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The need for youth psychiatry fellowship: a physician-scientist trainee perspective

Molecular Psychiatry (2024)Cite this article

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In a recent perspective article of Uhlhaas et al. [1] in Molecular Psychiatry, the authors discuss the importance of the age range between 12 and 25 for understanding and addressing mental disorders. They emphasize the importance of risk and protective factors, as well as brain development, in youth psychopathology, especially during sensitive periods. The authors propose the need for a youth mental health paradigm approach in early diagnosis and interventions, incorporating emerging psychopathology, innovative service models, and collaboration between science and clinical care. By adopting this transformative youth mental health paradigm, it is hoped that severe mental disorders can be prevented and mental health in young individuals significantly enhanced.

In their perspective, they “set out core pillars for a youth mental health paradigm”. They mostly focus on transforming ‘clinical care’ and ‘research’ to enhance mental health in young individuals and to move toward preventing severe mental disorders. Besides, when we think about the medicine holistically, there are three pillars: (I) clinical care, (II) research, and (III) education. Therefore, when planning a transformative health paradigm, education should be included too.

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Acknowledgements

I express my gratitude to Prof. Emre Bora for his guidance and review of this correspondence.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurosciences, Institute of Health Sciences, Dokuz Eylul University, Izmir, Turkey

    Cemal Demirlek

  2. Department of Psychiatry, McLean Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Belmont, MA, USA

    Cemal Demirlek

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  1. Cemal Demirlek
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Correspondence to Cemal Demirlek.

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Demirlek, C. The need for youth psychiatry fellowship: a physician-scientist trainee perspective. Mol Psychiatry (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41380-024-02571-z

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