Neuropsychology Central

[londonbutterfield]

The Jerry L. Pettis Memorial VA Medical Center in Loma Linda, California is announcing postdoctoral fellowship positions in clinical psychology. The following three positions were originally advertised and are open;

• 1 position in Trauma Recovery Services/PTSD—one year fellowship, start date is September 1, 2013
• 2 positions in Health Psychology—one year fellowship, start date is September 1, 2013
• There will be no Neuropsychology position available this year-this 2 year fellowship will be available for the 2014-15 training year.

We are pleased to announce three additional postdoctoral positions for the 2013-14 training year in the following areas;

• 1 position in General Mental Health-one year fellowship, start date is September 1, 2013
• 2 positions in PACT (Patient Aligned Care Teams)- one year fellowships, start date is September 1, 2013

The psychology postdoctoral fellowship program is currently seeking accreditation from the APA. This is the sixth year of the fellowship program, and the above positions are funded through the VA Loma Linda HCS and Graduate Medical Education (GME) Enhancement: Educational Innovations programs.

Emphasis Areas:

Trauma Recovery Services/PTSD: Specific skills to be developed and refined will include, provision of psychological treatment interventions in individual and group format, assessment, and behavioral health care management for a diverse group of patients after having experienced one or more life-threatening event(s). Demographics include ages 20-80 years, men and women, combat and non-combat trauma, military and non-military related trauma. Fellows will learn evidence-based practices with an emphasis on Cognitive Processing Therapy and Prolonged Exposure. Additional training is available in Imagery Rehearsal Training, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia, Motivational Interviewing, Mantram Repetition, Seeking Safety, and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. Supervisory experiences with pre-doctoral interns will be made available in some of these areas.


Health Psychology: The two health psychology fellows will receive training with interprofessional partners from internal/family medicine, pharmacy, nursing, preventive medicine, psychiatry, geriatrics, rehabilitation medicine, infectious disease clinic, and Women’s Health clinic. Care will be provided in a variety of modalities, including individual and group health behavior interventions, primary care group medical appointments, and individual medical appointments. The determination of which clinical activities will be designated as “Core” or “Elective” will be made at the outset of the training year with the fellow's primary supervisor, and coordinated with the Health Psychology team and our interprofessional colleagues. “Core” activities will likely be staffed by the fellows for the full training year, while “Electives” may be of shorter duration.

Postdoctoral fellows may be offered secondary training opportunities (i.e., “Electives”) to complement their Core responsibilities as their schedules permit. These are available in three- or six- month increments. These may include: brief, health-related outpatient individual cases; surgical consultations (e.g., bariatric, amputation, spinal cord stimulator implant, cardiac); Community Living Center (formerly ‘Nursing Home Care Unit’) and rehabilitation unit; MOVE! Program (weight and lifestyle management), multidisciplin-ary pain clinic, and smoking cessation. In addition to weekly individual supervision, fellows will attend weekly Health Psychology Group Supervision, Integrated Postdoctoral Didactic Trainings (with TRS and/or Neuropsychology fellows), and Professional Development meetings, all of which will fulfill the supervision requirements for eventual psychologist licensure in California. Postdoctoral fellows Training and experience in providing group and/or individual supervision to psychology pre-doctoral interns and/or practicum students will also be available.

Postdoctoral fellows will be responsible for presenting seminars on Health Psychology topics to interprofessional partners. Postdoctoral fellows will receive interdisciplinary training with resident physicians (e.g., clinical and didactic trainings specified for residents, as appropriate), as well as evidenced-based trainings (e.g., motivational interviewing, Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, CBT for Insomnia, Acceptance/Commitment Therapy.

Integrated Mental and Behavioral Health PACT Positions. These (2) one-year, full-time positions in Clinical Psychology emphasize development of skills for future psychological practice as members of integrated care teams (known as Patient Aligned Care Teams, or PACT). As an organizing principle, the program aims to provide educational continuity through care, curriculum, and supervision. Postdoctoral fellows will gain hands-on experience while working on PACT teams with interprofessional providers including physicians, medical residents, pharmacists, social workers, nurses, and nurse practitioners. They will provide care in a variety of clinical settings, including mental health same-day access clinic, individual and group medical appointments, brief individual psychotherapy sessions, and psychoeducational groups/classes.

The postdoctoral fellow’s training experiences will include core mental health assessment and treatment activities in 1) geriatric primary care, and 2) general outpatient primary care, plus elective activities to be chosen in consultation with the primary supervisor. Options for elective activities include experiences in chronic pain, infectious disease, amputation, dialysis, and surgery preparation/recovery (bariatric, spinal cord stimulator, transplant).

Training in evidence-based treatments such as Motivational Interviewing, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia will be provided throughout the course of the year. In addition to weekly individual supervision, fellows will attend weekly group supervision, Integrated Postdoctoral Didactic Trainings (with Health Psychology, TRS and/or Neuropsychology fellows), and professional development meetings to fulfill supervision requirements for eventual psychology licensure in California. Training and experience in providing group and/or individual supervision to psychology pre-doctoral interns and/or practicum students will also be available. Postdoctoral fellows will be invited to present seminars on mental health and integrated care topics to PACT teams and will be invited to assist with system re-design and performance improvement projects.

The Integrated Mental and Behavioral Health PACT positions offer a range of opportunities to meet individualized training and professional goals for collaboration on interprofessional teams. The primary care environment is fast-paced and exciting; this postdoctoral fellowship provides ample opportunity to contribute to the transformation of the field.
General Outpatient Mental Health Interprofessional Teams. The General Outpatient Mental Health Fellow will be a part of an Interprofessional Team within Behavioral Medicine Service. The outpatient mental health clinic consists of 7 General Outpatient Mental Health interdisciplinary teams which include 11 board certified Psychiatrists (including 2 geriatric psychiatrists), 9 Clinical Psychologists, 7 Licensed Clinical Social Workers, 6 Nurse Practitioners, 2 Clinical Pharmacy farmland, 5 Licensed Vocational Nurses, and 3 Psychology Technicians. Each Team provides an integrated, patient-centered approach in the provision of a wide variety of services, including medication management, psychoeducation, motivational enhancement, telemental health, and evidence-based individual and group psychotherapy services.

As a General Outpatient Mental Health Interprofessional Team member, the Fellow will be exposed to a team that fosters the provision of mental and behavioral health services using a patient-centered, interprofessional model. In addition to the Fellow, the team will be comprised of Staff Supervisors from various disciplines (Psychologists, Psychiatrists, and Social Workers) and trainees (Psychiatry Residents, Social Work Interns, and Psychology Interns). The Fellow will be involved in treating Veterans with complex psychiatric diagnoses and co-morbid psychiatric and medical diagnoses, which will afford him/her the opportunity to refine diagnostic skills; gain experience in working with complicated and challenging patients; and enhance generalist training, while honing skills within specialty areas. As a part of the team, the Fellow will provide time-limited, evidence based treatment to adults and older adults with a wide range of mental health disorders, including depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, substance abuse, and schizophrenia. The Fellow may receive training and supervision within the following evidence-based psychotherapies: Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Cognitive-Processing Therapy (CPT) for PTSD, Prolonged Exposure Therapy (PE) for PTSD, and Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I). Additionally, as a General Outpatient Mental Health Interprofessional Team member, Fellows will actively participate in weekly team meetings and “morning huddles” to address and solve patient-specific and system/process concerns.

In addition to these extensive and intensive clinical activities, the fellow will be exposed to didactics on evidence-based practices, will present didactics within an area of expertise, and will present case conferences regarding patients whom they are treating. In addition, the Fellow will consult with other providers throughout the Medical Center regarding referrals and treatment of referred patients, participate in individual supervision, and provide supervision of Interns. The Fellow will also be expected to be involved in program development and/or a research project of interest.


Training Site: Located in the Inland Empire of Southern California within the community of Loma Linda, the Jerry L. Pettis Memorial VA Medical Center provides comprehensive health and mental health services to eligible military veterans in one of the largest catchment areas of any VA facility in the country. The VA is located in San Bernardino County which is approximately 60 miles east of Los Angeles and 106 miles north east of San Diego. The VA is in an ideal location for enjoying both the pacific beach coastline and mountain/ski areas of southern CA. Most attractions in Southern CA can be accessed in about two hours or less.

Fellowship Training Program: The following are some of the goals and objectives for postdoctoral fellows within their specialized emphasis areas in the program: expand and refine assessment and intervention skills with a diverse patient population in a specialized emphasis area; obtain supervised hours for licensure; prepare for and complete the licensing exam and process for becoming licensed in the state of California or other state of fellows choice; learn and practice skills for supervising and mentoring practicum students and predoctoral interns; evaluate an existing clinical program and identify an area in need of development; write a clinical program grant or clinical research grant to submit in response to a mock or real Request for Proposals; implement and administer new clinical services within an interdisciplinary team; develop outcome measures for assessing the effectiveness of new assessment or treatment services.

Qualifications for Fellowship include: U.S. citizenship, earned doctorate in psychology from an APA-approved program by start date (this includes completed defense of the dissertation), and completed APA-approved internship.

Application: To apply, the following are required by January 1, 2013:
• letter of interest that includes the fellowship emphasis you are interested in and how you envision this training will further your aspirations as a clinical psychologist, your theoretical orientation, experience working with diverse populations and research interests
• autobiographical statement to help us begin getting to know you
• current CV that includes a description of your internship rotations and anticipated graduation date
• copy of your graduate transcript(s)
• letter of reference from your internship director, describing your progress and anticipated completion date
• A letter from the chair of your dissertation committee that details the status of your dissertation and the anticipated completion date of your doctoral training. Your doctoral degree must be completed before the start date of your postdoctoral training
• letter of reference from a supervisor familiar with your work in the special emphasis area for which you are applying
• Please send these materials in a single envelope marked "Fellowship Application Materials"


Deadlines/Stipend/Benefits: Notification regarding interviews will take place in mid to late January with interviews to follow, and preference will be given to candidates with prior training and experience in the specific emphasis areas.

Selection match date for all of the positions is yet to be determined.

The anticipated start date for all areas of emphasis is September 1, 2013. Postdoctoral Fellowships are a full year, full-time commitment with a salary of $47,049 per annum. Vacation, sick leave, authorized leave for conferences, and health insurance are available.

*For more detailed regarding the postdoctoral residency, please access our residency brochure at:

http://www.psychologytraining.va.gov/lomalinda/

Application materials should be directed to:

R. Scott Wenger, Psy.D., Director of Training
Behavioral Medicine Service/Psychology Section (116A/116B)
11201 Benton Street
Loma Linda, CA 92357
Scott.Wenger2@va.gov