Universal Psychology Postdoctoral Directory

Elements of quality clinically focused postdoctoral training

UCLA CAPS is a vibrant and highly-utilized counseling service, situated centrally between the residence halls and the Student Union and adjacent to Pauley Pavilion, the Wooden Recreation Center and the Ashe Student Health Center. UCLA’s student population numbers more than 45,000, is considerably diverse along almost every dimension and reflects a remarkable array of ethnic, socio-cultural and religious backgrounds. Clients present with a broad range of psychological and psychiatric problems, from developmental issues typical of college age individuals to debilitating conditions requiring psychiatric hospitalization. Last year direct clinical services were provided to over 7,000 UCLA students and outreach services to more than three times that number, providing an unusually rich opportunity to work in a variety of modalities with a large and diverse population. 

General Fellowship Track information: Fellows’ responsibilities include intake assessment, crisis intervention, individual and group psychotherapy, assessment, supervision of of other trainee classes, and workshops and presentations for the campus community. Fellows are expected to provide approximately 20-25 hours of direct service weekly. Fellows are expected to develop expertise in a specialty area, with specific clinical, administrative, and prevention-oriented contributions. Specialty areas include (but are not limited to: Eating Disorders, LGBT populations, International and other underrepresented racial/ethnic populations, student resilience and wellness promotion/prevention programming).  Treatment modalities featured at CAPS include: Unified Protocol for Emotional Disorders; CBT (including exposure interventions); mindfulness-based interventions; dialectical behavior therapy based interventions; ACT; integrative psychotherapy; and brief psychodynamic therapy. 

A minimum of four hours of supervision will be provided weekly, consisting of two hours of individual supervision, two hours of group supervision, and two or more additional hours related to group treatment, prevention and outreach activities, and other direct service activities. For purposes of licensure, it is expected that Fellows will accrue over 1,500 hours of supervised professional experience by the completion of the training year. This number is an estimate and depends on the fellows’ schedule and activities.

Student Athlete Mental Health track information: In collaboration with UCLA CAPS and the Department of Athletics, the Fellow will join the team of psychologists under the UCLA Athletics Mental Health Services Program, which provides confidential counseling, mental health screening, consultation, education, and prevention services to approximately 700 student-athletes from 23 NCAA teams within a multidisciplinary, integrated team-based model of care. Emphasis will be placed on experiences with individual counseling, team/group performance interventions, outreach programming, and consultation with coaches. Additional training opportunities include consulting with sports medicine staff, interdisciplinary psychiatry and eating disorder treatment teams, and multidisciplinary performance teams. Specific responsibilities will be based on interest, availability and training needs. Preferred Qualifications: Alongside required qualifications listed on this website for all postdoctoral candidates; specialized training/experience in sport psychology, multicultural psychology, health psychology, kinesiology, clinical work with student athletes is strongly preferred. Experience and/or demonstrated interest in college mental health, crisis intervention, multidisciplinary collaboration, skills-based and psychoeducational groups, outreach and consultation with intercollegiate teams, and/or working with student-athletes from diverse backgrounds is highly desirable.

Required qualifications: Without exception, applicants must have completed an APA-accredited internship and possess a doctoral degree in counseling or clinical psychology from an APA-accredited graduate program by the start date of the Fellowship. Unfortunately we are not able to entertain applications from candidates who will not have graduated by August 1, 2021 and/or did not attend APA-accredited doctoral programs and internships. Demonstrated interest and experience working with diverse multicultural college student populations and established experience and clinical competency with brief psychotherapies are required. Fellows must also demonstrate considerable experience in the treatment of mood and anxiety disorders and the integration of emotional regulation skills and distress tolerance into general clinical practice. Pursuant to University of California policies, this Fellowship requires a satisfactory completion of a background investigation (i.e. Federal Bureau of Investigation and Department of Justice fingerprint scans) prior to the start of the UCLA CAPS Fellowship. The investigation is conducted following an offer of acceptance into the Fellowship program, and final acceptance into the UCLA CAPS Fellowship is contingent upon the results of this background investigation. 

Benefits and compensation: The Fellowship includes medical benefits, and accrued vacation and sick days.