Child Clinical Psychology Elective

Treatment

Interns in the Child Clinical Psychology Elective spend approximately half of their direct clinic services time in the Child Psychiatry Outpatient Clinic. This patient population is economically and culturally diverse and includes children and families with multiple psychological, social, and medical problems. Typical referral problems include anxiety disorders, depression/mood disorders, ADHD and parenting difficulties. Additionally, interns have the option of gaining experience in behavioral medicine by seeing children that are referred by various pediatric medical services, including gastroenterology and endocrinology through the outpatient clinic. The interns obtain closely supervised experiences in individual child therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, parent guidance interventions and family therapy. On average, interns see approximately eight to ten patients (individuals or families) per week.

Child interns also do a six-month, four-hour per week rotation providing service for adult psychiatric inpatients on a locked, inpatient psychiatric unit located on Blake 11.

Assessment & Evaluation

Interns provide psychological and neuropsychological evaluations through the Learning and Emotional Assessment Program (LEAP). Interns become familiar with basic approaches to pediatric neuropsychological functioning of children and adolescents. Emphasis is placed upon the assessment of learning problems and developmental disabilities, but the interns also gain expertise in tests of emotional functioning and projective measures, as many of the referrals present with a mixture of learning, behavioral and emotional difficulties. On average, the interns perform two to three test batteries per month.

Consultation

Interns gain experience throughout the year in school consultation and liaison. More specifically, the intern gains experiences in extrapolating the consultation process to school environments, examines child and adolescent development within the context of schools, and helps patients and families obtain appropriate educational services including 504 plans and individual educational plans (IEPs). In addition to this experience, interns are provided with numerous opportunities to consult with pediatricians, psychiatrists, and medical specialties within the hospital regarding psychological treatment and assessment of pediatric patients.

Research

Child interns integrate research literature into their ongoing clinical and assessment practices. In addition, there is a strong history of child interns participating in ongoing research projects within the department of psychiatry and within specialty areas of medicine (e.g., neurology, endocrinology, behavioral medicine).

Didactics

In addition to the internship core didactics, the following seminars are required:

• Family therapy seminar: 1 hour per week
• Child cognitive behavioral seminar: 1 hour per week
• Child psychology seminar: 1 hour per week

Supervision

• Individual psychotherapy supervision:  2 hours per week (1 hour of cognitive behavioral therapy supervision, 1 hour of integrative psychotherapy supervision)
• Family therapy supervision: 1 hour per week
• Assessment and testing supervision: 1-2 hours per week

Related Links

• Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
• Learning and Emotional Assessment Program (LEAP)