He currently teaches medical trainees in his capacity as a Clinical Professor at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. Dr. Sykes has been in private practice sine 1980. In that time he has also consulted to many entities including the Children's Hospital Burn Team and various child and adolescent residential treatment centers including acute care and substance abuse. He wrote a chapter for the book Emotional Status on Burned Children and their Families: It's Impact on Physical and Psychological Recovery. He also led a study on the effectiveness of Adderall XR prior to the drug's release.Dr. Sykes and his wife have chosen to take advantage of two, rich, six-year opportunities away from Denver. In 1991 he was recruited to Lincoln, Nebraska to establish a Child and Adolescent Psychiatric unit at Lincoln General Hospital, where he was also an Associate Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Nebraska. After six years they returned to Denver, then in 2004 he was asked to set up a private practice and act as Medical Director and consultant for several organizations in Hawaii. He is a Clinical Professor in the Department of Psychiatry for the University of Hawaii Medical School and teaches there when he visits. He considers his time in Hawaii a rewarding experience that allowed him to learn much about the multicultural aspects of psychiatry.
Dr. Sykes was raised on a farm in Iowa. In high school he was selected for the National Honor Society, and in scouting, obtained the rank of Eagle Scout. He attended Iowa State University and graduated with a double major in chemistry and physics. While attending school he worked part-time as a physical chemist at the Atomic Energy Commission. One summer was spent studying Shakespeare in England as part of Iowa State's International Study Program.
After college, Dr. Sykes attended medical school at the University of Colorado Medical Center and during that time spent another summer in London doing a Pediatric externship. After medical school he did his Pediatric Internship at the Children's Hospital of Denver, then did a Pediatric Residency at the University of Colorado. This was followed by a residency in Adult and Child Psychiatry at the University of Michigan. While in Michigan he also obtained his private pilot's license. He finished his medical training at the University of Colorado with a Fellowship in Child Psychiatry.
Dr. Sykes spent four years as the Director of Consultation Liaison at the Children's Hospital, and then entered a full time private practice of Child, Adolescent, and Adult Psychiatry, which he continues to this day.
