Fellowship Type: Clinical Fellowship

The Seattle Division of VA Puget Sound Health Care System offers a 2 year APA-accredited Clinical Neuropsychology Fellowship. This fellowship is designed to provide comprehensive training that will result in advanced professional practice and competency in Neuropsychology. Training in clinical neuropsychology and brain-behavior relationships takes place through didactic and experiential training in Neuropsychological Assessment/Consultation, Cognitive Rehabilitation Interventions, Consultation/Liaison, Scientific Practice and Research, Didactics/ Teaching/Supervision, and demonstration of knowledge of Ethics and Diversity.  The fellowship maintains a core curriculum, but there is some flexibility in the breakdown of time depending on the goals of the fellow.  Most time is spent in clinical activities, while research activities can account for up to 40% of the fellow’s time (this percentage is negotiable depending on prior experience and research goals, with most fellows engaging in research for 30% of their time). Approximately 10% of time is spent on didactics and 5% is spent on administrative duties. The rigor of this fellowship is consistent with the Division 40/Houston Conference Guidelines in providing the foundation for trainees to pursue board certification in Clinical Neuropsychology.

The University of Washington (UW), the Washington Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS), and the Child Study and Treatment Center (CSTC) sponsor a year-long fellowship in juvenile forensic services and child/adolescent psychology. Applicants must have obtained their doctoral degree from an APA-accredited institution and completed an APA-accredited pre-doctoral internship.

This fellowship is designed to provide forensic and clinical training, including pretrial evaluations and evidence-based interventions for severely mentally ill youth and their families. Fellows divide their time between conducting court-ordered evaluations of minors and delivering evidence-based interventions to inpatients and their families. All activities occur within multi-disciplinary settings, including exposure to the administrative functioning of a hospital setting.

The Washington Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) Office of Forensic Mental Health Services (OFMHS) sponsors a year-long fellowship in forensic psychology at ​Western State Hospital (WSH)​. The fellowship training program offers expertise in the area of forensic evaluation and assessment with emphasis on preparing applicants for independent practice and board certification in forensic psychology.

Forensic evaluators, and fellows under the direct supervision of a licensed psychologist, primarily provide pretrial evaluation services to inform local courts regarding a defendant’s capacity to proceed to trial and mental state evaluations. Additionally, forensic evaluators participate in the civil commitment process as well as post-adjudication assessments of violence risk for individuals adjudicated as Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity. Our fellowship is approved as a qualifying program by the American Board of Forensic Psychology to offer a waiver of the 5-year experience requirement for forensic board certification applicants (approval period 2018-2023).

The University of Washington Department of Psychiatry and Child Study & Treatment Center (CSTC) sponsor a year-long postdoctoral fellowship in child and family clinical psychology. The goal of the fellowship is to hone clinical expertise in the practice of child and family psychology in an inpatient setting (group, individual and family therapy). Child Study and Treatment Center (CSTC) is a State and Federally funded, TJC/CMS accredited, long-term inpatient psychiatric hospital established to treat children and adolescents who cannot be served in less-restrictive settings. CSTC serves children from throughout the State of Washington and is the only State operated children’s psychiatric hospital in Washington.

Overview

In recognition of the burden of disease and mortality associated with substance use disorders, the Veterans Health Administration designated enhancement funds in the early 1990s to establish the VA Puget Sound Healthcare System Center of Excellence in Substance Addiction Treatment and Education (CESATE). The CESATE serves as a national resource, with a mission of improving the quality, clinical outcomes and cost-effectiveness of health care for Veterans with substance use disorders. Since its inception, the Seattle CESATE’s service goals have been to 1) develop, implement, evaluate, and disseminate best clinical practices and educational initiatives along the continuum of care for substance use disorders, 2) provide education and training in treatment of substance use disorders, 3) provide consultation and technical assistance to program managers, medical center leadership and VA Central Office on issues relevant to quality care of Veterans with substance use disorders, and 4) conduct clinical, health services, and educational research to improve the health of Veterans with substance use disorders. Additionally, we remain alert to national trends in substance misuse, gaps in healthcare services, as well as new treatments and VA priorities.

Since the early 1990’s the CESATE has been home to the Interprofessional Fellowship in Substance Addiction Treatment, a specialized clinical fellowship in the interprofessional team approach to substance use disorder treatment. Through a combination of intensive clinical training within the VA Puget Sound Addiction Treatment Center, developing knowledge and skills in program development, program evaluation, and/or clinical and health services research, and interprofessional didactic experiences, fellows from up to three clinical disciplines develop advanced skills in working therapeutically with Veterans with substance use disorders, become more familiar with the unique contributions that their professional disciplines make to treatment, and become better able to integrate these professional contributions in an interprofessional treatment process. Fellowship positions are full-time, typically one year in length, and available for disciplines including Psychology, Social Work, and Chaplaincy. To promote training in program development or clinical or health services research, a second-year fellowship is available for qualified candidates.

Goals of Interprofessional Fellowship

Our primary goal is to provide fellows with an excellent training experience in the interprofessional assessment and treatment of those with substance use disorders – one that will prepare them to assume clinical, academic, and/or administrative leadership positions in substance use disorder treatment within the Department of Veterans Affairs, in Academic Medical Centers, and in the community. The goals and objectives of the Interprofessional Fellowship program are common across disciplines, providing fellows with learning experiences deemed essential for all professionals working in addictive behaviors. The curriculum provides a range of structured clinical and didactic activities that allow individualized training, using individualized learning plans, to meet more specialized, discipline-specific goals and interests of fellows. A secondary goal is to increase knowledge and advance skills in program development, program evaluation, and/or clinical and health services research relevant to Veterans with substance use disorders.

Fellows can expect to develop advanced levels of knowledge and skills in assessment and intervention, quality improvement, clinical research strategies, and administration. Moreover, they can expect continued professional development, including further consolidation of professional identity, increased confidence in assuming an advanced level of professional responsibility, and advanced knowledge and skills in ethics, professional and legal standards, and in culturally competent practice.