Universal Psychology Postdoctoral Directory

Elements of quality clinically focused postdoctoral training

Consistent with the agency’s mission, the doctoral psychology fellowship program’s aim is train practitioner-scholars in the advanced application of a community mental health model of care for youth experiencing acute and chronic medical conditions. 

Developed based on the work of the Society for Pediatric Psychology Competency Benchmarks Task Force, the following are the program’s expected areas of competence: 

1. Knowledge: To ensure that fellows have crosscutting knowledge of clinical child psychology and pediatric psychology 

2. Science: To ensure that fellows utilize scientific evidence and literature to inform practice 

3. Professionalism/Interpersonal Effectiveness: To ensure that fellows are able to represent psychology in the most appropriate manner 

4. Application of Knowledge: To ensure that fellow are able to independently apply knowledge and theory to diverse patients and presenting problems 

5. Supervision: To graduate fellows who demonstrate a working knowledge of the theories and methods of supervision and ability to provide supervision to develop supervisees 

Core training elements include the following: 

1. Supervised clinical experience in all aspects of specialty mental health with children, adolescents, parents, and families. These services include: intakes and assessment; clinical case management; a range of psychotherapeutic interventions and modalities, including implementation of evidence-based interventions; clinical case consultation with other treatment staff, schools, and allied agencies; crisis intervention; and termination planning and discharge. Services are provided in the office, client’s homes, schools, parks, medical clinics, and via telehealth following agency COVID-19 guidelines. 

As a community mental health center, providing field-based therapy by meeting clients in settings that are familiar and safe for them (i.e., parks, homes, clinics) is a necessary component of successful treatment for families who may otherwise not access services due to financial barriers. Training in the complexities of specialty mental health allow our fellows a unique perspective and the flexibility necessary for work in all types of integrated care settings. Fellows are expected to become well-versed in brief and long-term interventions that do not fit the traditional 50-minute session, rapid assessment utilizing screening tools (e.g., Patient Health Questionnaire-9, Youth Outcome Questionnaire, PedsQL) and semi-structured interviews (KSADS-PL). 

Over the course of the training year, fellows deliver services with outpatient clients with whom there are opportunities for fellows to deliver individual, family, and group services in the office and field. As primary therapists responsible for all aspects of direct service delivery to approximately 8-10 ongoing therapy cases (12.5 billable hours per week; average of 45 hours per month) housed either in the TGC Intensive Services program or through TWC outpatient services at the hospital. Fellow caseloads are comprised of children, adolescents, and transitional aged youth who have both a chronic medical condition and one or more mental health conditions that impact one another. Cases are intended to be short to medium-term with most patients discharging (including within-agency transfer to a non-medical program) within 4-6 months. 

2. Consultation/Liaison Services. In addition to carrying a 50% outpatient caseload of child clients at The Guidance Center, the pediatric psychology fellow will also provide consultation/liaison services at Miller Children’s & Women's Hospital Long Beach. The hospital provides specialized pediatric care for children and young adults, with medical conditions ranging from common to complex. The fellow will 1) participate in interdisciplinary rounds and care/family conferences, 2) provide consultation to interdisciplinary treatment teams serving inpatients, 3) assess harm to self or others and provide behavioral de-escalation of patients, family members, and/or staff as necessary, and 4) evaluate and provide brief, problem-focused treatment of childhood psychological disorders (i.e., adjustment disorder, anxiety,  FNSD) and medical treatment adherence while the patient is hospitalized under the supervision of a licensed psychologist. 

3. Advanced Consultee-Centered Consultation. Fellows are expected to provide consultation with agency therapists and hospital staff to offer expertise in treatment planning and/or to determine if a client meets criteria for outpatient mental health services through the TWC program, where relevant. Disposition screenings are often hospital-based and may involve administering psychological measures and conducting brief clinical assessments. 

4. Supervision of practicum students. As part of the training to become professional psychologists, fellows have the opportunity to supervise doctoral-level psychology practicum students in either a group or individual context, depending on needs for the training year. Psychology practicum students are obtaining experience in therapy (including with Whole Child Program clients) and psychological assessment. Supervision of supervision occurs every other week; and fellows receive formal formative and summative feedback twice per year. 

5. Interprofessional Consultation to agency staff, hospital personnel, and other individuals within a client’s treatment team/system. Fellows are expected to interact with the community at large and with specific allied agencies, other programs, and funding sources. 

6. Teaching. Fellows are expected to provide at least 4 didactic seminars on relevant therapy and/or testing topics to the doctoral and master level practicum students over the course of the year. In addition, fellows are expected to provide a presentation at least twice per year to medical residents during the hospital noon conference. 

7. Exploration of individual and cultural diversity through interprofessional consultation/professional development supervision and through case conceptualization. A unique component of the training department includes the exploration of individual values. All supervisors present their morality genograms at the beginning of the year in order to foster conversations regarding diversity and how they impact relationships. By the second or third month of the program, fellows and interns also present to supervisors their morality genograms depicting their core values and how those do or do not impact clinical work and supervision. The program also sponsors a Diversity Fishbowl discussion that fellows are expected to attend. The discussion focuses on one aspect of diversity each quarter and allows all staff to develop a better understanding of one another.