Universal Psychology Postdoctoral Directory

Elements of quality clinically focused postdoctoral training

The Institute of Living currently offers 6 APA-accredited positions, with 8 potential areas of specialty: (1) Adult Inpatient Psychology; 2) Child and Adolescent Inpatient Psychology; 3) Psychosis/Persistent Mental Illness; 4) Child and Adolescent School-Based Assessment and Treatment; 5) Health Psychology/Behavioral Medicine; 6) LGBTQ+ Gender Affirmative Care; 7) Psychological Assessment; and 8) Psychodynamic and Mentalization-Informed Psychotherapy. Please note, we will be interviewing and accepting applications for all of these specialties, with 6 positions available. Decisions regarding admission will be determined based on goodness of fit with the applicant’s training goals and experience.

In addition, the Institute of Living also offers non-APA accredited residency positions in Clinical Neuropsychology and Cognitive Behavior Therapy. 

The Adult Inpatient Psychiatry fellowship involving advanced training in brief acute individual, group, and family therapies as well as consultative services.

The robust psychology training department at HH/IOL currently includes eight predoctoral interns, eleven postdoctoral fellows, and numerous practicum students. The Adult Inpatient Fellow works closely alongside the Child and Adolescent Inpatient Fellow and is integrated in the greater fellowship cohort through meetings and seminars. The training environment is highly focused on the professional development of each fellow as well as fostering the leadership skills required to succeed as an early career psychologist. 

Founded in 1822, The Institute of Living is the third oldest psychiatric hospital in the nation, and the first hospital of any kind in Connecticut. It lies in the center of Hartford CT, across the street from Hartford Hospital and Connecticut Children’s. The IOL has a rich history in treatment and research in psychiatry, and is one of the oldest training programs in the country. The training program adheres to a science-informed model that actively integrates contemporary psychodynamic and cognitive-behavioral models. 

The focus of the inpatient fellowship is on the delivery of brief, intensive treatment with patients admitted to our general adult inpatient psychiatric units in the role of Psychology Consultant. Within the inpatient hospital at IOL, there are 4 adult units and 3 child and adolescent units which are all serviced by the Inpatient Psychology Consultation Service. The Hartford area is richly diverse, allowing for advancement of cultural competence at the forefront of both patient and systemic interactions. Diversity and Equity are a focus within case formulation and treatment planning, while also being openly discussed in meetings and councils throughout the healthcare system. The consultation service acts as an adjunct and complement to the current treatment plan and can include the provision of individual psychotherapy, targeted interventions, individualized behavior plans, case conceptualizations, risk assessments, and treatment recommendations. The fellow acts as expert and consultant to the requesting treatment team. 

The fellow works across all adult and older adult units and becomes part of the requesting interprofessional team which includes, Psychiatry, Social Work, Nursing, Recreation Therapy, Recovery Support Specialists and Mental Health Technicians. The requests typically involve assistance with highly complex, high risk, or high needs patients. The fellow is a key member of this consultation service and will be expected to quickly assume an independent level of functioning; therefore, applicants with psychiatric inpatient experience are highly desired. Applicants should also be comfortable with psychodynamic theories and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. Fellows will facilitate both process-oriented and skills-based groups across multiple adult inpatient units. At times, these groups will be run independently and intermittently co-facilitated with interns and practicum students. This will provide in-vivo supervisory experience for the Fellow in addition to 30 minutes per week of supervised supervision of the inpatient Intern. Fellows participate in supervised research (4 hours reserved/protected weekly) that has generally focused on clinical topics related to their fellowship. Fellows present their research at the Psychology Department’s Research Day during the summer. 

One of the many benefits of training within a larger hospital system includes availability of many elective experiences. The fellow will have the option to generate protected time for additional training interests, which may include: psychological and neuropsychological testing, working in the Psychiatric Emergency Department (Purple Pod) at Hartford Hospital, Consultation Liaison on the adult medical floors in Hartford Hospital, Family and Couples therapy both inpatient and outpatient, program development, and leadership.