The overarching goal of this major rotation is to train psychologists to be able to provide a full range of clinical primary care psychology services in multi-disciplinary healthcare teams, develop an array of interprofessional competencies and become leaders in this growing area of psychology. Interns will complete the internship identifying themselves as healthcare providers who are important members of healthcare teams. As a unique aspect of their training experience, interns will be exposed to and participate in many facets of medical resident education. They will become familiar with the roles that psychologists can have in medical education and will participate in the training of physicians in communications skills at both the graduate and undergraduate levels.
Interns will engage in the provision of primary care psychology services in collaboration with family physicians, psychiatrists, case managers, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, RN’s, MAs, social workers, medical students and residents. These services may include:
- Consultation regarding behavioral health questions and presenting problems
- Consulting with physicians about patient care, mental health and health behavior change
- Provision of team based care
- Teaching and supporting patient self management skills
- Facilitation of health-related support groups
- Individual patient assessment and intervention
- Health promotion/disease prevention interventions
- Psychological screening and assessments
Interns will contribute to the education and training of medical students and medical residents via:
- Collaborative care/clinical teaching
- Small group teaching
- Coaching physicians in techniques of health behavior change
- Video taping of clinic visits
- Medical precepting (supervision of psychosocial aspects of medical care)
- Hospital rounds
Interns may potentially participate in ongoing research and/or program development in community based medicine with options including:
- Serving on grant writing teams
- Participation in clinical home visits
- Participation in practice based research working groups
- Focal study of a selected underserved population
Interns will master a primary care psychology curriculum through:
- Direct patient care in the primary care setting
- Selected readings
- Attending lecture and seminar series
- Participation in medical school education activities, including Family Medicine, Rural Health and Psychiatry Grand Rounds
- Participation in weekly supervision sessions
- Supervised participation in a primary care health team
The rotation supervisors are well versed in evidence based approaches to interventions in primary care, medical specialty and traditional mental health settings. Trainees can expect to gain exposure to and expertise in behavioral therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, and health behavior change assessment and intervention.
Our patient population includes insured and underinsured patients from a large variety of ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds. It also includes refugees from Africa, Iraq, Iran, Russia and South East Asia, medical students and residents and medical school faculty.
The intern will receive a minimum of 2 hours of supervision per week.
Abbie O. Beacham, PhD, Associate Professor and Co-Director of Psychology Internship Program, Department of Family Medicine
Josette G. Harris, PhD, Professor of Psychiatry and Family Medicine, and Director of Behavioral Health, Co-Director of Psychology Internship Program, Department of Family Medicine
Deborah Seymour, PsyD, Associate Professor in Family Medicine
Joanna Sturhahn Stratton, PhD, Assistant Clinical Professor of Family Medicine