The GAP Fellowship

Since 1957, GAP has chosen outstanding psychiatry residents nominated by programs across the US and Canada to be GAP Fellows.

The GAP Fellowship is a program for outstanding residents and fellows who are given the unique opportunity to work collaboratively in an informal setting with leaders in psychiatry.

GAP Fellows become members of working committees for four meetings over two years. Fellows contribute to the writing projects of their committees. In addition to their committee responsibilities, the Fellows develop a plenary presentation on a topic of their choice, presented to the general GAP membership at the Fellows’ final meeting.

The 2023 - 2024 class of GAP fellows

A FEW RECENT FELLOWS

Janet Baeik
Christopher Magoon
Natalie Feldman

  • Janet Baek is a third-year psychiatry resident at San Mateo and will start a child/adolescent psychiatry fellowship at Stanford this year.

    She is a graduate of Wake Forest University School of Medicine and received a BS in Education and Social Policy from Northwestern University. Interested in early childhood interventions, she interned at the inpatient child psychiatry unit of Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago and taught at a school for children with autism prior to medical school.

    In medical school, she engaged in research on a lifestyle intervention program for management of type 2 diabetes mellitus and a study on the quality of life among individuals with autosomal dominant tubulo-interstitial kidney disease. Currently, she is a co-principal investigator of a study evaluating the effectiveness of a school-based yoga program for youth. She has studied traditional yoga in immersive settings and is a certified yoga teacher with experience teaching in healthcare settings, schools, and community centers.

    She was awarded the APA/SAMHSA Minority Fellowship (2019-2021) and serves on the APA’s Council on Children, Adolescents, and Their Families (2020-2021) and the Northern California Psychiatric Society’s General Council (2019-2023) and Asian American Issues Committee.

  • Christopher Magoon is originally from Canton, Ohio, Christopher Magoon is a PGY2 psychiatry resident at Columbia University. He graduate d from Yale University with a degree in history and has lived in China as both a Luce and Fulbright scholar.

    He is an associate editor at the American Journal of Psychiatry —Residents’ Journal, and he writes for the popular press focusing on medical history, China, and mental health. His work has appeared in The Atlantic, Foreign Policy, and Scientific American, among others.

    His clinical interests include palliative care, addiction, and public psychiatry. When not at work, Christopher enjoys spending time with his wife, their baby daughter, and their dog Willow. He welcomes your contact on his website at www.christophermagoon.com or on Twitter at @c_magoon.

  • Natalie Feldman is a third-year psychiatry resident at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (Research Track). Originally from Northern California, she completed her undergraduate degree at Harvard University and medical school training at the University of Chicago.

    Her interests include women’s mental health as well as technology in psychiatry. She is also a Leadership Fellow through the APA/APAF Leadership Fellowship, and co-writes a monthly advice column on digital psychiatry for the Massachusetts Psychiatric Society.

    In her free time, she enjoys knitting, spinning yarn, and baking bread with her husband and two cats.

BENEFITS OF THE FELLOWSHIP

Attendance at meetings

Each Fellow will attend four GAP meetings over two years in April and November in White Plains, New York.

Learning

They will experience and learn about group process within their Fellowship group

Participation in a committee

They will join one of the working GAP Committees and participate in the development and writing of their committee's project.

Interaction with peers

They will benefit from close interaction with peers and mentors from all over the United States and Canada.

Collaboration

Each Fellow will collaborate with other fellows on a plenary presentation for the general GAP membership at the Fellows' final meeting.

“The GAP Fellowship provided a wonderful opportunity to network with leaders in the field in an intimate and welcoming setting. I am grateful for the mentorship of my committee, the collegiality of my fellowship group, and the lasting connections formed through both.”

Naomi Libby

— Naomi Libby, MD

CRITERIA AND ELIGIBILITY

In November 2024, the GAP Fellowship Committee will select Fellows to serve for two years beginning with the Spring 2025 GAP Meeting and ending with the Fall 2026 GAP Meeting. The Selection Committee focuses on candidates with:

  • demonstrated leadership abilities

  • academic excellence

  • outstanding writing skills

  • innovative perspectives in psychiatry

  • commitment to a collaborative group process

To note:

  • Eligible candidates must be at least in the PGY-2 year as of July 1, 2024, and must have at least two years of training remaining at their institution, e.g., PGY-2 or PGY-3 residents, or fellows in the first year of a two-year fellowship.

  • Fellowship Requirements GAP meets twice a year. Because Fellows must fully participate in the committee process and in the development of the plenary presentation, attendance of the Fellows for all three days of all four meetings is required. Training programs must allow selected Fellows time to attend the meetings, and are encouraged to support travel and lodging expenses for all Fellow meetings when possible.

“I got in vivo training in leadership and group dynamics during my time as a GAP Fellow, and I developed relationships with mentors that helped shape my career.”

Steven Sharfstein

— Steven S. Sharfstein, MD, GAP Fellow (1971 - 1972) and Past President of APA (2005 - 2006)

How to apply

Application Procedure

Any U.S. or Canadian accredited psychiatric training program may nominate one second-year or third-year resident and one first-year fellow from child or any other two-year fellowship. The application should contain the following, in this order:

Applications must include:

  1. a typed personal statement, double-spaced, not to exceed 500 words

  2. one letter of recommendation from the training program director

  3. a writing sample or publication excerpt written by the nominee, not to exceed 5 pages

    a current CV

For more information or to submit your application: Email Frances Roton Bell, Executive Director Group for the Advancement of Psychiatry

  • The deadline for applications to be received is October 1, 2024.

  • Fellows are notified of their selection by December 15, 2024.

Download the 2024 Fellowship Letter from Lorraine L. Lothwell, MD

Timetable

Downloads

“As a fellow you are embraced by this community of thoughtful psychiatrists and encouraged to participate fully in their writing process. You also get to interact and work with a very interesting group of fellows and forge relationships that will last beyond the fellowship term.”

Andres Barkil-Oteo

— Andres Barkil-Oteo, MD