Post Doctoral Rsrch Assoc

Summary:

Description of Site

The Acceptance and Mindfulness-Based Partial Hospitalization Program at Rhode Island Hospital serves adults aged 18 years and older who present with a range of psychological problems, including mood and anxiety disorders, trauma and stress-related disorders, substance use disorders, and personality disorders. The program provides six hours of treatment per day, and the average length of stay for patients is 5-10 program days. As part of their treatment, all patients attend 3 groups per day, providing them with skills in values and goals clarification, greater acceptance towards difficult feelings and thoughts while engaging in meaningful behaviors, improving interpersonal relationships, and increasing mindfulness and other coping behaviors. Three specialty treatment tracks are currently available tailoring ACT for (1) trauma/PTSD, (2) young adult issues, and 3) borderline personality disorder/emotion regulation difficulties. Patients also receive individual therapy and medication management on a daily basis. Providers working in the program have completed training in ACT and participate in weekly ACT supervision/consultation meetings. Providers are also involved with efforts to promote sensitivity and responsiveness to diversity issues.

TELEHEALTH NOTE: In the context of global COVID-19 pandemic, staff and patient safety is of highest priority. For this reason, in Summer 2020, the Partial Hospital Program converted to an entirely telehealth-based model, providing all clinical care, supervision, and staff meetings virtually via video chat. Of course, the COVID-19 pandemic continues to evolve, and we cannot foresee precisely how systems of care will adapt to meet this challenge. As of Fall 2020 and currently as of this writing in Fall 2023, with very few exceptions, all fellowship activities described herein are conducted virtually. However, while the program itself is virtual, office space is provided for fellows who choose to work on site.

Responsibilities:

Fellowship Aims

1. To provide the fellow with post-doctoral training in the areas of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and adult psychopathology.

2. To provide the fellow with post-doctoral training in the delivery of evidence-based individual and group interventions for patients with a wide range of mental health problems at partial hospitalization and outpatient levels of care.

3. To provide the fellow with training in service delivery as part of a multidisciplinary treatment team.

4. To provide the fellow with a working knowledge and training on skills necessary to conduct research in the areas of treatment outcomes and adult psychopathology. This may include analyzing data from existing datasets and preparing manuscripts for publication, involvement in ongoing research projects, presenting data at research conferences, writing grant proposals, and attendance at research meetings.

Fellowship Timeline

The duration of the fellowship is 1 year. The anticipated start date is flexible July-September 2025. Activities are distributed as follows: 70% clinical time, 20% research time, and 10% didactic time.

Clinical Activity Plan (70%)

70% of the Fellow's time (28 hours/week) will be devoted to clinical activities in the Acceptance and Mindfulness-Based Adult Partial Hospitalization Program and the Outpatient Psychiatry Practice. In order to ensure that the fellow receives a high level of clinical training in the area of ACT, the following activities will be required during the fellowship:

1. Treatment Services (25 hours per week): The Fellow will provide treatment services in the partial program, which will include individual and group psychotherapy. The program runs from 8:00AM to 2:00PM. In addition, the Fellow will provide individual Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to patients on an outpatient basis, some of whom may be stepping down from their partial hospitalization. The Fellow will demonstrate competence in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to treat adults with a range of mental health problems, including anxiety and mood disorders, trauma and stress-related disorders, substance use disorders, and personality disorders. Although the primary focus is on training in ACT, other interventions may be utilized such as mindfulness-based treatments and elements from other third wave behavioral treatments (e.g., Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), ACT-enhanced exposure therapy). The Fellow also will demonstrate competency in developing sophisticated case conceptualizations that reflect working knowledge of the ACT/contextual behavioral theoretical models and creating individualized evidence-based treatment plans that will allow for objectively measuring treatment effectiveness. Depending upon clinical interests and clinic needs, the Fellow may be involved with either the young adult or BPD/emotion regulation difficulties specialty treatment tracks that tailor ACT for these specific areas of concern. The Fellow will be encouraged to develop group programming that aligns with their clinical interests and identified clinic needs.

Clinical Documentation (included in the activity above): The Fellow will have the ability to maintain accurate records and to document case formulations, treatment plans, discharge plans, and progress notes in a timely, concise, and clear manner.

2. Clinical Assessment (1.5 hours per week): The Fellow will conduct individual therapy on an outpatient basis as part of the standing outpatient practice after partial hospital hours. Competency will be demonstrated in using evidence-based biopsychosocial principles to conceptualize mental disorders (e.g., applying when useful: DSM-5 criteria, contextual behavioral principles, cognitive behavioral models, etc.), integrating information and preparing case conceptualizations, and implementing evidence-based care on an outpatient basis. The Fellow will be encouraged to develop a caseload that aligns with their clinical and training interests.

3. Membership on a Multidisciplinary Treatment Team (1.5 hour per week): The Fellow will demonstrate the ability to function as an independent clinician as a member of a multidisciplinary treatment team consisting of psychologists, master's-level therapists, psychiatrists, and trainees from a variety of disciplines (e.g., physician assistants). His/her interactions with other providers will demonstrate an understanding of the responsibilities and limitations of a psychologist in a psychiatric setting. The Fellow will demonstrate competency in communicating with providers of different disciplines and developing comprehensive treatment plans in full collaboration with the treatment team.

4. Licensure: The Fellow will apply for licensure as a psychologist in relevant states for their post-training employment.

Research Activity Plan (20%)

20% (approximately 8 hours/week) of the Fellow's time will be spent on research activities related to treatment outcomes for adults at the partial hospital program and adult psychopathology in a partial hospital or outpatient setting. The Fellow will have access to an existing database of treatment outcome measures as part of the partial hospital's ongoing treatment outcome research, as well as existing databases of adult psychopathology in psychiatric outpatient and bariatric surgery populations. Potential areas for research participation and collaboration, under the supervision of Dr. Dalrymple, will include the following:

• Review of the literature on the treatment efficacy of ACT.
• Outcomes for adults with a range of mental health problems receiving ACT in a partial hospital setting.
• The effect of baseline characteristics on treatment outcomes, and changes in process variables over time.
• The development and validation of new measures for use with patients in a partial hospital and/or outpatient setting.

The Fellow will work with his/her research supervisors to identify areas of interest, to review relevant literature, and to pursue a research question by using the existing research infrastructure and/or by implementing additional data collection techniques. The Fellow will be encouraged to collaborate with other researchers on the team on preparation of manuscripts for publication and/or for presentation at national conferences. The Fellow also may choose to collaborate with researchers on the team on grant preparation to pursue funding for new research initiatives. The Fellow will be encouraged to attend a weekly meeting at which recent research articles are reviewed and discussed. Ad hoc reviewing opportunities may be made available with the research mentors for fellows interested in learning about the editorial review process for refereed journals. Finally, research activities will include collecting data on functioning, diagnosis, and treatment outcomes as part of group and individual treatment at the partial program.

Didactics (10%)

10% time (Approximately 4 hours/week) is available for didactics. The Fellow will participate in post-doctoral seminars through the Brown Postdoctoral Training Program. If the optional didactic (Academic Friday) is chosen, this time will come out of the 20% research time.

Mandatory Didactics:

Core Seminar Series (1 per month, 1.5 hours);

DPHB Academic Grand Rounds (1 per month, 1 hour);

Clinical Ethics Seminar Series (1 per month, 1 hour)

Clinical Postdoctoral Seminar Series (1 per month, 1 hour)

Optional Didactics:

Grantsmanship Seminars (1 hour per week)

Special Topics in Statistics and Research Methods (1 hour per week)

Supervision and Evaluation

Supervision (4 hours/week) will be provided in the form of three hours of weekly individual clinical supervision with licensed psychologists on site (Core supervisors: Drs. Mele, Cohn, Depner, Donahue, Fischer, Khoo), one of whom will be primary clinical supervisor overseeing PHP individual cases, another will supervise PHP groups, and a third will supervise outpatient psychotherapy. As needed, supervision may also be provided by additional PHP faculty supervisors (e.g., feedback on groups during PHP orientation process, consultation in team meetings). One hour per week of group research supervision will be provided by Dr. Dalrymple. Dr. Mele serves as the coordinator for the fellowship.

At every 6 months for the duration of the fellowship, the fellow and the supervisors will provide formal evaluations, and evaluations of the program relative to the goals and learning objectives of the fellowship. Fellows are also offered the opportunity to select a non-evaluative mentor to receive professional development support.

Please visit the Brown Faculty page to view supervisor profiles.

Resource Requirements

Fellow will be provided with the following resources:

* Access to space appropriate for clinical care

* A computer and project specific software

* Internet access

* Telephone

* For CPP fellows, individual office space is provided.

Path toward licensure: YES__X___ NO_____ The Fellow will receive clinical hours toward licensing through the clinical activity plan.

Reporting and Approval

This fellowship will be part of the CPP. The position will be discussed at an upcoming meeting of the Adult Track

Other information:
Completion of a doctoral program in psychology (psyd or phd) required.

Brown University Health is an Equal Opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, ethnicity, sexual orientation, ancestry, genetics, gender identity or expression, disability, protected veteran, or marital status. Brown University Health is a VEVRAA Federal Contractor.

Location: Rhode Island Hospital, USA:RI:Providence

Work Type: Full Time

Shift: Shift 1

Union: Non-Union