Psychology Practicum Extern – Redwood City

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

• • Providing externs with opportunities to work with patients who represent various aspects of diversity, including age, religion, gender, disability status, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, values, and lifestyle.
  • Placing a high value on externs’ willingness to engage in self-reflection, and supporting the exploration of attitudes, beliefs, and therapeutic postures that could impact clinical interactions.
  •  Maintaining a consistent focus in clinical supervision on expanding externs’ multicultural awareness and competence in the provision of psychotherapeutic services and cultivating a sense of inclusion and belonging in the workplace.
  •  Encouraging externs to participate in the Regional Mental Health Training Program Equity, Inclusion, and Diversity Committee’s seminars related to cultural sensitivity and competence as their schedule permits

Regularly scheduled weekly didactic seminars are organized and administered at the regional level for KP NorCal trainees.  Psychology externs are required to attend the one-hour weekly seminar. Diversity issues are always integrated into seminar presentations.

Additionally, our Regional Mental Health Training Program sponsors 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 host national experts and keynote speakers on a variety of cutting-edge topics in mental health treatment and research.  Externs are required to attend these monthly regional trainings as their schedule permits.

Training course dates and a list of speakers and topics can be found on the Regional Mental Health Training Programs website. Many of these lectures are recorded and available in the continuing education lecture library.

Practicum externs are invited to participate in multidisciplinary team meetings relevant to their rotations and clinical work. Bilingual Spanish-speaking externs are invited to participate in our weekly La Clinica case consultation to receive support with Latinx families.

Telehealth Training:

• Kaiser Permanente has significantly integrated telehealth into all aspects of clinical interventions and modality. We train our externs to practice in a variety of trailblazing platforms in telemedicine to provide accessible mental health care.

Each practicum extern is supervised by a licensed psychologist who meets with the extern for one hour a week in individual face-to-face supervision. The assigned supervisor takes the lead role in developing the extern’s learning plan and schedule, supervising their clinical work, and helping them navigate the KP mental health system.  On a quarterly basis, the supervisor gathers input from staff members who have worked with the extern and formally evaluates the developing competency of externs.  Externs in the Redwood City Psychiatry department may receive supplemental individual supervision from Psychology Postdoctoral Residents.

Practicum externs receive 1 hour of group supervision per week for case presentation and consultation. Depending on available opportunities, externs may also participate in group supervision for psychological testing/ADHD assessment and in a cultural conversation/diversity seminar.  Group supervision allows for vicarious learning and modeling as well as giving and receiving feedback. These experiences help the extern to develop both the collegial and supervisory aspects of their professional identity.

Psychological Assessment is not a guaranteed opportunity within our practicum program. Depending on extern interest, motivation, and clinic need, there may be some assessment opportunities during the training year through our ADHD evaluation clinic.

As part of this track, practicum externs carry a caseload of child and adolescent patients aged 6 to 18 years old. Externs evaluate and diagnose a range of mental health conditions based on DSM-5 and ICD-10 criteria, develop treatment plans, and learn how to articulate those plans to patients and their families. Externs deliver evidence-based individual and family interventions within a feedback informed care model that includes the use of outcomes monitoring. Training in evidence-based group therapy consists of co-facilitating groups and classes under the supervision of licensed therapists. Externs assess clinical crises and apply risk management interventions as needed.