Forensic Psychiatry

The ACGME-accredited, full-time, one-year fellowship program comprises lectures, seminars, placements, and supervision. Forensic psychiatry fellows have opportunities for extensive involvement as forensic psychiatric consultants to state hospitals, county jails, juvenile justice agencies, dependency courts, the Los Angeles County Office of the Coroner, and other agencies that interrelate with mental health and the law. In addition, psychiatry fellows have numerous opportunities to serve as expert witnesses in psychiatry and law for superior courts, mental health courts, and other local and state government agencies.

Each forensic psychiatry fellow has a minimum of six supervisors at any given time. The supervisors include psychiatrists board-certified in general, Forensic, and/or Child and Adolescent Psychiatry as well as licensed clinical psychologists with Forensic subspecialty training. All supervisors are on the faculty of the Keck School of Medicine of USC. Supervisors are rotated so that forensic psychiatry fellows will benefit from the supervisors’ varied skills and expertise in psychiatry and law.

The Forensic Psychiatry Fellowship Program benefits from access to diverse locations for optimizing clinical, educational and research activities. Most clinical psychiatric services are based at the Los Angeles General Medical Center, which houses the Psychiatric Emergency Service, Consultation-Liaison Service and Medical-Psychiatric Inpatient Unit. An adjacent clinic tower houses the Adult Psychiatric Outpatient Clinic. The adult and adolescent inpatient psychiatric services are provided at the Hawkins Mental Health Building, where patients are evaluated for civil commitment hearings. Partnership with the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services provides unique opportunities for understanding the delivery of mental healthcare to underserved patients in the Los Angeles County jail system. Forensic psychiatry fellows serve as consultants to the county Mental Health Court on a daily basis. Forensic psychiatry fellows also serve as consultants to the L.A. County Office of the Medical Examiner-Coroner.

Courses specifically designed for forensic psychiatry fellows include:

• Biological, psychological, and sociological determinants of crime and delinquency
• Civil law
• Criminal law
• Family law
• Federal criminal law
• Juvenile & Dependency law
• Mental health law
• Correctional psychiatry
• Biases applicable to forensic assessments
• Landmark mental health cases (including all AAPL-specified cases)

Course lecturers are drawn from Institute faculty and other USC forensic psychiatrists and psychologists, as well as judges, public and private attorneys, and professionals from other forensic-related disciplines.

Fellows are employees of the County of Los Angeles (a.k.a. L.A. County). Fellows’ salaries are determined in negotiations between the resident/fellow’s legal bargaining unit, the Council of Interns and Residents, and the County’s Department of Health Services.

Salary as of October 1, 2024

PGY5 Yearly: $90,019

Benefits

For more information about salary, benefits, and the contract between the County and CIR, visit CIR’s website.

Few areas in the world rival Southern California (or “SoCal,” as it is affectionately known) for the diversity of lifestyles afforded. The climate is legendarily pleasant, with low humidity and cool evenings in the summertime and wintertime highs typically in the 60s and 70s (F). Biting insects are rare. In the winter, even though urban Los Angeles has few instances of snow in its recorded history, a two-hour trip provides access to winter sports in the San Bernadino Mountains. The beauties of the desert, including the Joshua tree, which grows nowhere else on earth, are also approximately two hours away. Other National Parks, including Sequoia, Death Valley, and Yosemite, are a bit farther afield but all within a reasonable day’s drive.

The western edge of the Los Angeles Basin is a renowned string of beaches that stretches from Santa Monica to just past Torrance Beach in the South and includes Venice and the Beach Cities (Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, and Redondo Beach). While Southern California is not the birthplace of surfing, it is where surfing entered mainstream consciousness—and where the Beach Boys and others celebrated the year-round beach lifestyle.

All forms of cultural enrichment and entertainment events are available in the greater L.A. area, including world-class theaters, the LA Philharmonic, and more museums than any other city in the US (including New York City!) including the Getty, The Broad, and LACMA. [Source: discoverlosangeles.com] Los Angeles offers all manner of dining options in just about every cuisine and price point. The lights of Dodger Stadium are visible from several points around the medical center campus. L.A. is home to two NFL teams (the Chargers and the Rams), two NBA teams (the Lakers and the Clippers), two MLS teams (the Galaxy and LAFC), one NWSL team (Angel City FC), and an NHL team (the Kings). USC itself excels in a wide variety of sports [link to usctrojans.com], having won 134 national championships. Its athletes have won 144 Olympic gold medals, 92 silver medals, and 71 bronze medals.

The Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS) will be used for the forensic psychiatry fellow selection process for the 2026-2027 Academic Year.

Important Dates:

• July 2, 2025 – Applications are open for forensic psychiatry fellowships via ERAS.
• July 16, 2025 – Forensic psychiatry fellowship programs begin to review applications and can begin to interview applicants. Please note, we request a recent writing sample (e.g., admission summary, discharge summary, forensic case report, etc.) be emailed directly to Mary Goodbeer, Program Coordinator, at goodbeer@usc.edu.

https://students-residents.aamc.org/applying-residencies-eras/applying-residencies-eras-system

Our forensic psychiatry fellowship program participates in the National Residency Match Program (NRMP aka “The Match”) for the 2026-2027 Academic Year. Our program will not make fellowship offers to applicants outside of The Match, except in the event of attempting to fill an unfilled position after Match Day.

Important Dates:

• August 6, 2025 – Match Registration opens.
• September 3, 2025 – Ranking opens.
• October 8, 2025 – Rank Order List Certification deadline.
• October 22, 2025 – Match Day. Unfilled/Unmatched Lists available.

https://www.nrmp.org

For additional program information or questions regarding applications, please contact:

Talene Keshishian, MD
Program Director
(323) 409-4942
tkeshishian@dhs.lacounty.gov

Mary Goodbeer
Program Coordinator
P.O. Box 86125
Los Angeles, CA 90086-0125
(323) 409-4942
goodbeer@usc.edu