Psychology Postdoctoral Fellowship
Captain James A. Lovell
Federal Health Care Center
3001 North Green Bay Road
North Chicago, Illinois 60064
The Department of Psychology at the Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care
Center is pleased to announce a clinical postdoctoral training fellowship with an
emphasis in Addiction Treatment Program for the academic year of 2016-17. The
anticipated start date is September 1, 2016.
Addiction Treatment Program
The James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center Addiction Treatment Program (ATP)
offers a “continuum of care” model for Veterans diagnosed with Substance Use Disorders
and Co-Occurring Disorders providing postdoctoral fellows the opportunity to
individualize their training experience. Areas of focus could include ConsultationLiason, Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Program (RRTP) and the Intensive
Outpatient Program (IOP).
The mission of the ATP is to provide state of the art, high quality evidence based
residential rehabilitation, intensive outpatient, outpatient, outpatient aftercare and care
coordination treatment services for Veterans with substance use, mental health, medical
and psychosocial challenges. The intent is to provide Veteran centered, non-linear,
integrated, strengths based clinical programming, plan of care, treatment plan reviews,
transition planning and outpatient and after services to promote the rehabilitation,
recovery, health maintenance, quality of life and community reintegration goals identified
by the person served. The goal of the ATP is to provide opportunities for Veterans to
achieve and maintain their highest level of independent functioning and community
reintegration through the provision of residential, outpatient, and case management
services designated for improving functional status, sustained rehabilitation gains related
to individualized substance use, mental health, medical and psychosocial management
and recovery and breaking the relapse cycle. The Program objectives are to provide
person centered residential, outpatient, aftercare and care coordination rehabilitation
services, collaborating with the Veteran to identify and negotiate barriers focusing on the
strengths, needs, abilities, preferences and goals of the person served. Individuals
involved in ATP receive individualized person centered and driven residential
rehabilitation and treatment services utilizing empirically based assessment services and
interventions within the context of a modified therapeutic community based on peer and
professional supports in a structured and supervised setting to promote the natural
problem solving and healing resources within the person served. The Program provides
rehabilitation and treatment services that address medical conditions, mental health
challenges, substance use disorders, homelessness and psychosocial deficits. ATP
facilities transition to clinically appropriate longer term residential programming or safe,
affordable and appropriate community housing of the persons’ served choice with
Veteran collaboration for aftercare engagement. The Program assists the person served to
identify and negotiate barriers to access and utilize community and natural supports
Psychology Postdoctoral Fellowship
Captain James A. Lovell
Federal Health Care Center
3001 North Green Bay Road
North Chicago, Illinois 60064
needed to promote and enhance independent, self-supporting and successful individual
recovery. The ATP is a distinct level of mental health residential care that is appropriate
for Veterans in need of structure and support to address multiple substance use, mental
health, medical and psychosocial challenges. The ATP recognizes the need for medical,
substance use disorder (SUD) and mental health treatment and symptom reduction and
provides opportunities to improve functional status through psychosocial rehabilitation
and focuses upon the Veteran’s strengths. This rehabilitative approach recognizes that
persons with substance use, mental health, medical and psychosocial challenges can
achieve their goals for healthy and productive lives. The ATP is designed to provide
comprehensive treatment and rehabilitative services meant to improve the quality of life.
Training Model and Philosophy
The postdoctoral fellow in this position would be assigned to the Captain James A.
Lovell Federal Health Care Center’s Addiction Treatment Program (ATP), including
Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Program (PRTP), Intensive Outpatient Program
(IOP), and Consult Liason Track. The Substance Abuse treatment team includes a
psychiatrist, 1 nurse, 5 psychologists, 2 social workers, 3 addiction therapists, 2
vocational rehabiliation therapist, 3 psych. technicians, 1 recreation therapist, 6 dom
technicians and a dom technicians supervisor, 1 peer support specialist, and a program
support assistant. The postdoctoral fellow will have the opportunity to encounter
addicition treatment utilizing a team based patient centered approach. The ATP team
collaborates with Veterans to create individualized mental health suite treatment plans
and individualized recovery plans. The focus is always on the Veterans’ values, goals,
and desires to create a personalized strategy to optimize the Veterans’ health, healing and
well being.
The Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Program (RRTP) maintains 39 beds that
provides Veterans with a safe, structured and supportive housing environment while
engaging in a clinically and psychosocially determined individualized length of stay
treatment experience, averaging 33 days and ranging from 7–110 days. The RRTP is
characterized by a modified Therapeutic Community and offers programming that
includes a variety of evidence-based Psycho-educational and Skills Oriented groups.
Evidence Based practices include Motivational Interviewing, Brief Motivational
Enhancement, Mindfulness, Seeking Safety, 12-Step Facilitation, Contingency
Management, a Cognitive Behaviorally focused Relapse Prevention and Anger
Management groups. The Mindfulness Skills group utilizes the DBT skills training
manual. The Seeking Safety group is designed for female veterans. The Anger
Mangement group is a SAMHSA Cognitive Behaviorally oriented Anger Management
Group. Postdoctoral Fellows on this rotation have the opportunity to increase their
clinical skills with this challenging population in a non-medically oriented program that
stresses patient initiative, self-government and group process. The Postdoctoral Fellows
Psychology Postdoctoral Fellowship
Captain James A. Lovell
Federal Health Care Center
3001 North Green Bay Road
North Chicago, Illinois 60064
rotation emphasizes assessment skills training/refining, individual counseling, treatment
planning and therapeutic community education. In addition to the delivery of
psychoeducational groups, the residential program in particular offers the opportunity to
participate in core groups designed as smaller psycho-educationally stimulated, intensive
group therapy where residents are able to work on individualized goals critical to their
personal recovery journey.
Veterans in the Intensive Outpateint Program (IOP) engage in no less than 9 hours,
distributed as 3 hours during each of 3 days, of clincal programming. The Intensive
Oupatient Program (IOP) utilizes the same RRTP groups and classes, some of which are
described above. However, IOP participants do not live in the RRTP. IOP Veterans
collaborate with their Care Coordinator to negotiate an individualized clinically and
psychosically determined Treatment Plan as they engage in the ATP. ATP participants
may also make use of indiviudal therapy and groups and classess that are not only held in
the ATP but in the larger hospital campus depending on their needs and interests.
Traditionally, IOP participants are those who may not respond well to the structure, limit
setting and rules of a RRTP or whose needs or circumstances are not well aligned with
those of RRTP placement, due to stage of change or lifestyle circumstances (e.g.
employment). In addition to the abovementioned experienced there is also an opportunity
to participate in more population specific groups such as male Veterans with Military
Sexual Trauma (MST), gender specific groups for female Veterans, and dualy disordered
Veterans with PTSD and SUD issues.
The goal of the Consultation Liaison track is to link FHCC veterans, especially those in
acute psychiatry and medical units, to SUD services in the RRTP, IOP or as an
outpatient. This includes responding to Consults, assessments, Brief Motivational
Enhancement interventions and Motivational Interviewing. The Consult Liaison utilizes
a patient-centered approach, attempting to match the Veteran with a clinically and
psychosocially appropriate level of care based on the Veteran’s stated values, goals,
desires, and needs. The intent is to ensure that patients are able to move seamlessly
between services to connect with the substance use treatment. Another goal is to reduce
readmissions to acute psychiatry or medical units by connecting and engaging Veterans
with appropriate services. Postdoctoral Fellows working on this rotation would be able
to hone skills in forming relationships and communications with multi-disciplinary staff
from across the FHCC campus, develop the ability to provide timely, on-site screenings
on acute inpatient psychiatric and medical floors for referred patients and strengthen
motivational interviewing and crisis intervention skills.
Psychology Postdoctoral Fellowship
Captain James A. Lovell
Federal Health Care Center
3001 North Green Bay Road
North Chicago, Illinois 60064
Compensation and Benefits
Psychology Postdoctoral Fellowship is a 52 week, full-time commitment with a current
salary of $46,287 per annum. Vacation, sick leave, authorized leave for conferences, and
health insurance is available. It is important to note, "Trainees of VA sponsored
programs are protected from personal liability under the Federal Employees Liability
Reform and Tort Compensation Act 28, U.S.C.2679 (b)-(d)."
Eligibility
To be eligible to apply, candidates must be U.S. citizens who are currently in or have
completed an APA-accredited doctoral program in clinical/counseling psychology and
who are enrolled in or have completed an APA-accredited internship. All Ph.D./Psy.D.
requirements, including dissertation defense, must be completed prior to beginning the
fellowship.
Application Process
To apply to our program, please submit the following by January 30.
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A detailed letter of interest specifying your areas of expertise, qualities that fit
with the program, research interests, and goals for your postdoctoral experience
A curriculum vitae fully describing your training, experience, research, and other
relevant activities
Three letters of recommendation (which can be sent separately from your
application packet)
A letter from the chair of your dissertation committee that details the status of
your dissertation and the anticipated completion date of your doctoral training.
Your doctoral degree must be completed before the start date of your postdoctoral
training.
We are accepting applications through January 30, 2016 and we will conduct interviews
mostly during the month of February. Please note as this is the first year for the on-line
application process (APPA CAS), we are asking that applicants please try and utilize the
new system. However, if having difficulty you can still submit application materials
directly to Dr. Martin via email. For more information please contact:
Thomas E. Martin, Psy.D.
Director of Psychology Training
Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center
Assistant Clinical Professor in Psychology and Psychiatry
Rosalind Franklin University
Psychology Postdoctoral Fellowship
Captain James A. Lovell
Federal Health Care Center
3001 North Green Bay Road
North Chicago, Illinois 60064
(224)610-1069
Thomas.e.martin@va.gov