San Mateo County Medical Center
Medical Psychiatry Clinic
222 W. 39th Ave.
San Mateo, CA 94403
650-573-2760
PLACEMENT OPENINGS: Pre-doctoral and Post-doctoral Psychology Interns
Placement Information
 Full time internship (40 hours/week)
 One-year agreement, beginning July 2015
 50% of time in the Medical Psychiatry Clinic
 50% of time in various rotations described below
 Interns maintain at least 20 hours of direct clinical services per week.
 Research opportunities available
Training and Supervision
2 Hours weekly
Individual Supervision (primary and secondary supervisor)
2 Hours
weekly Group Supervision
1 Hour weekly
Didactic Seminar: Medical Psychiatry and Neuropsychological topics
2 Hours monthly Didactic Seminar/Psychiatry Case Conference
1 Hour weekly
Behavioral Health and Recovery Services didactic training
2 hours monthly
Group Dynamics
Main Placement
Medical Psychiatry Clinic
The Medical Psychiatry Clinic provides an integrative approach to psychology, psychiatry, and medicine
for the majority of the outpatient medical clinics and their respective staff. These medical specialties
include but are not limited to: Primary Care, Gastroenterology, Neurology, OGBYN, Oncology,
Rheumatology, Cardiology, Palliative care and Dermatology. The majority of our referrals are from the
Primary Care Clinic and each intern is integrated into the new integrative care clinic where they work side
by side with primary care physicians, nurses, and medical assistants, providing the most comprehensive
care available for our population. Referrals typically consist of depression, anxiety, bipolar II, or
adjustment disorders related to their medical, psychological, or social issues. In general, we provide
individual and group therapy, with occasional opportunities to engage in couples and family therapy.
Interns also have the opportunity to provide neuropsychological and psychodiagnostic testing; however,
this is not the primary focus of this internship experience. We serve the residents of San Mateo County and
are very proud of the diversity of patients seen in any given week.
La Clínica Latina: La Clínica Latina is a sub-clinic of The Medical Psychiatry Clinic that provides
culturally competent and culturally appropriate evaluations and treatment to its adult Hispanic monolingual
Spanish-speaking population with culturally specific psychiatric issues. These issues include: acculturation,
culture shock, immigration abuse/ trauma, somatic complaints, language, spirituality, religion, limited
education, difficulty maintaining tradition and family, building community and connections. In addition,
interns utilize a variety of test measures to objectively assess a client’s level of psychiatric symptoms, such
as; depression, anxiety, physiological complaints, and memory problems. Interns provide patients with a
multitude of Spanish-speaking psychiatric services such as: individual psychotherapy, group therapy,
psychoeducational groups, and referrals to medication consultations. Interns work in close collaboration
with Spanish-speaking psychiatry residents to provide ongoing comprehensive psychiatric and
psychological treatment for each patient.
Medical Psychiatry Service Rotations
Rotations are set up by semester, with the change taking place mid year. An intern is not expected to fulfill
every rotation, and efforts will be made to match the rotation with the desires of the incoming intern.
Consult-Liaison Service: Interns participate on the psychiatry Consult-Liaison Service which is a
collaboration of the psychiatry residents and the psychology interns, proving comprehensive
psychiatric/psychological care for those who are residents on the inpatient or long-term care medical units.
Psychiatry rounds take place twice per week, with one day incorporating 45 minutes of didactic training
focused on a specific medical-psychiatric issue. Topics range from dementia, delirium, cardiac, endocrine,
or gastroenterology issues, to legal matters such as capacity declaration and how to assess for competency.
In-Patient Psychiatric Services – Group Therapy Rotation: The in-patient psychiatric unit at San
Mateo Medical Center is a 34 bed acute care facility. The unit provides care and stabilization for patients
with acute psychiatric illnesses. Many of the patients are diagnosed with schizophrenia, bi-polar disorder,
psychosis, and severe depression. The group therapy rotation allows interns the opportunity to work closely
with patients considered seriously mentally ill. The intern also works with the inpatient psychiatry team
consisting of psychiatrist, nurses, nurses assistant, and discharge planners. Groups are designed and co-led
by the psychology interns. Groups established thus far are: mindfulness, coping strategies, psychoeducation, cognitive behavioral techniques and dialectical behavioral therapy. Interns are expected to
design and run two groups per week.
Palliative Care: The palliative care rotation offers specialized care focusing on the symptoms and stress of
serious illness. Interns have the opportunity to work with palliative care doctors, nurses and social workers
and attend weekly meeting to discuss cases with the team. Interns are specifically responsible for managing
the emotional and psychological needs of the patients and provide individual and family work.
Preventative Medicine Rotation – Endocrinology Clinic: Psychosocial issues appear to be common
among people with diabetes, and addressing these problems may improve diabetic outcomes. The
preventative medicine rotation offers trainees an opportunity to participate in an innovative program that
integrates behavioral medicine and endocrinology, functioning as part of the diabetes specialty team.
Trainees will learn to conduct a brief psychosocial assessment and subsequently provide short-term
interventions to help alleviate patients’ psychosocial barriers to effective diabetes management. Trainees
will utilize a wide range of psychosocial services, including teaching patients to better manage their
diabetes, as well as provide brief individual and group treatment, teach stress reduction skills, and
collaborate with medical specialists. This rotation provides a unique opportunity to be creative, integrative,
and innovative, and to develop a clinical specialty area in a multidisciplinary environment.
Primary Care Consult Service: Interns have the opportunity to work closely with the Primary Care
physicians as they run their clinics. Interns will respond to consults during clinic time to help co-ordinate
mental health component of care and to deal with mental health crises in the clinic. Interns typically deal
with patients who are resistant to treatment or may not have accessed mental health care in the past and
crisis intervention. This is a unique opportunity to work in a health psychology setting.
Pain Clinic: (May be added for the 2015-2016 internship year)
Supervisors:
David Lin, Psy.D. Maria Moran, Psy.D. Lorena Michel, Psy.D., Janele Auranicky,
Psy.D., Masha Mednikov, Ph.D. Charlene Fuentes, Psy.D., Christian Washburn, Psy.D., Alysia
Cirona-Singh, M.D.
Phone: 650-573-2760
E-mail: mmoran@smcgov.org