Adult Health Psychology

Consistent with the overall purpose of a clinical psychology internship, the primary goal of the Adult Psychiatry/Health Psychology track is on the acquisition of clinical skills and further development of scientist-practitioners. Specific training objectives of the Adult Psychiatry/Health Psychology program include:

• Provide interns with a core knowledge base of psychological interventions as applied to adult outpatient populations in both individual and group contexts.
• Enhance knowledge and skills in interventions that facilitate self-management of chronic medical conditions, such as mindfulness and acceptance-based interventions, self-compassion-based interventions, hypnosis, behavioral sleep management, and cognitive-behavioral strategies for pain and illness management.
• Enhance knowledge and skills in psychological interventions delivered in brief consultation and single-time interventions, such as periprocedural intervention.
• Gain experience in interdisciplinary care teams, both in direct participation and consultation and indirectly via attendance at multidisciplinary team meetings and participation in multidisciplinary case conference discussions.
• Gain training and experience in outpatient diagnosis and (both individual and group) cognitive behavioral therapy as applied to diverse psychiatric disorders and their co-occurrence with medical conditions.
• Further develop research skills and expertise.

At the end of the internship, the intern should be able to function competently, autonomously, and with confidence in a variety of adult outpatient clinical settings as a scientist-practitioner. The intern will be well-prepared to apply for health psychology specialty postdoctoral training experiences.

The Adult Psychiatry/Health Psychology intern will spend approximately 3.5 days per week engaged in activities related to core training in psychotherapy, one-half day of didactic training, and one day at a secondary placement. Specifically, the Adult Psychiatry/Health Psychology track will include 2.5 days of provision of individual and group psychotherapy in an outpatient integrative medicine clinic, 1 day in a separate subspecialty health clinic (e.g. urologic surgery), one half day of didactics, and 1 day per week at a secondary placement. Details regarding the Adult Psychiatry/Health Psychology emphasis training and complementary training experiences are described in detail below.

Training Experiences Available

Health and Behavior Assessment and Intervention: The intern will become competent in the assessment of adults (presenting in outpatient settings) across the psychiatric spectrum presenting with co-occurring medical conditions. This specific type of assessment is referred to as “Health and Behavior” Assessment. Assessment is conducted through health-focused clinical interviews, and an evaluation of a patient’s response to disease/illness, outlook, coping strategies, and motivation and adherence to medical treatment (APA, 2002). Health and behavior interventions are conducted with individuals, groups, and occasionally families to include promotion of functional improvement, minimization of psychological factors that influence illness and recovery, and promotion of self-management and improved coping with medical conditions. These skills will be emphasized throughout the year in all health-focused clinical settings.

Outpatient Integrative Medicine: The Osher Center for Integrative Medicine at Vanderbilt (OCIM) provides advanced training to psychology interns and fellows who wish to build a career that emphasizes a balance of clinical service and consultation within a dynamic, interdisciplinary integrative medical setting. OCIM is a large and well utilized integrative medical center that provides services to adolescents and adults with a broad spectrum of complex illnesses. One of only seven Osher Centers for Integrative Medicine in the world, OCIM is committed to improving lives through clinical care, education, and research in integrative medicine and health psychology. The clinic has strong foundations in mindfulness-based and clinical hypnosis services and focuses on a relationship-centered care model with patients, who are often engaged with multiple practitioners from different disciplines simultaneously. The relational care model emphasizes the role of trauma in the expression of illness. Services include individual and group therapy, mindfulness-based interventions, and hypnosis for patients with chronic medical conditions.

Under the supervision of licensed psychologists, psychology interns assume many of the functions and responsibilities of center staff and are afforded ongoing opportunities, both formal and informal, for collaboration and consultation with a wide range of providers. The Adult Psychiatry/Health Psychology intern can also receive formal training in mindfulness facilitation and clinical hypnosis as a part of their training year, as these trainings are offered.

Outpatient Urology: The Adult Psychiatry/Health Psychology intern will have the opportunity to participate in a multidisciplinary outpatient clinic in the Division of Reconstructive Urology and Pelvic Health. Training experiences include brief psychotherapy to support treatment, pre/post-procedural intervention to facilitate medical procedures in-vivo, and multidisciplinary consultations with medical providers and patients. Further, specific group services for Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms are currently being developed and may be available as an additional training experiences in the coming year. For further reading about clinical innovations in this area please click here.

Additional Health Focus Areas: The Adult Psychiatry/Health Psychology intern will spend approximately 3.5 days per week engaged in activities related to core training in psychotherapy, one-half day of didactic training, and one day at a secondary placement. Specifically, the Adult Psychiatry/Health Psychology track will include 2.5 days of provision of individual and group psychotherapy in an outpatient integrative medicine clinic, 1 day in a separate subspecialty health clinic (e.g. urologic surgery), one half day of didactics, and 1 day per week at a secondary placement. Details regarding the Adult Psychiatry/Health Psychology emphasis training and complementary training experiences are described in detail below.

Psychotherapy: Interns are required to provide psychotherapy in both group and individual formats. Specific approaches include cognitive-behavioral, mindfulness-based interventions, skills-based training (e.g. self-hypnosis), and psychoeducational groups. Participation in other specialized groups is also possible based on availability and scheduling. Additional potential groups examples include Seeking Safety (a trauma-focused group) or a Relational Process Group.

• Outpatient psychotherapy. Individual psychotherapy focuses on integrative approaches that combine cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and related evidence-based practices to best meet the needs and clinical conceptualization of the patient. The diversity of patient presentations and related empirical treatment models allows the intern to tailor their training experiences to meet their specific goals. There is an high proportion of trauma survivors in chronic pain populations, and thus the intern will gain ample experience working with this specific co-morbidity throughout the year.
• Group Therapy. The Adult Health Psychology intern will receive training in providing group psychotherapy across a range of interventions and conditions during the training year.