Postdoctoral Residency

About Our Program

Program Mission

The mission of the 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 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.

The Consortium Programs

Kaiser Permanente’s Northern California Postdoctoral Residency Programs in Clinical Psychology are organized into seven consortiums.

Kaiser Permanente’s Mental Health Postdoctoral Residency Programs play a vital role in the overall healthcare delivery system of America’s leading, integrated health care system. Health care, as envisioned by Kaiser Permanente, is an integrated system and each training site provides a full range of services to thousands of patients.

Each site has psychologists working in various departments including Psychiatry, Chronic Pain, Addiction Medicine and Recovery Services and Behavioral Medicine. Providers from specialty areas such as pediatrics, internal medicine, neurology and psychology work together in a collaborative manner to provide integrated treatment. The postdoctoral residents train within this collaborative system.  Every KP medical center provides extensive clinical services and all training sites provide brief individual, group and family therapy, crisis intervention and an Intensive Outpatient Program as well as access to in-patient treatment.

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.