Child and Adolescent Track
Child & Adolescent Psychology Internship Training Track Director
Overview
The Child and Adolescent Psychology track of the internship program seeks to provide diverse opportunities for specialized clinical training with children, adolescents, and families. Although we embrace the scientist-practitioner model in Psychology and the Department of Psychiatry, we view the internship year as a pivotal clinical year that is essential to the development of all professional psychologists, even those who will go on to be full-time researchers. Therefore, the majority of the interns' time is spent in clinical training activities, although we do provide elective opportunities for engaging in clinical research according to the interests and career goals of the intern.
The goals of the program are to enhance each trainee's knowledge base and clinical skills in relation to developmental psychopathology, assessment, treatment planning, and treatment implementation. These goals are consistent with the six core competencies (diagnosis and assessment, treatment, consultation and administration of clinical programs, ethical understanding and behavior, exemplary professional development and demeanor, supervision and/or teaching and scholarship) that we address during the training year.
The internship is comprised of a sequence of didactic/clinical seminars and a series of supervised clinical experiences with children and adolescents experiencing a broad range of psychological disturbances. The training program emphasizes understanding children, adolescents, and families from a developmental and systems perspective. Diagnostic evaluations are followed by patient-specific treatment planning. A wide range of diagnostic and treatment skills are utilized. For example, treatment may involve one or more of the following modalities: individual, group, family, sibling, and parent consultation. Intensive supervision is provided to facilitate each trainee's professional growth. Four child and adolescent internship positions are typically offered each year.
Clinical Rotations
Outpatient Rotation, 12 months
Rotation Coordinator: Linda Alpert-Gillis, Ph.D.
Faculty Supervisors: Kathryn Castle, Ph.D., Wendi Cross, Ph.D., Sarah Jonovich, Ph.D., Kenya Malcolm, Ph.D., Deanna Sams, Ph.D., and Jennifer West, Ph.D.
Interns participate in an outpatient rotation through their internship year in the Strong Behavioral Health: Child and Adolescent Outpatient Services. Patients at Outpatient Services include children from infancy through age 18 with a wide range of psychopathology and from diverse socioeconomic and ethnic backgrounds. Interns have approximately 10-12 hours of outpatient contacts per week involving both assessment and treatment. All therapy rooms are equipped with audio-visual equipment to allow trainees to videotape their patient contacts for supervision.
Assessment – While on the outpatient rotation, interns will regularly conduct diagnostic evaluations that involve the use of empirically validated assessment tools and collateral contacts with parents/families, schools and medical professionals.
Treatment – Interns deliver a variety of treatment modalities including individual, family, group, and parent consultation. While interns are expected to see patients across the developmental spectrum with a variety of presenting problems, there is the opportunity for interns to tailor their caseload to meet their particular clinical interests and professional goals. The use of evidence-based approaches is emphasized.
Psychologcal Testing & Consultation – Interns perform psychological evaluations throughout the training year, though the majority of evaluations take place during the six-month Inpatient Rotation (as described below). Other referral sources include the Adolescent Partial Hospital Program (PHP), Child &Adolescent Outpatient Services, and Pediatrics.
Psychological consultation is conducted when there is a need for diagnostic clarification, clarification of levels of social, emotional, intellectual, or behavioral functioning, or development of specialized treatment plans. A consultation may include formal psychological assessment (testing), which is the process of assessing emotional, behavioral, personality, intellectual, and adaptive functioning through a variety of tools, such as standardized tests, rating scales, self-report measures, and observations. However, consultation does not always include the use of standardized tests. Sometimes, consultations (e.g., clinical interview, chart review) are requested to determine whether the use of psychological tests is clinically indicated.
Test batteries are constucted based on the individual referral questions. Commonly used instruments include: objective measures (e.g., Adolescent Psychopathology Scale, MMPI-A, MACI/M-PACI, CDI/BDI, R-CMAS), projective measures (e.g., Rorschach - Exner System, Roberts Apperception Test, Incomplete Sentences) and parent report measures (e.g., BASC, Conners). When cognitive assessments are needed, commonly used instruments include teh WISC-IV, WASI, and WAIS. Infrequently, evaluations include full assessment of cognitive ability and academic functioning; these referrals typically originate from Outpatient Services.
Interns are provided with initial orientation to the Testing Service, as well as participate in in-depth seminars regarding objective and projective components to psychological assessments. These trainings take place in the beginning of the training year. Throughout the course of the training year, interns are provided with ongoing supervision on each psychological evaluation / consultation they are assigned. Supervision takes place at each stage of the process, beginning with test selection based on the referral question.
Though interns receive extensive training and supervision regarding psychological testing over the training year, it is extremely important for incoming interns to have a strong foundation (both academic and practical) in test selection, scoring, interpretation, and report writing. Though it is beneficial for interns to have had experience with the Rorschach prior to internship, this is not a requirement of the program.
Inpatient Rotation, 6 months
Supervisor: Deanna Sams, Ph.D.
Each intern participates in a 6-month inpatient rotation on the Child and Adolescent Inpatient Service. The inpatient units provide assessment and crisis stabilization for approximately 22 children and adolescents with an average length of stay of 10 days. Patients are admitted to the inpatient unit for a variety of reasons, including risk of harm to themselves or others, behavioral instability, deterioration in functioning and psychosis.
While on this rotation, the intern works closely with the inpatient psychologist to provide psychological assessment, consultation, and treatment to both the adolescent and child units. He/she is a part of the interdisciplinary treatment team, and participates in clinical rounds treatment team meetings on the unit several times per week. The intern is assigned between 1-2 child and/or adolescent psychological testing cases per week, when requested by the inpatient treatment teams (though the specific amount of cases varies based on number of referrals).
The interns also facilitate skills-based group therapy sessions for child patients twice weekly. Interns may also be assigned individual patients with whom they provide individual cognitive-behavioral therapy. Finally, interns facilitate family therapy sessions as part of the "Family Movie Night" program. This innovative program aims to improve family communication using entertaining and inspiring movies as a catalyst for discussion and a mechanism for families to practice their communication skills. Interns facilitate up to two family movie sessions weekly.
Throughout the inpatient rotation, the interns will gain intensive exposure and experience with the Collaborative Problem Solving approach (developed by Ross Greene, Ph.D.) as it applies to the inpatient milieu. As such, interns spend time interacting with patients and families informally in the milieu, as well as providing consultation to unit staff.
- Interns on the inpatient rotation are assigned testing cases as described above. During the other 6 months of the internship year, interns are assigned approximately 1-2 outpatient or Partial Hospital testing cases per month. The patients represent a broad spectrum of developmental and psychological disturbances. Intensive supervision is provided for both inpatient and outpatient testing, including supervision of test administration, scoring, report writing, and feedback
Minor Pediatric Behavioral Health Rotations, 6 months
During the 6-month block opposite the Inpatient Rotation, interns spend 4 hours a week as members of the Pediatric Behavioral Health Service, providing clinical service in the General Pediatrics Clinic of the Golisano Children's Hospital. The General Pediatrics Clinic is one of the largest pediatric practices in Monroe County, serving about 13,000 patients. Interns provide a consulation-focused service, which includes an initial evaluation, treatment recommendations, short-term treatment, crisis management and consultation with medical providers. Typical presenting problems include a wide range of adjustment difficulties, mood disorders, parenting support, anxiety/trauma, behavioral disorders, school problems, and other behavioral/emotional difficulties. Patients range from 2 years to 21 years and come from a diverse background. Weekly supervision is lead by a psychology faculty member and provided in a group format during the 4 hour rotation in Pediatrics
Elective Opportunities, 6 months
During the 6-month block opposite the Inpatient Rotation, interns have the option of doing a 4-hour elective experience. Elective experiences may be clinical in nature (typically in Pediatric Specialty Clinic such as Endocrine, Pulmonary, or GI). Interns carry a small caseload and provide assessment and short-term treatment addressing clinical issues including quality of life and adjustment to illness; medical adherence; pain and discomfort; and addressing psychological disorders within pediatric settings. Interns who elect to do the Pediatric Behavioral Health Service rotation may also have the opportunity to participate in the following experiences: Craniofacial Clinic and the Department of Pediatrics Grand Rounds. Research elective opportunities vary each year, depending on the needs of departmental researchers and funding status of their projects. Previous interns have been involved in research projects focused on school-based preventive programs (Rochester Resilience Program: PIs Wyman & Cross) and suicide prevention (Sources of Strength: PI Wyman).
Following the Match, the Track Director contacts each intern to discuss specific elective opportunities that will be available for the subsequent training year. There may also be the opportunity for an intern to design their own elective.
Supervision
Individual Supervision – Interns receive a minimum of 2 hours of individual supervision per week. Supervision is conducted by both full-time and adjunct faculty members with a wide range of theoretical approaches and includes videotape review and live supervision. Giving and receiving feedback, both positive and constructive, is an important focus of supervision in our program. Informal feedback occurs throughout the training year, with more formal, written feedback given every three months.
Group Psychotherapy/Group Supervision – Interns receive specialized training in group psychotherapy with children and adolescents. The intern will gain experience in screening and selecting patients for group participation, co-leading groups, and integrating group treatment with individual psychotherapy. Interns receive weekly videotaped group supervision of the groups they lead. Supervision is held for 1.5 hours weekly for the internship year.
Core Didactic/Experiential Learning
Diagnostic Clinic – Each intern participates in a two and a half hour per week diagnostic clinic in the Child and Adolescent Outpatient Service. This experience is designed to provide live supervision of diagnostic work involving children and parents. The interns participate on a "diagnostic team" and are observed by the supervising faculty and other members of the team through one-way viewing facilities. Each clinical encounter is preceded and followed by group discussion with the supervising faculty member. At the completion of each three-week evaluation, the diagnostic findings and recommendations are made to the family. Interns often continue to provide treatment to patients seen in Diagnostic Clinic if appropriate.
Psychotherapy Seminar – The overall goal of the Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy Seminar is to enhance general therapy skills and build competency in the delivery of select empirically based treatments for children and adolescents. The seminar meets weekly for two hours from August through June and includes both psychology and psychiatry trainees. General therapy skills that are covered include: a) the role of the therapist and therapy, b) core competencies (e.g., reflective listening, autonomy, limit-setting), c) treatment planning; d) therapy tools for children and adolescents (e.g., books, activities, art materials), and e) termination.
Treatments that have been covered in the seminar include: Family Therapy, Behavioral Parenting Treatment, Collaborative Problem Solving, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Anxiety, and Depression, Behavioral Treatment of Encopresis, and Behavioral Treatment of Sleep Disorders. Each section of the seminar includes a didactic component and a supervision component. Trainees are required to bring videotaped recordings of therapy sessions to the supervision focused meetings to share with the group and receive feedback. Cultural factors are discussed throughout the seminar.
Multicultural Training Series – Each year opportunities exist for all psychology trainees and psychiatry residents to participate in interdisciplinary multicultural training focused on increased cultural awareness and skill building.
Multicultural Case Conference Luncheon Series – This monthly series provides an opportunity for trainees to present and discuss cultural formulations from their casework. Participants must present at least one formal cultural formulation from his/her casework during the course of the year
Department of Psychiatry Grand Rounds – Weekly forum held September through June to hear local or nationally or internationally prominent speakers present in an area of their expertise and on current topics in mental health.
Professional Development Luncheons – Each month the Internship Training Director hosts a luncheon that includes invited faculty speakers. The meetings are used to promote aspects of professional development such as finding a fellowship or job after internship, and discussing ethical issues and dilemmas.
Brown Bag Lunch with the Training Director – Interns have a monthly lunch with the Child and Adolescent Psychology Internship Training Director where they can discuss questions or concerns related to the training program or their professional development, or provide feedback about the internship. Interns also have monthly individual meetings with the Training Director.
