Psychology Postdoctoral Training

COVID-19 Impacts on our Training Programs – The health and safety of our postdoctoral fellows is our highest priority. Our network of programs follow COVID-related institutional requirements in place at Michigan Medicine and the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System with a focus on flexibility, adaptability, and equity. Recruitment for our next cohort of postdoctoral fellows will be conducted virtually.

Program Description

Michigan Medicine and the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System (VAAAHS) have collaborated to create a Network of training programs, consisting of two dual-site programs and two single-site programs. The two dual-site programs are in Clinical Neuropsychology and Clinical Psychology, and the single-site programs are in Clinical Child Psychology and in Mental Health Treatment and Research (at SMITREC). The Clinical Neuropsychology and Clinical Child Psychology programs are both additionally accredited as specialty practice areas. The overall Training Network – The Michigan Medicine/VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System Network of Postdoctoral Training Programs in Psychology - is led by the Psychology Training Committee Chair, J. Todd Arnedt, Ph.D.

Michigan Medicine and VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System provide a rich interdisciplinary training environment with seminars, invited lectures, and opportunities for collaboration with faculty across disciplines and departments.  Fellows are offered a diverse set of clinical experiences in assessment, treatment, and consultation with a focus on empirically-based treatments; mentorship in conducting independent clinical research; and didactics focused on professional development, the integration of science and practice, cultural and individual diversity, and ethics and the law.

The training philosophy of the programs within this network is rooted in the scientist-practitioner model. The institutional philosophy and values of all the Network programs are focused on normative healthcare ethical values of beneficence, non-malfeasance, and social contract in a context of public service. The overarching aim of the network of postdoctoral program is to develop practitioner-scientists who are capable of working in a variety of settings for psychologists.  The specific Aims of our training programs include:

Aim #1: To train psychology postdoctoral fellows to an advanced level of competency in the provision of psychology services for a variety of professional settings.

Aim #2: To train psychology postdoctoral fellows to an advanced level of competency in clinical research to be capable of independent and systematic clinical research.

Aim #3: To train psychology postdoctoral fellows to an advanced level of competency with respect to professionalism and ethical conduct to be able to function as independent practitioners for a range of professional settings.

Program Goals and Competencies

The primary goal of the training programs is to provide training at an advanced level of competency in the areas of clinical service, scholarly inquiry, professionalism and ethical conduct. The design of the programs in the Training Network is based on six core competencies, including:

  1. Integration of Science and Practice (Level 1)
  2. Ethical and Legal Standards (Level 1)
  3. Individual and Cultural Diversity (Level 1)
  4. Assessment/Intervention*
  5. Research (Level 2)
  6. Individual Professional Development (Level 2)

*Assessment and Intervention is a Level 2 competency for the Clinical Psychology Consortium and a Level 3 competency for the Clinical Child Psychology specialty program. The Clinical Neuropsychology Consortium specialty program identifies Assessment as its Level 3 competency.

Specific Training Programs

The Michigan Medicine/VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System Network of Postdoctoral Training Programs in Psychology offers four programs:

  1. Clinical Psychology Consortium (Adult), under the direction of J. Todd Arnedt, Ph.D. (Michigan Medicine) and Beau Nelson, Ph.D. (VAAAHS).
  2. Clinical Neuropsychology Consortium, under the direction of Kristen Votruba, Ph.D., ABPP (Michigan Medicine) and Robert Spencer, Ph.D. (VAAAHS).
  3. Clinical Child Psychology, under the direction of Emily Bilek, Ph.D., ABPP
  4. SMITREC VA Fellowship Program in Mental Illness Treatment and Research, under the direction of Nick Bowersox, Ph.D., ABPP.

For the two-site programs, postdoc fellows select a primary site (Michigan Medicine or VAAAHS) but are encouraged to obtain training opportunities across both sites during the fellowship training.

Program Structure

The fellowship is structured to provide fellows with a balance of advanced training in direct clinical service, supervision/teaching, clinical research, and didactics.  The balance of training activities allows fellows to gain supervised training in evidence-based practice, develop critical research skills, and cultivate a professional identity in order to function independently across diverse professional settings.

Clinical Training

Postdoctoral fellows receive supervised in-depth training in assessment, consultation, and treatment with a focus on evidence-based treatments. Fellows spend from 50-80% of the work week in activities related to direct patient care, following an individualized training plan developed in conjunction with their faculty mentors.

Supervision/Teaching

Postdoctoral fellows receive a minimum of two hours of individual supervision each week with attending psychologists and faculty mentors. Fellows may also be provided with the opportunity to obtain tiered supervision in order to develop their own clinical supervision skills. Additional supervision of undergraduate students who work with faculty and fellows on a wide variety of research projects is also available. In addition, fellows may provide assistance in teaching seminars with faculty members.

Clinical Research Training

Research is a significant emphasis of all training programs in the Network. Postdoctoral fellows include a research component in their individual training plan that ranges from 10-40% of their training time.  Research opportunities can range from quality improvement projects to applications for external funding of independent research projects. Fellows select academic/research mentors to assist with the development and refinement of critical research skills, such as peer-reviewed manuscript writing, grant development and submissions, and conference submissions and presentations.

Didactics

Postdoctoral fellows participate in a core curriculum in addition to individually tailored learning activities that equate to roughly 4 hours/week opportunities. The Clinical Neuropsychology and Clinical Child Psychology specialty programs have additional didactic requirements. The current core curriculum for all postdoctoral fellows consists of the following activities:

  • Postdoctoral Forum (Weekly)
  • Bioethics Grand Rounds (Minimum 2/year)
  • Research Education (Site Specific)
  • Individually tailored didactics (e.g., Psychiatry/Neurology Grand Rounds, International Case Conference, Rackham Professional Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Certificate)

Fellowship Duration

The Clinical Psychology Consortium is accredited as a one year position. Fellows in the Consortium at the Michigan Medicine site have the option (and are encouraged) to continue their training for a second postdoctoral year to enhance their research and advanced clinical training portfolio, provided that resources are available and program performance has been adequate.

Fellowships in the Clinical Neuropsychology Consortium, Clinical Child Psychology program, and the SMITREC program are two years in duration. 

Start date for all Network postdoctoral programs is September 1st of each year.

How to Apply

Accreditation

The Clinical Psychology Consortium, Clinical Neuropsychology Consortium, and Clinical Child Psychology programs are accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of the American Psychological Association (APA). The Clinical Psychology program is accredited as a 1-year program and the Clinical Neuropsychology and Clinical Child Psychology programs are both accredited as 2-year Specialty Programs. The SMITREC program is not accredited. Questions related to the accreditation status of the programs in the Training Network should be directed to the Commission on Accreditation:

Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation, American Psychological Association
750 1st Street NE, Washington, DC 20002
Phone: 202.336.5979   Email: [email protected]   Web: accreditation.apa.org

Admissions, Support, and Initial Placement Data