The Combined Accelerated Program in Psychiatry: A Progress Report

The authors report on the nature and progress of the Combined Accelerated Program in Psychiatry (CAPP), now in its fourth year of operation. The program involves three and a half years of undergraduate and two and a half of postgraduate training. Participants begin clinical training in the freshman year and supervised psychotherapy in the sophomore year. Test results comparing CAPP students with their non-CAPP fellow students and with psychiatric residents indicate that CAPP students in the middle of their junior year score higher than residents after one and a half to two years of training. The authors present and respond to criticisms of the program, observing that the true test will lie in the careers of CAPP graduates and in the program's impact on psychiatric education.