Psychology Practicum Training Cambridge Health Alliance/Harvard Medical School

Psychology Practicum Training Cambridge Health Alliance/Harvard Medical School 2018-2019 David Stewart, Ph.D., Director of Psychology and Psychology Training

Carolyn Conklin, Ph.D., Director of Psychology Practicum Training

Adult Neuropsychological and Psychological Assessment Margaret Lanca, Ph.D., Director of Neuropsychology and Psychological Assessment

The Cambridge Health Alliance offers advanced practicum training at the pre-internship level. In order to help you get to know the testing particular practicum better, we provide this overview of what we anticipate offering for the 2018-2019 training year. As we are a system in transition, some of these program components may be subject to change.

Program Description

The Psychology Practicum offered by CHA’s Neuropsychological and Psychological Assessment Service (NAPA) is comprised of a 10-month neuropsychological and psychological assessment. Fourteen-twenty hours per week (depending on interest and availability of candidate) are devoted to testing service, supervision, seminar instruction, Testing Rounds, the neuropsychological case seminar, and the Practicum Program's professional development seminar. The NAPA Service provides care to a range of adult outpatient populations, including those with primary medical (e.g., vascular, metabolic, sleep, headache, and movement disorders), neurological (e.g., head trauma, dementia, and seizure disorders), and psychiatric conditions (e.g., mood, anxiety, personality, psychotic, and substance abuse disorders, as well as complex trauma). Patients with neurodevelopmental disorders such as learning disabilities, attention- deficit disorder, and Asperger's disorders are also evaluated. Medical and psychiatric inpatient consultations are also performed.

Responsibilities

The testing practicum trainee will administer, score, interpret, and write up one testing case every two weeks. Brief assessments of patients with early psychosis on a bimonthly basis will be part of the scope of assessment duties. Every week, the practicum student will also apprentice with a staff neuropsychologist or advanced postdoctoral fellow as a testing technician for cases to increased clinical exposure, testing experience, and face-to- face time with patients. Practicum students will also observe cases of neuropsychological assessments and cognitive screens. Yearly Schedule

This practicum runs from September 1 through June 30. Practicum Trainees receive three weeks of vacation plus hospital holidays (currently ten holidays, with no “floating” holidays). Trainees may not take vacation time in the first and last months of their training year.

Weekly Schedule

A fourteen- twenty-hour weekly arrangement breaks down as follows:

• 1 hour testing seminar (TBA) • 1 hour professional development seminar • 5-8 hours testing administration, initial evaluations, and feedback sessions • 4-6 hours test scoring, interpretation, and report writing • 1-2 hours supervision • 0.5 hours mentorship by Neuropsych /Assessment Fellow (discussed below) • 1.25 hour Advanced Neuropsych Case Seminar • 1-3 hour RISE clinic - assessments of patients with early psychosis

The current schedule, which is subject to change, is as follows: Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

Professional Development Seminar 9:00-9:50 8 Camellia Ave

RISE Clinic 2:00-5:00 Adv Neuro Case Seminar 3:00-4:15 Macht Room 148 (Sept-June)

Seminars and Rounds

The Advanced Neuropsychology Case Seminar is a “fact finding” seminar in which Neuropsychology Fellows orally present neuropsych testing cases to a testing consultant in the manner of a Board Certification presentation. Readings are integrated that are relevant to each case. Guest speakers and round table discussion topics are also planned.

Trainees from all psychology practicum programs attend the Psychology Practicum Professional Development Seminar instructed by the Director of Psychology Practicum Training. This seminar addresses professional clinical issues relevant to all practicum- level trainees, such as making use of supervision, case formulation and presentation, and preparing for internship.

As additional options, the Cambridge Health Alliance Department of Psychiatry also has an extensive offering of elective seminars and conferences which are available to the trainee, with topics such as the treatment of severely disturbed persons from various theoretical orientations, behavioral medicine, trauma, couples and family therapy, treatment of narcissism, cross-cultural issues, and psychopharmacology. Attendance is recommended at the weekly academic Psychiatry Grand Rounds, which draws speakers on current clinical, theoretical, and research issues. Continuing Education courses are offered throughout the year sponsored by the Department of Psychiatry alone, or jointly with the Harvard Medical School. These optional courses include nationally recognized speakers on topics such as Psychotherapy, Substance Abuse, Suicide, Women's and Men's Issues, Spirituality, Couples and Family Treatment, and Psychopharmacology. Practicum trainees may attend these conferences at a scholarship rate as trainees of Harvard Medical School and Cambridge Health Alliance.

Supervision and Precepting

The testing trainee would receive 1-1.5 hours of face-to-face supervision per week, depending on the stage of the testing case (with more time required for supervision in scoring and interpretation, and less time for supervision in report writing). Training on test administration will be on-going, but more intensive in the first month. Mentorship with an advanced neuropsychology fellow will be on-going on a consultative basis, but during the first semester weekly.

In addition, the Director of NAPA will serve as Preceptor to the testing trainee in order to help oversee managing workflow and any risk-management issues. She will supervise one or two of the trainee’s testing cases over the course of the year.

Postdoctoral fellows will contribute to the teaching of test administration and scoring.

Location

The testing practicum will be based in the Macht Building at the Cambridge Hospital Campus. However, there is an expectation that student will occasionally need to travel to Whidden Hospital in Everett to perform inpatient testing.