Maternal Infant Resilience
Postdoctoral Residency

About Our Program

Kaiser Permanente is pleased to offer integrated mental health psychology training in 2023-24. There will be three Health Psychology Postdoctoral Residency positions embedded in primary care OBGYN settings at our medical offices in Antioch, Pleasanton, and Walnut Creek, California. Kaiser Permanente Northern California’s post-doctoral training is supported by regional resources and reflects a broad vision for the future of practice in health service psychology.

The focus of the work will be on preventing the inter-generational impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). Health Psychology post-doctoral residents selected for these positions will be at the cutting edge, designing and implementing early interventions and programs that address the predictable negative health consequences of ACEs.

These Postdoctoral Residents will spend approximately half of their time embedded in the OBGYN setting, and the other half of their training will include didactics, research, supervision and relevant assessments. In addition to their specialized work on Maternal-Infant Resilience, the resident also will have opportunity to work in a Behavioral Medicine role. Examples of behavioral medicine work would be interventions with patients who have concerns with sexual dysfunction, chronic pelvic pain, and peripartum mood disorders.

Training and supervision of the health psychology residents will include didactic education and supervised professional experience in the areas of infant attachment, resiliency and coping developments across the lifespan, ACEs with emphasis on childhood intervention.

In addition, the broader Behavioral Medicine context will allow for training on specific illnesses and how they affect mental health. These residents will join other mental health psychology post-doctoral residents for some didactics and will receive a minimum of 2 hours of individual supervision along with 2 hours of group supervision per week. The residents will attend weekly Behavioral Medicine and / or other multidisciplinary team department meetings which include case consultations, sharing of ideas/knowledge and discussion of psychotropic medications.

Mental Health Training Program Mission

The mission of the Kaiser Permanente Northern California Postdoctoral Residency Programs in Clinical Psychology is to provide residents with advanced training within this highly integrated, multidisciplinary healthcare system and prepare them for dynamic roles as practicing psychologists in the healthcare system of the future. Residents train in collaboration with, and guidance from, psychologists and physicians.

The Kaiser Permanente Northern California Postdoctoral Residency Programs in Clinical Psychology provide training for the development of professional skills among practitioners who utilize the field’s scientific knowledge in their professional practice. The program is committed to training psychologists who have mastered entry level expertise through their internships and to reach an advanced level of practice focusing on lifelong learners dedicated to engaging in continuous education, scientific inquiry and scholarly endeavors.

Program Information
The postdoctoral training year requires a commitment from the resident to work 40 hours per week during a 12-month period focusing on increasing complexity through supervision, evaluation, didactic seminars and psychological testing.

In addition to attending their weekly seminars, residents are expected to attend approximately eight half-day seminars during each training year. These seminars are held in Oakland and are also open to supervising psychologists and other mental health providers for continuing education credits. Regional seminar topics include ethics, supervision and advances in integrated care.

Resident Competencies Evaluations and Program Surveys

Each quarter, the Training Directors and Primary Supervisors are responsible for completing Residents’ Competency Evaluations in collaboration with the rest of the training staff. All efforts are made to provide ongoing feedback to residents throughout the year. Residents also have an opportunity to evaluate this program twice a year, utilizing the online Resident Program Survey.