Postdoctoral Residency

The Department of Psychiatry at Kaiser Permanente Santa Rosa Medical Center is the second largest department in a medical center that services over 135,000 members.

It is composed of four teams: Adult, Child/Family, Addiction Medicine, and Behavioral Medicine. Our departments are made up of psychologists, psychiatrists, LCSWs, MFTs, RNs, medical assistants, four postdoctoral psychology residents, three MSW interns, and a large support staff.

Kaiser Permanente’s feedback informed care approach to mental health assists therapist and patient to create a collaborative approach to treatment and help assess how well it is working. Feedback informed care will help a therapist and client decide what kind of treatment to use, what outcomes are important to the patient, and when to consider concluding treatment. The accompanying software, called Tridiuum, scores patients’ progress over time, giving therapists a transformative new tool to aid them in treatment decisions.

Program evaluation is a paring of our resident’s superior knowledge and skill in designing and evaluating different types of programs or system, with their passion in the field.  There projects are fun and doable in the residency year.

There are many opportunities to develop or enhance their competency in teaching. Postdoctoral Residents teach in the Psychiatry Grand Rounds series, conduct didactic seminars in the Doctoral Internship seminars, and teach to the NorthBay Consortium cohort and in the community project partnership.

Postdoctoral Residents in our clinical tracks provide supervised supervision to Doctoral Interns. Postdoctoral Residents receive training in supervision and ongoing supervision of supervision to help support skill acquisition in this competency area.

Postdoctoral Residents and Doctoral Interns at Kaiser Permanente-Santa Rosa collaborated with the Resilience in School Environments (RISE) initiative of Thriving Schools and the staff and teachers at Santa Rosa City School  Ridgway High School, to create a curriculum intended to promote mindfulness and foster well-being  within the school community.

The module series is designed by the trainees, who will provide psychoeducation on the many benefits of mindfulness  and teach techniques that school staff and teachers can use in their daily lives, their classrooms, and in the community-at-large. Modules include such topics and practices as self-compassion, emotion regulation, meaning-making, self-care, coping skills, effective communication and de-escalation, embodied movement, and Yoga. Each trainee will deliver an effective mindfulness concept or technique to school staff and faculty in support of RISE’s ongoing commitment to address the underlying factors of stress in schools and develop strategies and practices that foster more positive school environments.

Kaiser Permanente Santa Rosa is pleased to offer 1 Behavioral Medicine Psychology Postdoctoral Residency position. The position will be based primarily out of the Rohnert Park Medical Center.

The Behavioral Medicine Psychology Postdoctoral Resident will spend approximately half of their time in Behavioral Medicine (BMS) which is embedded within primary care. The resident will assist medical care providers and their patients by addressing behavioral and psychological factors that contribute to overall improved health. Patients present to Behavioral Medicine with a wide variety of stressors and diagnoses including: mild to moderate mood disorders, substance abuse disorders, relationship problems, stress, bereavement, and adjustment disorders often related to coping with medical diagnoses. In this role, residents will have the opportunity to diagnose, develop treatment plans, and care for patients within the department of medicine. Behavioral Medicine providers co-treat chronic conditions including diabetes mellitus, chronic pain, headaches, and irritable bowel syndrome.

The BMS model allows for referrals and warm hand offs from physicians, for patients who may be treatment resistant or likely to benefit from a brief intervention. The resident will collaborate with physicians on the evaluation of psychotropic medications within their scope of practice. Residents serve as a liaison between patient and physician especially in monitoring response to medications. The resident will also have the opportunity to co-facilitate a weekly ongoing phase of life group for seniors.

Tracks Available

• Adult Psychiatry Team
• Child & Family Psychiatry Team
• Addiction Medicine Recovery Services
• Chronic Pain

*Postdoctoral Residency can select one or two tracks for specialized training.

Adult Postdoctoral Residents will provide individual, group and couples psychotherapy for adults seeking services in the Adult Psychiatry Department. Group opportunities may include ACT, DBT, Anxiety and acute process groups. Postdoctoral Residents work within an integrative care model consulting with other therapist, primary and specialty care physicians, psychiatrist, nurses, within Kaiser as well as outside Kaiser when clinically indicated. All Postdoctoral Residence utilize evidence-based interventions within a feedback informed care model (e.g., Tridium).

ADHD Assessment and Diagnosis

The Postdoctoral Resident will administer and interpret standardized screening measures for Adult ADHD, as well has how to gather history for the purpose of diagnosing ADHD. Postdoctoral Resident will facilitate consultation and coordination of care for adult clients in integrating care across departments. All Postdoctoral Residence utilize evidence-based interventions within a feedback informed care model (e.g., Tridium).

Child and Family Postdoctoral Residents will provide individual, family, parent and group psychotherapy focused on children ages 2-18 years old. Group opportunities may include the Teen Intensive Outpatient Group, Acute group for teenagers, anxiety groups for children and parents, developmental skills groups for elementary aged children. All Postdoctoral Residents in Child and Family Psychiatry Department will be trained in ADHD assessment and help coordinate care both within and outside Kaiser Permanente.

All Postdoctoral Residents work within an integrative care model consulting with other therapist, primary and specialty care physicians, psychiatrist, nurses, within Kaiser as well as outside Kaiser Permanente when clinically indicated. All Postdoctoral Residence utilize evidence-based interventions within a feedback informed care model (e.g., Tridium).

The Addiction medicine Postdoctoral Resident will have the opportunity to work with a multidisciplinary team in the treatment of addictions.  Postdoctoral Residents will provide intakes for patients seeking addiction medicine services, case management of clients in recovery services, individual psychotherapy, co-dependency work, as well as group psychotherapy.  Group opportunities may include intensive recovery groups, psycho-educational classes to patients, as well as long-term recovery groups.

All Postdoctoral Residence utilize evidence-based interventions within a feedback informed care model (e.g., Tridium).

In the Chronic Pain program, Postdoctoral Resident work on an multidisciplinary team, which include:  physicians, nurses, psychologist, licensed clinical social workers, physical therapists and masters level therapists, to provide a holistic approach to pain management.

Postdoctoral Residents have the opportunity to facilitate groups, provide individual psychotherapy, and work collaboratively with their team to support treatment interventions for clients in Chronic Pain management.