain expanded ECT experience, receive priority consideration for additional interventional blocks, and have opportunities to lead educational sessions on interventional topics of interest. They are also encouraged to engage in scholarly or quality-improvement projects related to interventional psychiatry.

PGY-4:
Track participants have flexibility to pursue elective opportunities that deepen their clinical or academic expertise. This may include leadership roles within the track, ECT acting-attending experiences, or completion of scholarly projects. Residents are encouraged to culminate their experience with a capstone project—such as a quality-improvement initiative, scholarly paper, or conference presentation—demonstrating their growth as future leaders in the field.