Doctoral Internship – Santa Clara

We are committed to nurturing and integrating diversity training into all aspects of our doctoral internship by:

• Providing interns with opportunities to work with diverse patients who represent various aspects of diversity, including age, religion, gender, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, values, and lifestyle
• Placing a high value on interns’ willingness to engage in self-reflection and learning and supporting the exploration of attitudes, beliefs, and therapeutic postures that could have a negative impact on clinical interactions
• Maintaining a consistent focus in clinical supervision on expanding interns’ multicultural awareness and competence in the provision of psychotherapeutic services and by providing guidance, suggestions, and resources on topics related to diversity
• Providing formal in-person or online training on diversity topics such as discovering and mitigating unconscious bias, respecting every voice, and cultivating a sense of inclusion and belonging in the workplace
• Encouraging interns to participate in the Kaiser Permanente Northern California Mental Health Training Program Equity, Inclusion, and Diversity Committee’s advanced trainings on topics related to cultural sensitivity and competence alongside a forum to reflect on and discuss their varied experiences in a safe environment

Regularly scheduled weekly didactic seminars are organized and administered by the Kaiser Permanente Northern California (KPNC) Mental Health Training Program. Interns are required to attend the two-hour weekly seminar, which focuses on aspects of clinical practice that the interns may not regularly encounter.

Diversity issues are always integrated into seminar presentations. Seminar topics include 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.

The KPNC 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 KPNC mental health trainees and medical center staff. The KPNC Mental Health Training Program brings in national experts and keynote speakers on a variety of cutting-edge topics in mental health treatment and research. Interns are expected to attend all MHTP Speaker Series seminars. Current seminar schedules and a list of speakers and topics can be found on the KPNC Mental Health Training Programs website. In addition, many of these lectures are recorded and available on this website under the Continuing Education Seminar Library.

Doctoral interns are expected to attend weekly a team staff meetings and case consultation. During these meetings, interns will practice creating a working hypothesis for a diagnosis and treatment plan, as well as learn how to incorporate Feedback Informed Care (FIC) and symptom management in their treatment planning. Additionally, interns will learn how to align their patient’s cultural background into their treatment plan.

All doctoral interns are supervised by licensed psychologists and are assigned to a primary and secondary supervisor. These two clinical supervisors meet with their assigned intern one hour per week for individual face-to-face supervision, for a total of two hours of individual supervision per week. The primary and secondary supervisor in each training track is responsible for supervising the direct delivery of clinical services. The primary supervisor takes the lead role in developing the intern’s learning plan, monitoring their progress, and evaluating their training schedule. The primary supervisor is also responsible for supervising the intern’s clinical work and completing quarterly evaluations after gathering input from the other delegated supervisors and staff who have worked with the intern.

Doctoral interns are also provided with weekly clinical group supervision and group supervision for psychological assessment. During clinical group supervision, interns learn how to conceptualize treatment plans and frame interventions through a cultural framework that considers age, gender identity, race and ethnicity, family systems, socioeconomic status, work and school history, and other cultural factors. Interns also gain experience presenting clinical cases, as well as giving and receiving peer feedback. These feedback interactions help interns to develop both collegial and supervisory aspects of their professional identities as psychologists. Assessment group supervision provides support for interns gaining proficiency conducting psychological evaluations. During assessment group supervision, interns have an opportunity to discuss several aspects of the assessment process, including how to interpret test results, formulate clinical impressions, and plan patient feedback.

Reflecting Kaiser Permanente’s core commitment to mental health and wellness in our communities, each doctoral intern will spend at least 32 hours during their training year on a Community Partnership Project that focuses on improving mental health in the local community beyond Kaiser Permanente patient membership.

The goal of this project is to provide outreach to underserved populations in the community to promote healthy behaviors. Anchors for this project include developing alliances with individuals and/or systems to improve the lives of those served; providing education and training based on the empirical literature; collecting, analyzing, and presenting relevant outcome data to partnership stakeholders.

The scope and focus of the projects are site specific, reflecting the unique opportunities available in each community to develop meaningful partnerships. Projects are developed in conjunction with the site training director and can take a wide range of forms. Many Community Partnership Projects entail psychoeducational programs at local high schools or community centers, with emphasis in such areas as mindfulness, stress reduction, parenting education, anger management, or communication trainings. Other projects have involved staff consultation at county or non-profit agencies (e.g., homeless shelters, community mental health clinics, prisons, etc.).

All doctoral interns complete psychological testing as part of the internship training program. During the training year, interns further their knowledge about test battery design, administration of various tests and measures, interpretation and integration of test results, and communication of test results. Opportunities exist for interns to develop proficiency in cognitive, memory, and mood assessments as well as specialty ADHD evaluations. Interns primarily receive assessment training support in a group supervision format with additional modalities of support available as needed.

Each doctoral intern is required to undertake a program evaluation project during their training year. The project is selected based upon the intern’s interests and skill set and should fall within the regular scope of departmental services.

Program evaluation may involve collecting and analyzing data to improve administrative operations, or a quality improvement project aimed at improving or assessing a treatment program or process. Examples include developing and evaluating a treatment group, intake procedure or other new programming; evaluating factors associated with treatment outcomes; or a needs assessment of a service that may be enriched by psychological consultation. Interns meet regularly with their program evaluation supervisor as a group over the course of the training year to review progress on their projects.

The Adult Outpatient Mental Health track offers education and training in an integrated healthcare system. Doctoral interns will work with a multidisciplinary team, providing empirically supported treatments to a wide variety of patients. Depending on the intern’s interests, opportunities are available to complete a rotation in the Adult Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP), bariatric and/or gender evaluations, and co-facilitate evidence-based group treatment programs.

This track is designed to provide a breadth of training experiences with the purpose of developing a generalist practitioner in health service psychology. Doctoral interns are assigned cases from the broad and diverse patient population served at the clinic, with referrals addressing mental health needs related to the treatment of mood disorders, personality disorders, trauma, aging, adjustment, crisis, work or life stress, neurodevelopmental disorders, schizophrenia and other psychotic disorder, obsessive-compulsive and related disorders, bipolar disorders, gender dysphoria, and dissociative disorders. Interns will evaluate and diagnose mental health disorders based on DSM-5-TR and ICD-11 criteria. They will also learn how to collaborate with patients for treatment planning purposes and gain proficiency utilizing evidence-based interventions within a focused therapy feedback-informed care framework.

Doctoral interns will utilize individual and group supervision for case formulation and treatment planning. Within this track, interns will receive training in individual psychotherapy and group treatment. Training in evidence-based individual treatment will consist of providing individual therapy in a focused-therapy model, and will include feedback-informed care, CBT, DBT, ACT, and Compassion-Focused Therapy (CFT) interventions. Training in evidence-based group treatment will consist of co-facilitating groups under the supervision of licensed therapists.

The Child & Adolescent Psychiatry track offers doctoral interns the opportunity to work on a multidisciplinary treatment team utilizing evidence-based and multimodal treatment with children, teens, and their families. Depending on the intern’s interests, opportunities are available to complete a rotation in the Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) for teens and co-facilitate evidence-based psychotherapy groups and classes.

This track is designed to provide a breadth of training experiences with the purpose of developing a generalist practitioner in child and adolescent psychiatry. Doctoral interns are assigned cases from the broad and diverse patient population served at the clinic, with referrals addressing mental health needs related to the treatment of mood disorders, anxiety disorders, autism spectrum disorders, attention and impulse control disorders, behavioral issues, and more. Interns will utilize evidence-based interventions within a feedback informed care model with the use of outcomes monitoring at each session.

Doctoral interns will utilize individual and group supervision for case formulation and treatment planning. Within this track, interns will receive training in individual and family psychotherapy as well as group treatment. Training in evidence-based individual and family treatment will consist of providing individual and family therapy within a focused therapy treatment model. Training in evidence-based group treatment will consist of co-facilitating groups under the supervision of licensed therapists.

The Behavioral Medicine Services track for adults offers excellent training in Health Psychology while working within a tight-knit team. Doctoral interns will spend approximately half of their time in Behavioral Medicine Services (BMS), which is embedded within primary care and/or OBGYN. Interns are integrated into these respective clinics and cultivate support and collaboration throughout the training year. Interns also attend weekly BMS staff meetings and case consultation. While interns will be working primarily within the specialty of Behavioral Medicine, they will also have opportunities to work and train in other areas of the medical center.

In this track, doctoral interns will have the opportunity to diagnose, develop treatment plans, and care for patients within the partnering departments of medicine. BMS interns assist medical care providers and their patients by addressing behavioral and psychological factors that contribute to overall improved health outcomes. Interns will be exposed to a wide range of presenting problems that are intertwined with mental health, including chronic conditions such as diabetes mellitus, chronic pain, headaches, insomnia, and irritable bowel syndrome. In addition, BMS interns will be integral in treating adjustment disorders that are often related to challenges coping with medical diagnoses. This track broadens and deepens brief assessment and intervention skills across many diagnoses with a very diverse group of patients.

The BMS model allows for warm handoffs from physicians for patients who may be ambivalent about treatment engagement or likely to benefit from brief interventions. Doctoral interns will collaborate with physicians on the evaluation of psychotropic medications within their scope of practice. Interns serve as a liaison between the patient and physician, especially in monitoring patients’ response to medications. Interns will also aid in general medication compliance with the goal of optimizing overall health. An additional responsibility in the BMS track is performing brief cognitive screenings as requested by the primary care physicians. Opportunities to conduct Bariatric surgery evaluations are also available depending on interest and experience.

The Pediatric Behavioral Medicine Services track offers excellent training in Health Psychology while working within a tight-knit team. Doctoral interns will spend approximately half of their time in Behavioral Medicine Services (BMS), embedded within Pediatric primary care or Pediatric specialty clinics and half of their time embedded in hospital-based services on the pediatric floor. Interns are integrated into these respective clinics and cultivate support and collaboration throughout the training year. While interns will be working primarily within the specialty of Behavioral Medicine, they will also have opportunities to work and train in other areas of the medical center. Available opportunities include rotations in Endocrinology and Lifestyle Medicine.

In this track, doctoral interns will have the opportunity to diagnose, develop treatment plans, and care for patients within the partnering departments of medicine. Pediatric BMS interns will assist medical care providers and their patients by addressing behavioral and psychological factors that contribute to overall improved health outcomes. Interns will be exposed to a wide range of presenting problems that are intertwined with mental health, including chronic conditions such as diabetes mellitus, chronic pain, headaches, insomnia, and irritable bowel syndrome. In addition, Pediatric BMS interns will be integral in treating adjustment disorders often related to coping with medical diagnoses in gastroenterology, palliative care, oncology, endocrinology, etc. This track broadens and deepens brief assessment and intervention skills across many diagnoses with a very diverse group of patients.

The BMS model allows for warm handoffs from the physicians for patients who may be ambivalent about treatment engagement or likely to benefit from a brief intervention. Doctoral interns will collaborate with physicians on the evaluation of psychotropic medications within their scope of practice. Interns serve as a liaison between the patient and physician, especially in monitoring patients’ response to medications. Interns will also aid in general medication compliance with the goal of optimizing overall health. An additional responsibility of the Pediatric BMS track is performing ADHD evaluation and feedback sessions. Opportunities to gain experience with gender care and lifestyle medicine are also available in addition to options for co-facilitating groups for gender care, sleep, lifestyle medicine, chronic condition management, etc.