Humanitarian Child Psychiatry Intensive
Virtual self-paced studies in April
May 22–25, 2026,
Airlie Resort, Virginia
https://www.airlie.com/
A small, hybrid intensive for child and adolescent psychiatrists working in or preparing for humanitarian, conflict, and displacement settings.
Who This Training Is For
This training is designed for:
Child/adolescent and general psychiatrists considering humanitarian work and seeking realistic, grounded preparation
General Psychiatrists currently working in:
Humanitarian or refugee settings
Conflict or post-conflict contexts
Global mental health, NGO, UN, or government roles
This training prioritizes depth, trust, and professional judgment over scale.
What We Focus On
The work centers on the kinds of clinical, ethical, and systems-level decisions that arise when practicing child psychiatry in humanitarian settings, including:
Working with children when systems—not symptoms—are the primary injury
Navigating ethical dilemmas where Western clinical frameworks do not map cleanly onto local realities
Understanding the psychiatrist’s role across clinical, advisory, and systems levels
Working effectively with non-psychiatric providers, communities, and institutions
Recognizing how well-intentioned interventions can unintentionally distort or harm
Sustaining this work over time without professional or moral erosion
This training draws on field-based experience, institutional relationships, and practical knowledge, as well as evidence-based reports and up-to-date guidelines and frameworks.
Format
Virtual orientation with a foundational program that must be completed within 1 month to the in-person intensive.
3 day, in-person intensive
Small cohort to support deep discussion and shared analysis
Case-based learning and applied scenarios
No large lectures or slide-heavy presentations
Faculty & Contributors
The training is led and organized by Dr. Suzan Song, MD, MPH, PhD, a humanitarian child and adolescent psychiatrist with extensive experience working across conflict, displacement, and post-crisis recovery settings, and advising UN agencies, governments, and humanitarian organizations as well as Victor Ugo, physician-trained global mental health leader driving culturally-grounded MHPSS innovation and advocacy worldwide.
Guest contributors include senior leaders from UN agencies, humanitarian NGOs, government institutions and frontline organizations in humanitarian settings working at the intersection of child protection, health, and crisis response.
Participation includes engagement with senior leaders whose roles require discretion; accordingly, details are shared selectively with registered participants.
Location & Containment
The intensive will take place at Airlie Resort in Virginia, a quiet, retreat-style setting selected to support focus, reflection, and sustained conversation.
Participants will have private on-site lodging, shared meals, and a contained environment designed to minimize logistical burden.
Once you arrive, everything is handled.
Dates
Mid-April remote orientation, to introduce the self-paced course material to be completed prior to the in-person intensive.
May 22–25, 2026
Participants are expected to attend the full training. The program will begin at 5pm May 22 and will end at 11am on May 25. Out of respect to our esteemed colleagues, participants will need to attend the entirety of this intensive, condensed course.
Tuition
$1,500 — all-inclusive
Tuition includes:
Full three-day training and registration
Private on-site lodging for 3 nights
All meals and course materials
Travel to and from Airlie is not included.
Enrollment
Enrollment is limited to maintain a small, serious cohort
Registration is first-come, first-serve
Registration will close once capacity is reached
Questions & More Information
For questions about fit or logistics, please contact: info@global-collective.org
More information can also be found here
This training is designed to build understanding and professional readiness; it does not confer placement, endorsement, or employment access.