Director's Letters
Letter from the Program Director
Welcome to the information section about our Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (CAP) Fellowship Program at UH! We’re very proud of our program; our CAP faculty members are dedicated, collaborative, and our goal for each fellow is to successfully work toward mastery in all areas of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. I am very grateful to call this department my professional home. After graduating from CWRU School of Medicine in 2000, I moved to San Francisco, where I completed Residency in Adult Psychiatry, Fellowship in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and served on faculty at UCSF. After a wonderful time in SF, my husband and I could no longer resist the pull of the gorgeous seasons and exceptional quality of life in Cleveland, so back we came! I happily joined UH Cleveland Medical Center Department of Psychiatry in 2007. In addition to proudly serving as the Associate Training Director from 2020-2023, and now as the Training Director, I see a wide variety of patients in various clinical and educational settings. I get the opportunity to collaborate with specialists in all areas of medicine and across disciplines, teach medical students, residents, fellows, pediatricians and work with exceptional families in our community. The people in our department and the dedication to patient care that is evident across the entire University Hospitals system make this an exceptional place to work. Our program is dedicated to offering the most up-to-date, evidence-based training for our fellows. Our graduates thrive in a wide variety of positions across the country and around the world. Each fellow is valued as a unique learner with an individualized learning plan that we review periodically to ensure they are progressing toward their goals. Our trainees emerge from fellowship prepared to meet even the most challenging clinical presentations and provide children and families with outstanding care. We’re happy to share more about our beloved department with you, so please reach out for more information!
Mary Hall Mennes, MD
Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship
Letter from the Associate Program Director
Hello and welcome to the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Division at University Hospitals! We are thrilled you are interested in a career in child psychiatry! As the demand for child mental health continues to grow, we are dedicated to training the next generation of child psychiatrists to fill this need. At University Hospitals, you will have exposure to treatment in multiple different settings, including inpatient psychiatry, PHP/IOP, residential treatment facilities, and outpatient clinic. As a trainee at an academic medical center, you will have the opportunity to work with, learn from, and teach medical students and other trainees, including pediatric medicine residents. You will have the opportunity to collaborate with various disciplines at Rainbow Babies and Children’s hospital, including the pediatric emergency department, PICU, and medical floors. With a dozen child psychiatrists on staff and multiple child psychologists, you will see a broad range of psychopathology and various treatment modalities. Most importantly, you will be learning in an exciting, collaborative fellowship program that is interested in both your academic and personal development. We wish you the best of luck with the application process!
Neil Bruce, MD
Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship
Letter from the Division Chief
“The mission of the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at University Hospitals and UH Rainbow Babies & Children's is to promote the well-being of our patients. Through our clinical settings, research center and training programs, we embrace opportunities to diagnose, treat, advance and guide the delivery of mental healthcare today and for future generations.”
John Hertzer, MD
Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
Letter from Program Administrator
I am delighted to be part of the University Hospitals Department of Psychiatry and the program administrator for the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship. I joined the team in 2020 with 10 years of experience in graduate medical education. My primary goal as coordinator is to ensure fellows, faculty, and the program are supported. From interview day to orientation to graduation, my job is to make this process as simple as possible for the physicians, so they can focus on what’s truly important—the patients.
Outside of work, I am a mom to an incredible 2-year-old, Luke, a second baby boy on the way, and a 9-year-old German shepherd, Sierra. I was born in Cleveland, moved to Las Vegas after school and returned to the city that I love in 2010. Cleveland has so much to offer no matter what your interests! If you enjoy the outdoors like I do, the Metroparks has so much to offer. The parks consist of 8 reservations spanning more than 25,000 acres with more than 325 miles of trails, nine golf courses, eight lakefront parks and a nationally-acclaimed zoo. If you’re a foodie, there are hundreds of places to explore in and rounds downtown Cleveland. Travel + Leisure named Cleveland as one of the top 10 best food cities in the United States! Not to mention the excitement you’ll find attending a game for one of our teams; the Cavaliers, Browns, Guardians, and Monster’s.
I am happy to share more about this wonderful program I consider family, and the exciting city I call home. Please reach out for more information!
Sarah Spurbeck
Academic Program Administrator