Child, Adolescent, and Family Behavioral Health Fellowship offered a unique opportunity to engage deeply with other behavioral health clinicians on critical topics related to the mental health and well-being of children, youth, and family systems.
Over the past several years, through our work with therapists in a variety of communities, it became evident that there was an increased need for continuing education centered around children, youth, and families. We were also witnessing a high degree of burnout, sense of isolation, and moral injury throughout the health care field.
Taking these needs into account, we created a year-long Fellowship aimed at fostering meaningful conversations among clinicians about the mental health and well-being of children, youth, and their families. Thanks to support from The Duke Endowment, BlueCross BlueShield of North Carolina, and our partnership with Piedmont AHEC, we trained and assisted 86 behavioral health clinicians, mental health therapists, and graduate students in the Child, Adolescent, and Family Behavioral Health Fellowship during 2022 and 2023.
Fellowship Structure and Content
These Fellowship experiences were structured in a way that re-oriented clinicians to foundational concepts of the socio-emotional aspects of child development rooted with an emphasis on the importance of relationship and attachment. Beginning in January of each year, the Fellows met monthly with faculty experts who presented material beginning with infancy through adolescence, as well as special topics such as eating disorders, substance use, resilience, and teletherapy.
While didactic information was critical to the experience, Fellows met a second time each month to enjoy a case presentation from a colleague. During these case presentations, Fellows were encouraged to use a relational and developmental lens, as well as whole-person lens, and peers provided supportive feedback and suggestions for the presenting clinician.
The Fellowship fostered a supportive atmosphere in which clinicians felt free to share their struggles and successes, acknowledging the pervasive issues of burnout and fatigue that many face. The Fellows connected deeply with one another, and at the final meeting, the room was filled with gratitude, tears, and hugs showing the deep bonds formed among the cohort.
Additionally, Fellows experienced increased rates of feelings of competence when it came to areas of assessment, prevention, and intervention with all age groups. Even those Fellows who were more seasoned in their career indicated improvement in their feelings of competency.
We are actively seeking funding to create a similar experience in the future. Our commitment remains strong as we advocate for systemic changes that benefit our children, youth, families, and the clinicians and providers who support them.
Fellows' Testimonials
“I appreciated this case presentation because it brought up matters that cause me anxiety when I think about supporting young clients and families: aggressive outbursts. I applaud the clinician because she is working so well with the family and has cultivated, it appears, a strong alliance.”
“I too felt connected to a new group across the state and learned A LOT from the peers and presenters.”
"I love these discussions. We all go through things working with children and their families but in the effort to provide them with the best treatment options, we may miss something. It's so refreshing to learn from others in this type of environment."