Postdoctoral Fellowship in Clinical Psychology

Admission Requirements

Admission requirements for the second year of the two-year program include completion of all professional doctoral degree requirements from a regionally accredited institution of higher education or an American Psychological Association (APA) -accredited program and a predoctoral internship meeting Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers (APPIC) standards. This requirement is defined as having on the first day of the fellowship either the diploma in hand or a letter from the director of graduate studies verifying the completion of all degree requirements pending institution graduation ceremony.

Fellowship Program

The second year of the program is a postdoctoral fellowship designed to build on the foundation of general skills developed in the internship year. The fellowship year focuses on areas of specialization selected by the student. Fellows may acquire the supervised postdoctoral training necessary for licensing eligibility as well as research skills needed for work as a clinical researcher.

Postdoctoral fellows continue with a portion of their Outpatient Treatment Center (OTC) psychotherapy caseload from their internship year and select specialized rotations to refine their clinical skills. Fellows receive evaluations from their supervisors at the middle and end of the year of training. The director of the fellowship integrates these written supervisor evaluations into one summary document. In the event of a grievance, fellows have access to the due process procedures as outlined in the Intern and Fellow Handbook on this Web site.

Psychotherapy

Fellows continue with cases from their internship year assigned through the OTC. This caseload mix may be supplemented with family, marital, or group therapy experiences. Eight hours of psychotherapy per week are expected with four faculty supervisors assigned. Supervision is one hour weekly with each supervisor.

Psychological Testing

Psychological testing experience becomes optional in the second year of training. The opportunity exists for fellows to select specific types of specialized training that may build on interests developed during the internship year. Supervised training for specialized batteries in the areas of adolescent psychology, geropsychology, and neuropsychology are available as well as experience with cognitive behavioral assessment and shortened forms of more traditional protocols. The frequency of administrations is determined individually with each fellow.

Rotations

Specialty rotations are elected by each fellow and represent an intensive training experience with one of the hospital programs treating a particular population. One rotation is chosen by each fellow and accounts for approximately 20 hours of the weekly work load. Generally, each rotation allocates a minimum of two hours per week of supervision for the fellow’s clinical activities. Some specialty sites offer a limited rotation commitment, making it possible for the fellow to select two rotation sites by reducing the participation within each site to 10 hours per week.

Curriculum

Two year long seminars form the nucleus of the curriculum; these are supplemented by the weekly department grand rounds presentations and other lectures offered at the medical center. Additionally, the fellows have a special topics weekly seminar, the content of which is designed by the fellows depending on their clinical and research interests. The fellows also continue in the weekly case conference attended by interns.

Supervision

Interns and postdoctoral fellows meet weekly as a group with the director of the program. In addition, a minimum of five supervisors are assigned for the postdoctoral year of the program.Supervision is one hour weekly for each supervisor.

Research

Each fellow is required to submit an article to a refereed journal by the end of the fellowship training year. Interns and fellows are encouraged to join an ongoing research project at the medical center and work closely with their research mentor to refine their research skills and to define a personal area of scholarly interest. Our goal is to provide the support necessary for the fellow to graduate from the program with a publication under review and to be fully prepared to secure the position of her or his choice.

Clinical and Research Competency Evaluations

Documentation of clinical and research competency is necessary for the successful completion of the fellowship. The fellow presents a diagnostic evaluation, including original data, and a written case formulation prepared on a patient seen during the past 12 months. In addition, the fellow presents an audio or videotape of a representative psychotherapy session with this patient. These materials are reviewed by a faculty committee and discussed with the fellow. The fellow is required to demonstrate an advanced and sophisticated understanding of diagnosis, assessment, and psychotherapy as well as an ability to critically and sensitively use information derived from the empirical literature to guide the development of the treatment plan and selection of clinical interventions.

The clinical competency evaluation completed at the conclusion of the fellowship year is similar, in many ways, to that used by the American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP) and the Academy of Cognitive Therapy (ACT). We endeavor to organize our training experiences so that graduates of the Feinberg School fellowship program may successfully apply for board certification.

Research competency is demonstrated at the conclusion of the fellowship year by the presentation of an empirical study at a department grand rounds. Trainees are encouraged to work with their research mentor to develop an independent investigation during the fellowship year. The research mentor serves as a discussant for their presentation. Each fellow is required to submit an empirical article to a refereed journal by the conclusion of the fellowship year.

Didactic Sequence

A didactic and case conference curriculum supplements the direct clinical experience and supervision. Interns participate with postdoctoral fellows in an ongoing case conference. In addition, interns attend several seminars over the course of the year, including

• Department of Psychiatry Grand Rounds
• Professional Issues Seminar

Distribution of Hours

Salary and Benefits

The salary for the postdoctoral fellowship year is $24,000 plus benefits, including health insurance and two weeks of vacation.