Dear Colleagues,

I am proud to announce that the University of Chicago Department of Psychiatry will be sponsoring the second virtual group relations conference for psychiatry residents,

this May 20-23, 2021.  The conference will be directed by Jeffrey D. Roth, MD, DLFAPA, who has been teaching our psychiatry residents about group and organizational dynamics

in a biweekly experiential process group for the last twenty years.  The first conference, held last August for psychiatry chief residents, was organized to offer incoming chief 

residents the opportunity to learn about authority and leadership, since they would be missing out on the CRLC (“Tarrytown conference”) which was canceled because of the pandemic.

Dr. Roth has been working with Dr. Bruce Schwartz, head of the CRLC, so that the virtual conference and the face-to-face Tarrytown conference, scheduled this year for September 10-12, 2021, would support each other.  Together they offer us a model of leadership that is collaborative and cooperative, rather than competitive, providing us with hope that we have grown over the last four years.

Therefore, we encourage psychiatry residency programs to consider sending their incoming chiefs to the CRLC this September if possible.  If for any reason, whether of travel or

pandemic restrictions, this is not feasible, please do consider sending incoming chiefs to our virtual group relations conference.  We also anticipate opening membership in this conference to all psychiatry residents, fellows and early career psychiatrists based on the successful and enthusiastic reception of last year’s virtual conference by both staff and members.

Please use the conference email address grcpsychiatry2021@gmail.com for further information and to receive the conference brochure when it is available.

Warmly,

Deborah Spitz, M.D.

Vice Chair for Education and Academic Affairs

Director of Residency Training

Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience

The University of Chicago

5841 South Maryland Avenue MC3077

Chicago Illinois 60637

Phone 773 834 0294

Fax 773 702 4297