For many psychiatrists, their interests in adolescent and young adult psychiatry developed or increased after they finished their residency or for a variety of reasons they did not or are unable to currently pursue fellowship training in child and adolescent psychiatry. Many other psychiatrists are not interested in working with children and younger adolescents but are very interested in working with older adolescents and/or young adults. For example, many generally trained psychiatrists work in colleges and universities where they see many late adolescents or young adults. Similarly, military psychiatrists work with many older adolescents and young adults regularly. However, given the many developmental, cultural, neurobiological, medical, and substance use issues unique to adolescents and young adults, many psychiatrists believe they should have or could benefit from additional training, which ABAP and our parent society sponsor, as well as a reputable Board Certification process that would validate their training and skills. We believe our Board Certification process meets these needs and goals.
