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Academic and Training Resources at UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital

UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital's international reputation attracts quality candidates from the world’s finest clinical and research institutions. In addition to teaching medical students and directing a five-year psychiatric residency training program, the hospital offers nine federally funded research training programs for pre- and postdoctoral fellows.

UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital is also a training center for graduate and undergraduate students from more than 20 colleges and universities, representing disciplines that include nursing, social work, education, childcare, and art and music therapy.

Our overall goal is to educate, train, and mentor clinical investigators who will go on to develop new approaches to the study of brain-behavior relationships. We continually strive to refine our training programs so that students and trainees are exposed to contemporary theories and practices associated with the changing medical care environment.

The various training programs at UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital reflect our emphasis on comprehensiveness, balance, and integration of various scientific approaches and systems. The programs foster collaborative relationships and embrace the contributions of all disciplines for the understanding, treatment, and prevention of mental and addictive disorders.

Conference and Training Events

As the only academic center of psychiatry in western Pennsylvania, UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital is dedicated to providing behavioral health professionals throughout the region with state-of-the-art training, technical assistance, and mental health conference planning. 

Education and Consultative Services (ECS) of UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital (WPH) is the designated conference and event management department of WPH. ECS works with WPH departments and outside agencies to manage their events and provide continuing education credits. WPH provides training, resources, and technical assistance for behavioral health professionals throughout the state. ECS also provides Office of Mental Health Substance Abuse Services (OMHSAS)-approved new hire and refresher online training to case managers and service coordinators in all Pennsylvania counties.

Each year, UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital's ECS conferences and educational programs reach in excess of 2,500 registrants, from mental health and human services providers to consumers and family members, through more than 200 “training days” of programming.

Education and Consultative Services of UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital is approved to provide continuing education credits for the following:

  • American Psychological Association
  • National Board for Certified Counselors
  • Commission on Rehabilitation Counselor Certification
  • PA State Board of Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists, and Licensed Professional Counselors
  • General continuing education credits
  • Pennsylvania Certification Board (CADC/CCDP)
  • Act 48 continuing education credits through the University of Pittsburgh School of Education

ECS of Western Psychiatric Hospital also works with the UPMC Center for Continuing Education in Health Sciences (CCEHS) when Continuing Medical Education (CME) credits are requested for conferences.