Alpert Medical School of Brown University
Clinical Psychology Training Consortium
Postdoctoral Fellowship Description: CLINICAL FOCUS
Title:
Site:
Supervisors:
Postdoctoral Fellowship in Clinical Psychology
APA accredited
Brown University Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS)
Sherri Nelson, Ph.D.* (Co-coordinator)
Jackie Twitchell, Ph.D.* (Co-coordinator)
Laura Sobik, Ph.D.* (Primary supervisor)
Erin Lane-Aaronian, Ph.D.*
Linda Welsh, Ph.D.* (Primary supervisor)
Allyson Brathwaite-Gardner, Ph.D.*
Anthony Spirito, Ph.D., ABPP (research supervisor)
*Faculty appointment in the Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior pending
Co-coordinators will provide group supervision, didactic instruction, and some individual supervision.
Dr. Twitchell will also provide supervision to the supervisors.
There will be a team of two supervisors for each postdoctoral fellow, with a primary supervisor for each
team, who will provide mostly individual supervision, with some group supervision as well.
Dr. Sobik (primary) and Dr. Lane-Aaronian
Dr. Welsh (primary and Dr. Brathwaite-Gardner
Description of Site
Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) provides mental health services to all Brown University
undergraduate, graduate, and medical students. CAPS is staffed by 13 licensed mental health
professionals, including clinical and counseling psychologists, social workers, mental health counselors,
and psychiatrists. We are a multicultural and multi-theoretical staff with a unifying focus on providing
high quality intervention and brief treatment to Brown students. Our services include crisis intervention,
assessment, brief psychotherapy, referrals, outreach programming, and consultation. CAPS resides in the
Division of Campus Life and Student Services.
CAPS serves approximately 18 % of the Brown student community each year. Students come in for a
large variety of reasons, spanning the whole spectrum of psychological issues, from mild anxiety and
adjustment issues to significant mental illness. The most common presenting issues are adjustment
issues, anxiety, and depression. Because major mental illness is most likely to arise between the ages of
18 and 24, students who are having a first break and may require hospitalization for a psychotic or lifethreatening psychiatric situation are often seen. Other significant presenting issues include substance
abuse, sexual assault, identity issues, relationship difficulties, and academic issues. We collaborate with
many other departments on campus, including Health Services, the Office of Student Life, the Dean of the
College office, Student and Employee Accessibility Services, the Chaplains, and others. Students may be
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seen for routine or urgent visits. Because we have a short term therapy model (7 sessions maximum per
year), we make many referrals to providers in the immediate community. We provide 24 / 7 /365 crisis
coverage. We also do outreach in a variety of forms, including workshops, presentations, and trainings,
as well as on site groups (e.g. students returning from medical leave, OCD, chronic medical conditions,
sexual assault survivors).
Fellowship Aims
1) To provide the fellow with broad postdoctoral training in the area of young adult mental health
services in a university setting using multiple modalities of service, including brief
psychotherapy.
2) To enable the fellow to gain experience working with a multidisciplinary team by providing
individual and group clinical services to undergraduate, graduate and medical students at
Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS).
3) To provide the fellow with a strong working knowledge of research in the area of young adult
depression and suicidality.
The intent of the fellowship is to provide an entry-level professional with the type of supervised
experience necessary for licensure as a psychologist. While it is the responsibility of the fellow to
understand and track the licensing regulations and requirements for whichever state licensure is sought,
the fellowship is designed to meet or exceed the necessary clinical activities and supervision required for
licensure in Rhode Island.
Fellowship Timeline
The duration of the fellowship is one year, contingent upon satisfactory progress. The anticipated start
date is September 1, 2106.
Clinical Activity Plan (70%)
●
●
The fellow will spend 60% of their time on:
○ direct clinical service, which will include intakes, follow up appointments, urgent and
crisis assessments, brief psychotherapy and referral, and group psychotherapy.
○ outreach activities, which will include participation in student orientations, workshops,
presentations on relevant topics (e.g. test anxiety, stress management).
○ experience in specific clinical areas such as eating disorders, sexual assault, and suicide
risk reduction, as time allows.
The fellow will spend 10% of their time involved in staff meetings, and administrative activities
(e.g. clinical notes).
Research Activity Plan (20%)
● The fellow will be allotted one day per week for research with Dr. Anthony Spirito and other
faculty in the Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior whose clinical research focuses on
adult and adolescent suicide prevention and intervention. Dr. Spirito is the Director of the
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Division of Clinical Psychology, Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior in The Warren
Alpert Medical School. The fellow would be involved in activities such as literature review,
grant preparation, and manuscript collaboration with Dr. Spirito and colleagues. One of the likely
goals would be preparation of a grant application for spring 2016 that focuses on suicide
prevention in young adults in the university setting.
Didactics (10%)
Postdoctoral Seminars: The fellow will participate in postdoctoral seminars through the Brown
Postdoctoral Training Program.
● Mandatory Didactics:
○ Core Seminars (1.5 hours per month).
○ DPHB Academic Grand Rounds (1.25 hours per month).
○ Clinical Ethics (1.0 hours per month).
● Periodic additional didactic opportunities will be available at CAPS or through other departments
of the university, e.g. presentations, journal clubs.
Supervision and Evaluation
The postdoctoral fellow will receive individual and group supervision from licensed psychologists at
CAPS to meet the requirements of APA accreditation and licensure requirements of the Board of
Psychology. The fellow will receive training and supervision in providing individual and clinical services,
crisis intervention, and outreach. The fellow will also participate in staff meetings and retreats /
inservices. A minimum of 4 hours of supervision and structured didactic experiences (noted above) will
be provided weekly, including a minimum of 2 hours of individual, face to face supervision by a licensed
psychologist.
Evaluation
Midway through and at the end of the fellowship, the fellow and the supervisors will provide formal face
to face and written evaluations, and evaluations of the program relative to the goals and learning
objectives of the fellowship.
Resource Requirements
The fellow will be provided with the following resources:
● Individual office space for personal and clinical use
● A computer with departmental and project-specific software
● Internet and telephone access
Eligibility
Candidates should have completed all requirements for a doctorate (Ph.D. or Psy.D.) in clinical or
counseling psychology by August 2015. The candidate will have completed a year-long APA-accredited
internship. Preference will be given to applicants that have a demonstrated interest in providing clinical
service to the college-age population.
Brown University is committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive academic global community; as an
EEO/AA employer, Brown considers applicants for employment without regard to, and does not
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discriminate on the basis of, gender, sexual orientation and/or gender identity, sex, sex orientation, gender
identity, national origin, age, race, protected veteran status, disability, or any other legally protected
status.
Reporting and Approval
This fellowship will be part of the Adult track. The position has been discussed and approved by the
Training Committee in their monthly meeting of July 1, 2015.
_________________________________________
Adult Track PostDoctoral Training Coordinator
_________________________________________
Associate Director of Investigator Funded APA-Accredited fellowships
_________________________________________
Director of Psychology Training Consortium
SCN July 2015
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