Doctoral Internship – Walnut Creek

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.

In addition to the regional didactic seminars, the Walnut Creek Internship also provides site-specific didactics for the specialty services provided within the training rotations.

Doctoral interns are provided with opportunities to take part in several departmental meetings and seminars throughout the training year. The list below features prominent meetings available to trainees.

• AMRS Case Conference
• Professional Development Seminar
• ADHD Process and Competing Diagnoses Lectures
• Neuropsychological Assessment & Testing for Adults and Pediatric Patients Seminar
• Supervision Models and Competencies Monthly Series
• Feedback Informed Care Case Consultation
• Mood Management Team Consultation
• Medical team huddles
• Provider Continuing Education

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 rotation 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 Walnut Creek Internship enjoys community partnerships with Trinity Center, Dozier Libbey Medical High School, KP Launch Summer Internship, and other local organizations.

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 neuropsychological assessment and specialty ADHD evaluations. Interns receive assessment training support in group supervision, and a supplemental assessment lab is available as needed.

At the beginning of the training year, the site training director works with each doctoral intern to determine which research-based training activity they will engage in over the course of the training year. Interns may choose to collaborate with local department staff to develop a site-specific program evaluation project, collaborate on a program evaluation project with the MHTP Evaluation and Quality Improvement Lab (EQI Lab), or join the MHTP Journal Club.

• Site-Specific Program Evaluation: projects are focused on existing clinic service lines, treatment programs, or patient care workflows and should fall within the regular scope of departmental services. Projects may involve collecting and analyzing administrative data to improve operations, or they may be a quality improvement/assurance project whose purpose is to improve or assess existing Kaiser Permanente programs or procedures (e.g., evaluation of factors associated with treatment outcomes or an empirical needs assessment of a clinical area that would be enriched by psychological services). Interns meet regularly with training faculty over the course of the training year to review progress on their projects.
• MHTP EQI Lab Program Evaluation: projects are guided by quality improvement goals that extend beyond local, site-specific programs. Projects may focus on outcomes of training program models, the impact of MHTP specialty training, the effectiveness of MHTP-sponsored treatment programs, or the incorporation of outcomes measures into clinic workflows. The EQI Lab holds weekly, 1-hour meetings throughout the training year to coordinate MHTP program evaluation projects and monitor progress. During these weekly lab meetings, interns receive consultation from MHTP clinical supervisors to ensure that their projects are relevant to current clinical work, integrated into clinical care, and appropriate for dissemination.
• MHTP Journal Club: research training consists of reviewing and critically evaluating research within a select subfield of psychology and developing a didactic tool for other clinicians to use to augment their clinical practice during the delivery of services within KP Mental Health. The primary expectation for interns in the Journal Club is to prepare brief presentations that take place during the last month of each quarter. The Journal Club holds monthly, 1-hour meetings in addition to weekly presentations during the last month of every quarter.

On this training track, interns will have broad exposure to eating disorders treatment on a multidisciplinary team of providers treating patients at the highest level of outpatient care. They will learn how to utilize Exposure Based milieu therapy and provide Family-Based Therapy for eating disorders. This training opportunity is primarily for providing group therapy in the Eating Disorders Intensive Outpatient Program, and for learning how to conduct individualized intake assessments with a specialized population. Opportunities exist for multidisciplinary collaboration with adolescent medicine specialists, physicians, and registered dieticians. Additional opportunities may be available for interns to shadow medical treatment in the adjacent inpatient adolescent eating disorder unit. Interns will provide a combination of virtual and in person services to both adult and teen patients. Trainees from other levels will also be learning in this enriched environment, such as practicum externs and postdoctoral residents, where the referrals are region wide. Assessment training in Neuropsychology and / or ADHD is provided, and cases are assigned from a separate referral pool.

The Intensive Outpatient Program is a unique training opportunity with adult patients stepping down from hospitalization or increasing the level of care from standard outpatient treatment. Interns will be involved with individualized treatment planning for psychiatric adult outpatients at the highest level of acuity. Interns will gain experience with evidence-based treatments for patients with serious and persistent mental illness, including DBT, CBT and milieu therapy. Treatment modalities in this rotation include group and individual psychotherapy. There are numerous opportunities for interns to collaborate with multidisciplinary treatment team providers within and outside our organization. Interns can follow patients through Aftercare planning and sometimes through the next phase of their stabilization. Assessment training in Neuropsychology and / or ADHD is provided, and cases are assigned from a separate referral pool.

The Intensive Outpatient Program is unique training with teenaged patients stepping down from hospitalization or increasing their level of care from standard outpatient treatment. Interns will be involved with individualized treatment planning for psychiatric teen outpatients at the highest level of acuity. Often their families also are engaged in treatment. Interns will gain experience with evidence-based treatments for patients with serious mental illness, and they will learn a risk assessment protocol specifically designed for children and teenagers. Treatment modalities in this rotation include group, family, and individual psychotherapy. Interns can follow patients through Aftercare Planning and sometimes through their stabilization period.  Assessment training in Neuropsychology and / or ADHD is provided, and cases are assigned from a separate referral pool, providing teens or child referrals when they are available.

On this unique track in Health Psychology Services and embedded in OBGYN departments, the intern receives supervised professional experience in consulting, brief treatments and groups. The training focuses on preventing the predictable negative health consequences of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). Emphasis is on early intervention, multicultural competency and applications to healthcare in meeting patients, families and their providers with their presenting concerns. Collaboration on multidisciplinary teams through daily huddles, department consultation, education and program evaluation.  Assessment training in Neuropsychology and / or ADHD is provided, and cases are assigned from a separate referral pool.

This track offers specialized clinical training for adult patients utilizing evidence-based treatments. Interns will learn to develop individualized treatment plans that integrate individual psychotherapy, psychoeducational groups with therapeutic homework assignments, all with an emphasis on ongoing feedback informed care. Treatment pathways in this rotation consist of focused collaborative approaches to treating mood disorders presented by our general adult population.6.  Interns may also have an opportunity for some exposure to treatment of trauma related conditions.  Assessment training in Neuropsychology and / or ADHD is provided, and cases are assigned from a separate referral pool.

This comprehensive training track is on a truly multidisciplinary, integrated medical team treating patients at the highest level of outpatient care for Substance Use Disorders. Interns are introduced to all roles and expectations on an outpatient treatment team providing group and individual psychological services including intake assessments, psychoeducation and other group and individual therapeutic services. Treatment is provided to adult outpatients in the Addiction Medicine & Recovery Services (AMRS) Department’s most acute level of abstinence-based treatment.  Assessment training in Neuropsychology and / or ADHD is provided, and cases are assigned from a separate referral pool.

This training track introduces collaborative care and a broad introduction to team-based outpatient care on a truly multidisciplinary, integrated medical team. Interns are provided practice opportunities with a wide range of role models, roles and expectations on an outpatient treatment team providing group and individual psychological services for adults. Interns will be trained to conduct including intake assessments, psychoeducation and other group and individual therapeutic services. They also will be introduced to the Harm Reduction Model, cofacilitating once weekly a virtual group for patients seeking to moderate their substance use.  Assessment training in Neuropsychology and / or ADHD is provided, and cases are assigned from a separate referral pool.