Associate Post Master’s Mental Health Fellowship – South San Francisco

At Kaiser Permanente South San Francisco Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health Services, we strive to put Equity, Inclusion, and Diversity into action and value every patient’s experience with the goal of providing culturally responsive, trauma-informed, and compassionate care. Our clinic provides an opportunity for
trainees to be part of a multidisciplinary team who proudly serve a diverse patient population representing a range of cultural backgrounds and mental health experiences.

Supervisors work closely with their trainees to develop their cultural and clinical awareness and nurture their growth as critical and curious thinkers. To further foster this personal and professional growth, trainees attend bi-weekly Equity, Inclusion, and Diversity seminars, a space to have conversations about what’s happening in their practice, their lives, and the world around topics like authenticity, power, microaggressions, intersectionality, cultural humility, gender, sexuality, and privilege.

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.

Trainees attend weekly team meetings, case consultations, committee meetings, and other regional training program meetings.

All fellows are provided with two hours of weekly individual supervision with a primary and secondary supervisor, and two additional hours of weekly group supervision.

The primary and secondary supervisor is responsible for supervising the direct delivery of clinical services. This supervisor takes the lead role in monitoring the fellow’s progress, providing feedback on strengths and areas in need of further development, ensuring effective and safe patient care, adequate documentation, and evaluating training schedules.

Group supervision includes opportunities for fellows to present and discuss cases. Fellows learn how to address treatment through a cultural framework including ethnicity, language, age, gender and sexual identity. Group supervision allows for vicarious learning, practice with professional public clinical presentations, and learning how to give and receive feedback.

Reflecting Kaiser Permanente’s core commitment to mental health and wellness in our communities, each trainee 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 our Kaiser Permanente members. Most recently our partnerships have been with Trinity Center, Dozier Libbey Medical High School, KP Launch Summer Internship. Other local opportunities available.

The goal of these projects is to provide outreach to underserved populations in the community to promote healthy behaviors. Training Objectives include developing acquaintance with the tenets of Community Psychology, as well as gaining experience in community outreach, and the development of partnerships within internal and external systems.

Kaiser Permanente Accelerate Program for Anxiety provides care for patients experiencing moderate to severe symptoms of anxiety, with diagnoses of generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder, panic disorder, specific phobia, panic disorder, and other anxiety disorders. Patients attend weekly individual and group therapy and an orientation class. Medication management may also be part of a patient’s treatment plan. Evidence-based treatment and interventions include Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, and Exposure and Response Prevention Therapy. Trainees will be part of a multidisciplinary team and provide individual therapy, group therapy, and attend a weekly case consultation. Both Adult Mental Health Services and Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services offer the KP Accelerate Program for Anxiety.

Kaiser Permanente Accelerate Program for Depression provides care for patients experiencing moderate to severe symptoms of depression, with diagnoses of major depressive disorder, persistent depressive disorder, and other depressive disorders. Patients attend weekly individual and group therapy and an orientation class. Medication management may also be part of a patient’s treatment plan. Evidence-based treatment and interventions include Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, and Interpersonal Therapy. Trainees will be part of a multidisciplinary team and provide individual therapy, group therapy, and attend a weekly case consultation. Both Adult Mental Health Services and Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services offer the KP Accelerate Program for Depression.

Kaiser Permanente SSF Adult Mental Health Services Crisis Program provides care for patients experiencing suicidal ideation and/or self-harm behaviors, or patients in acute crisis needing urgent services. Patients attend weekly individual and group therapy. Evidence-based treatment and interventions include The Collaborative Assessment and Management of Suicidality framework, Cognitive Therapy for Suicidal Patients, and Dialectical Behavior Therapy. Medication management may also be part of a patient’s treatment plan. Trainees will be part of a multidisciplinary team and provide individual therapy, group therapy, and attend a weekly case consultation.

Kaise Permanente SSF Adult Mental Health Services Trauma Pathways Program provides care for patients experiencing moderate to severe symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. Patients attend weekly individual and group therapy and an orientation class. Evidence-based treatment and interventions include Skills Training in Affective and Interpersonal Regulation, Written Exposure Therapy, Cognitive Processing Therapy, and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. Medication management may also be part of a patient’s treatment plan. Trainees will be part of a multidisciplinary team and provide individual therapy, group therapy, and attend a weekly case consultation.

Addiction Medicine and Recovery Services cares for patients experiencing mild to moderate substance use disorders and cooccurring mental health conditions. Patients attend individual and group therapy while in the program. Evidence based treatment and interventions include harm-reduction and abstinence-based treatment. Medication management may also be part of a patient’s treatment plan. Trainees will be part of a multidisciplinary team and provide both individual and group therapy and attend a weekly case consultation.

Focused Therapy provides care for patients experiencing moderate to severe symptoms of a range of mental health challenges, including adjustment disorders, grief and bereavement, work stress, family stress, and relationship stress. Patients participate in weekly individual, couples, or family therapy. Evidence-based treatment and interventions include Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Solutions Focused Therapy, Problem-Solving Therapy, and Focused Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. Medication management may also be part of a patient’s treatment plan. Trainees will be part of a multidisciplinary team and provide individual, couples, or family therapy, and attend a weekly case consultation. Both Adult Mental Health Services and Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services offer Focused Therapy.

The Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) is a partial hospitalization program that provides the highest level of outpatient care for Addiction Medicine and Recovery Services, Adult Mental Health Services, and Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services. Across departments, patients attend group therapy and have individual check-ins for therapy and case management. Evidence-based treatment and interventions include Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Compassion Focused Therapy, and Dialectical Behavior Therapy. Medication management may also be part of a patient’s treatment plan. Trainees will be part of a multidisciplinary team and provide intake assessments, individual check-ins, group therapy, and attend IOP team huddles.

Kaiser Permanente South San Francisco Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health Services is home to La Clinica; a therapist-led program that provides culturally sensitive services to our Spanish speaking community. La Clinica therapists take time to honor the patient’s story and consider the impacts of culture, language, oppressive systems, and historical context in providing care. Patients receiving care in La Clinica are experiencing a range of mental health challenges and diagnoses and attend both individual and group therapy. Evidence-based treatment and interventions include Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, relational and processing therapies, and family systems therapy. Medication management may also be part of a patient’s treatment plan. Trainees will be part of a multidisciplinary team and provide individual or group therapy and attend bilingual case consultations and La Clinica team meetings.

Outpatient Case Management Services provides support and resources to the Serious Persistent Mental Illness community seeking care with Adult Mental Health Services and to families, parents, and children needing resources and coordination of care with Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services. In both departments, patients attend individual case management sessions and group therapy. Evidence-based treatment and interventions consist of recovery-oriented approaches, including Social Skills Training and Illness Management and Recovery. Trainees will be part of a multidisciplinary team and provide individual case management sessions, group therapy, and attend a weekly case consultation.