Associate Post Master’s Mental Health Fellowship – Redwood City
West Bay Consortium (San Francisco, South San Francisco, Redwood City)
Redwood City lies on a peninsula on the northern edge of Silicon Valley, approximately 25 miles south of San Francisco and 6 miles north of Stanford University. A center of high-tech industry, Redwood City is home to several global technology companies including Oracle, Electronic Arts (EA), and Evernote. Redwood City enjoys a mild Mediterranean climate, moderated by the effects of the San Francisco Bay to the east and the Pacific Ocean over the coastal range to the west.It is the third largest city in the County of San Mateo, with 86,000 residents. Incorporated in 1867, Redwood City is home to the San Mateo County History Museum, and the only active deep-water port within the south bay of San Francisco. For outdoor enthusiasts, the nearby Edgewood Park and Natural Preserve provides miles of hiking trails and site seeing opportunities.
The new Kaiser Redwood City Medical Center opened in 2014. It a regional center for neurological care and surgery. The patient population falls along a broad ethnic, cultural, and socioeconomic spectrum and includes Medi-Cal enrollees who are part of the San Mateo County Partnership. All age groups and mental health conditions are represented in our Psychiatry Department.
Program Curriculum
Equity, Inclusion & Diversity
Redwood City patients fall along a broad ethnic, cultural and socioeconomic spectrum. All age groups and psychiatric categories are represented in our clinics.
The Redwood City Department of Psychiatry has broadened trainings and safe spaces to discuss EID issues. The department actively pursues opportunities to facilitate understanding and safety in the team. Our Cultural Humility Committee holds events and education opportunities daily, weekly, monthly and strives to increase communication.
Didactic Training
Regularly scheduled weekly didactic seminars are organized and administered at the regional level for all Kaiser Permanente Northern California mental health trainees. Fellows are required to attend the two-hour weekly seminar, which focuses on aspects of clinical practice that the residents may not regularly encounter. Diversity issues are always integrated into seminar presentations.
Recent seminar topics included: Frontiers in Trauma Treatment; Advanced Risk Assessment; Updates in Substance Abuse Research & treatment; Advancements in Psychopharmacology; Cognitive Processing Therapy; Technology and Mental Health; Trans/Nonbinary Mental Health; Building a Better Brain through Exercise, Nutrition, Sleep and Stress Management; and Self-compassion.
Our Regional Mental Health Training Program also sponsors professional training courses for continuing professional development. These courses and presentations are offered at select times during the year for all KP mental health trainees and staff at Kaiser Northern California Medical Centers. We bring in national experts and keynote speakers on a variety of cutting-edge topics in mental health treatment and research. Fellows are required to attend these monthly regional trainings in addition to the weekly didactic seminars. Training course dates and a list of speakers and topics can be found on the Regional Mental Health Training Programs website. In addition, many of these lectures are recorded and available under the continuing education lecture library.
Seminars and Meetings
Meetings attended by Post Master’s Fellows include:
- Weekly Feedback Informed Care case consultation with assigned team
- Bi-weekly team meetings
- Monthly all staff meetings
- Weekly clinical Rounds for Intensive Outpatient Programs
- Case consultation
Supervision
Associate Post Master’s Fellows (APCC, AMFT, ASW) participate in weekly individual/triadic supervision and group supervision.
Community Partnership Program
Associate Post Master’s Fellows have a 32-hour Community Partnership commitment over their fellowship year. Opportunities are expansive and can include educational workshops in schools and panel presentations, among other opportunities. The Community Partnership opportunity allows clinicians to creatively give back to the communities that each clinic serves.
Tracks and Rotations
Adult Psychiatry
This track offers fellows the opportunity to work on a multidisciplinary treatment team utilizing evidence-based and multimodal treatment with adults. Fellows are assigned cases from the broad and diverse patient population in the clinic and will address needs related to the treatment of mood disorders, anxiety disorders, personality disorders, trauma, aging, adjustment, crises, work or life stress, schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders, obsessive-compulsive and related disorders, bipolar disorder, and eating disorders. Fellows will evaluate and diagnose mental health conditions based on DSM-5 and ICD-10 criteria, develop treatment plans and learn how to articulate those plans to their patients.
Fellows will utilize evidence-based interventions within a feedback informed care model including the use of outcomes monitoring at each session. Training in evidence-based individual and family treatment will consist of providing therapy within a focused treatment model. Training in evidence-based group therapy will consist of co-facilitating groups under the supervision of licensed therapists. Opportunities to work in the adult intensive outpatient program, couples counseling service, case management service and in LGBTQ+/ gender affirming care are also available.
Child Psychiatry
This track offers fellows the opportunity to work on a multidisciplinary treatment team utilizing evidence-based and multimodal treatment with children, teens, and their families. Fellows are assigned cases from the broad and diverse patient population in the clinic and will address needs related to the treatment of mood disorders, anxiety disorders, autism spectrum disorders, attention and impulse control disorders, trauma, behavioral issues, and more. Fellows will evaluate and diagnose mental health conditions based on DSM-5 and ICD-10 criteria, develop treatment plans and learn how to articulate those plans to their patients.
Fellows will utilize evidence-based interventions within a feedback informed care model including the use of outcomes monitoring at each session. Training in evidence-based individual and family treatment will consist of providing therapy within a focused treatment model. Training in evidence-based group therapy will consist of co-facilitating groups and classes, including family and parenting groups under the supervision of licensed therapists. Opportunities to work in the teen intensive outpatient program and in LGBTQ+/ gender affirming care are also available.
Schedule
Each week, Post Master’s Fellows participate in up to 20 hours of clinical work (group, individual), in addition to clinical supervision, didactics, clinical case conference and Intensive Outpatient rounds.
Our hope is that Post Master’s Fellows will become part of our Redwood City mental health team and feel supported and at ease connecting and consulting with us. The Redwood City Post Master’s Fellows will be part of the larger region-wide Post Master’s Fellow cohort and will be given the opportunity to network and build connections with others throughout the training year.
Direct Patient Care: 20 hours
Non-Patient Care: 12 hours
Individual Supervision: 2 hours
Group Supervision: 2 hours
Didactic Training: 2 hours
Feedback Informed Care and case consultation: 2 hours
Community Benefit Project: 32 hours over the course of the year