This month, we are doing something a little different and spotlighting our own Wellness Liaison team! We wanted to introduce the faces behind the Wellness Liaisons, share more about what we do, and talk about why this work is so important to us.
Since its inception five years ago, the Wellness Liaison role has evolved from outreach and recruitment efforts to focusing on the wellness and professional development of current trainees. As former KP trainees themselves, the liaisons remember all-too-well the challenges of juggling clinical responsibilities with academic commitments, studying for licensure tests, and applying for jobs or additional training roles. It’s a lot to navigate and can sometimes lead to trainees de-prioritizing their own well-being. As such, the Wellness Liaison role was born, and the hope is that trainees feel empowered to prioritize their personal wellness and professional growth.
Over the years, the Wellness Liaisons have provided trainees with KP resources promoting well-being, brought in speakers to discuss topics such as self-care, imposter syndrome, and burnout, hosted relaxing sessions of yoga and mindfulness, and worked with companies to sponsor just-for-fun events like trivia, escape rooms, and chocolate tasting. The Wellness Liaisons also aim to support trainees’ professional growth through hosting regular professional development events. These include an interview tips workshop, road to licensure presentations, speakers to discuss loan forgiveness, career panels to consider professional opportunities, and presentations providing tips for thriving professionally at KP.
Meet our team
Micaela Birt, Psy.D. (she/her) is a psychologist at Kaiser Permanente Vacaville and has been working as a liaison with the Mental Health Training Programs (MHTP) since 2019. Micaela completed her postdoctoral residency at KP Vacaville and Vallejo in 2018. Since that time, she has worked on the teen and adult Intensive Outpatient teams, supervised practicum externs and postdoctoral residents, and hosted dozens of wellness and professional development events through her role as a Wellness Liaison. Working with trainees is Micaela’s favorite part of her job. She genuinely enjoys connecting with trainees and planning wellness and professional development events. She is the (neurotic) organization fiend of the Wellness Team (if only her house was as organized as her Teams folders). In her free time, Micaela enjoys watching sports (go Kings and go Bills!), playing board games, and spending time with her husband, three-year-old, and infant (sometimes—sometimes she enjoys leaving them at home and going to Target by herself).
Chelsea Vilinskas, Psy.D. (she/her) is a pediatric neuropsychologist for the Kaiser Permanente Diablo Service Area. She joined the Wellness Liaison team in 2022 and has played a pivotal role in ensuring events go smoothly and newsletter articles get written. Chelsea has been with the regional training team since 2018 and wears many hats, with much of her focus going into ensuring the CE Library is beautiful and providing didactics to trainees around assessment topics. She loves being part of the local training team and acts as an assessment supervisor for externs, interns, and post-docs. In her (limited) free time, Chelsea spends time with her dogs “one 165-pound dog and one 20-pound dog who are both very obsessed with me.”
Susan Fitts, Psy.D. (she/her) is a pain management psychologist at Kaiser Permanente Vacaville and a bariatric psychologist helping the Kaiser Permanente South San Francisco team. She serves as a liaison for the bariatric training program in addition to being a key member of the wellness team since 2023. Susan enjoys working in the training programs because of the opportunities to learn from new providers, grow as a clinician, and share her experiences with others. She describes her 15+ year career at Kaiser Permanente as a “wonderful journey” that has included time in Psychiatry, Health Education, BMS, and more. Kaiser Permanente has so much to offer, Susan hopes all employees take advantage of the many opportunities. In her personal life, Susan enjoys reading for pleasure, spending time with her 3 children, driving them everywhere and watching a lot of soccer (kids, MLS, premiere league – Go Liverpool).
If you have any questions or feedback for the MHTP Wellness Liaisons, feel free to reach out via Teams or e-mail anytime. For more information about the Wellness Liaisons please visit: Wellness and Professional Development – Kaiser Permanente Mental Health Training Program Northern California. To view and register for upcoming events, head to Meetings and Events | Kaiser Permanente Mental Health Training Program Northern California.
