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Clinical Psychology Postdoctoral Fellowship with an Emphasis in Health Promotion Disease Prevention (HPDP) and Inter-professional Training in Primary Care

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VA Medical Center, Northport
Northport, New York

Starts on Monday, August 11, 2025

Applications due Friday, December 6, 2024

Elements of quality clinically focused postdoctoral training

This training experience is a planned and programmed sequence of training that aims to ensure preparation for advanced practice rather than one that is focused on providing supervised hours for licensure. Yes

This training experience ensures that training takes precedence over service delivery regarding the nature, content, volume, and quality of the postdoc’s activities. Yes

This training experience ensures that postdocs receive at least two hours of individual supervision per week for the duration oof the experience. Yes

This training experience is administered by a doctoral-level licensed psychologist who directs and organizes the training experience and its resources, is responsible for the selection of postdocs, and monitors and evaluates the goals and activities of the experience. Yes

This training experience has two or more doctoral-level licensed psychologists who have sufficient time to provide quality supervision and training.   Yes

This training experience includes regularly scheduled structured educational activities that help postdocs its defined goals. These activities may include didactics, seminars, case conferences, and/or research activities. Yes

This training experience has written Due Process and Grievance procedures. Yes

This training experience has the stable and necessary financial (e.g., stipend) and physical resources (e.g., computers, physical space) needed for effective training. Yes

Two or three (depending on availability of temporary funding) one year post doctoral fellowship positions are available at the Northport VAMC. The postdoctoral Fellowship consists of a combination of year-long assignments, some of which will be required or elective, based on the fellow’s interests. Fellows will work within Primary Care (PC) and other medical settings as part of Patient Aligned Care Teams (PACTs) and other medical teams. They also have opportunities to participate in many HPDP programs and treatment areas. Emphasis is placed on the full integration of HPDP in all settings. Some of the training experiences will be collaborative with the Preventive Medicine residents from Stony Brook University School of Medicine. One  position is available for a gero-psychology track with both primary care, home based primary care and community living center training experiences. In addition to these learning experiences, fellows are required to complete and present a project in the domain of performance improvement. The development of leadership skills is encouraged and additional mentoring is available for fellows with interest. The overall mission of this fellowship is to provide advanced training in clinical psychology with a focus on health promotion/disease prevention and inter-professional integration and collaboration, within the context of a holistic approach to health and wellness. We strive to help fellows develop professional identity and leadership skills that will prepare them to be competitive and important players in the field of health service psychology. We aim to provide training consistent with the APA Guidelines and Principles for Accreditation of Programs in Professional Psychology at the postdoctoral level. Our fellowship program embraces a practitioner-scholar philosophy, with a strong emphasis on clinical practice that is informed by theory, research, critical thinking, and active, collaborative learning. The integration of science and practice is emphasized in all aspects of the training, and serves as the foundation for the cultural shifts which currently drive the overall VA model of healthcare. We believe each fellow brings unique talents and skills to be harnessed and embraced and we aim to work collaboratively in an apprenticeship model that fosters professional growth for both the fellows and staff with whom they work. Additionally, this fellowship will provide opportunities for developing advanced skills in consultation, motivational interviewing, supervision, program development, and professional leadership. 

Additional Information

Agency Type
VA Medical Center
APPIC Membership
No
APA Accredited
Yes
Recognized Specialty
Clinical Psychology
Emphasis or focus area
Primary Care
Other Emphasis
Health promotion disease prevention
Research Time
Less than 25%
Training Director
Deirdra Frum-Vassallo, PsyD ABPP
Contact Email
deirdra.frum-vassallo@va.gov
Contact Phone
(631) 261-4400 X5636
Virtual Interviews
Available
Duration in Months
12
Hours Per Week
40
# of Licensed Supervisors
8
Number of Positions
2
Applications recieved last year
10
Stipend
$61,548
Will follow APPIC Selection Standards
Yes
Estimated offer date
Friday, March 1 2024
Unfilled Positions
0
Fringe Benefits
11 Holidays, 13 days of vacation leave, 13 days of sick leave. Eligible for health, dental and vision insurance.
Research opportunities
Required performance improvement project is open to both qualitative and quantitative data collection.
Additional Comments
The Postdoctoral Fellowship at VAMC Northport is strongly committed to training from a culturally competent framework. We believe in the idea that psychology practice is deeply enhanced when we have a more encompassing, flexible and open view of humanity and the richness that individual differences bring. The advancement of our field and practice depends on increasing the conscious cultivation and application of skills, knowledge, sensitivity and awareness needed to communicate within a diverse context. Cultural competence is an extension of the therapeutic relationship. Learning to efficiently gather cultural knowledge in the context of therapeutic encounters is a much more important skill than memorizing rote facts about heterogeneous groups which can then produce a narrow and incomplete view of diversity. It is also imperative for a fellow to learn the skill of self-reflection. Insight into one’s own worldview and its development is an essential piece of being able to recognize one’s own biases. We aim to challenge fellows to demonstrate an understanding of how personal attitudes and biases interplay in their clinical work. Ultimately, the promotion of cultural sensitivity in our training model allows fellows to genuinely respect world-views and harmoniously integrate self and other perspectives into assessment and treatment of the Veterans we serve.
Application Instructions
Please include a cover letter that describes your training and career goals and how the features of the Northport Fellowship would facilitate the realization of these goals. Please also indicate your dissertation status (e.g., defense scheduled, already defended, etc.) . Please indicate if you are applying to the Gero- psychology track, PCMH/HPDP track or both. Please also include a Curriculum Vitae, a letter good standing from your DCT and a copy of your graduate school transcript and letters of recommendation. Once we review your materials, we will contact you regarding whether we will be able to offer you an interview. Interviews will be held on a roll in basis and will be arranged at a mutually convenient time. Interviews can be held in person or by video conference based on preference of candidates. We seek applicants who are well-versed in conducting individual and group psychotherapy as well as clinical interviewing and diagnostic assessment. In particular, we are looking for applicants to demonstrate both a background and a career interest focused on health psychology and primary care mental health. Must be a US citizen.

This record was last updated on Thursday, August 15, 2024

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