Psychiatry · Fellowship Career
Child & Adolescent Psychiatry
Psychiatric treatment of children and adolescents, including development, family systems and school context.
Fellowship Length
2 years
After a qualifying residency
Prior Residency
Psychiatry
4 years residency
Typical Post-MD Training
5–6 years
Residency + fellowship; alternative pathways may overlap
Attending Compensation
$258,200
Estimated Base Salary
Training Pathway
Medical School → Residency → Fellowship
Some approved pathways allow starting CAP fellowship after PGY-3, overlapping the adult psychiatry fourth year.
Clinical Work and Procedures
- Developmental psychiatric assessment
- Family therapy coordination
- Pediatric psychopharmacology
- Adolescent crisis assessment
Attending Compensation
$258,200
Estimated Base Salary
Schedules and Practice Settings
Child outpatient clinics, inpatient units and consultation services; on-call responsibilities vary.
How to Prepare
During Medical School
Observe adolescent mental health care alongside caregiver and school coordination throughout treatment.
Research or Quality Improvement
Explore adolescent mental health access, treatment engagement or school-to-clinic referral outcomes.
During Residency
During psychiatry residency, develop child developmental knowledge and child-facing clinical evaluations; investigate entering CAP after PGY-3.
A Question to Ask Fellows
Do you enjoy working with caregivers, schools and developmental complexity in addition to the patient?
Sources & Data Notes
Reviewed . Fellowship durations and entry routes summarize commonly accredited training pathways. Specific institutions can have different eligibility, early-entry and combined tracks; check program and board requirements for your cycle.
Fellowship Match selection is separate from the medical school residency Match. No residency competitiveness index, MD versus DO residency outcome, or fellowship acceptance percentage is assigned to these pages. National attending compensation uses a source-matched specialty estimate when available; Doximity and Medscape report total compensation, Marit uses smaller opt-in physician samples, and Salary.com models base salary from employer and third-party data. These measures are not interchangeable. Fellowship stipends depend on PGY level and institution.
For Child & Adolescent Psychiatry: Salary.com 2026, Estimated Base Salary for the reported “Child Psychiatrist” population. This is a national estimate, not a location-specific offer.
Schedules, example procedures, preparation tips and clinical roles are educational descriptions; responsibilities depend on training, practice setting and privileges. This is educational career guidance rather than individualized employment or training advice.