Postdoctoral Residency

The Vacaville and Fairfield clinics are located approximately 35-55 miles between the large cities of Sacramento and San Francisco and about 2 hours away from Lake Tahoe and the Sierra Mountains. Both clinics are located in Solano County, which neighbors Napa county and wine country—just a short 20 minutes away.

Between the two clinics, we serve approximately 150,000 Kaiser members including a significant portion of Medi-Cal patients. Solano County is extremely diverse in terms of racial and ethnic identities with large populations of Filipinx, Latinx, and African American clients who utilize our services. Our clinics in particular see a vast span with regard to socioeconomic diversity. We serve a number of folks who commute into the larger cities for their jobs and our catchment area also includes patients from more rural nearby towns.

The clinics provide individual, group, and family treatment for a variety of psychiatric disorders as well as case management and Intensive Outpatient Services. We offer psychological assessment opportunities and we work closely with the interdisciplinary teams at Kaiser Vacaville Medical Center, ER, and Trauma Unit as well as the Fairfield Outpatient Medical Offices.

More recently our clinics have been able to offer assessment and treatment for Gender Care issues (for teens, adults, and their families) and folks seeking treatment through the Multi-Specialty Transitions (MST) Clinic in Oakland.

The Vacaville clinic began as a satellite of our sister clinic in Vallejo in the 1980’s. Over the years, our programs and services have expanded to accommodate our ever-growing patient population and in 2019, half of our staff transitioned to open an additional satellite clinic in Fairfield. Though our staff is now housed in two different sites, we remain, very much a team.  Many of us worked together for a long period of time (a number of staff members trained together as postdocs) and we are very comfortable consulting, supporting, and sharing resources with one another and across locations. We are collaborative, always consulting with our colleagues in other disciplines and we encourage our residents to do this from the start of the training year.

We value our residents and appreciate the energy and enthusiasm they bring to the team. Former resident programs, ideas, and contributions continue to be a respected legacy in our clinics—e.g., a former resident proposed a Practicum program and a year later we had our first practicum students begin in the clinic. This program continues to grow.

Our training team is committed to providing a worthwhile and individualized final year training experience for folks that are ready to launch into the field. We want you to have the breadth and depth of experiences that will prepare you to be the best clinician you can be and we are committed to providing a supportive and nurturing environment to allow this to happen.

Our clinics take the commitment to the ongoing process of learning very seriously. As life-long learners when it comes to Equity, Inclusion, and Diversity, we hope to inspire and nurture this value in our trainees. In addition to having the opportunity to work with a diverse patient population, Vacaville and Fairfield postdocs will attend weekly EID supervision, receive EID focused didactics, and have the opportunity to participate in the KP Vacaville EID Task Force with other members of the KP Vacaville Psychiatry Department Staff.

In EID supervision, postdocs participate in an hour-long group supervision with the other Vacaville/Fairfield postdocs solely dedicated to discussing issues related to equity, inclusion, diversity, and culture. Postdocs will be encouraged to explore their own intersecting identities and how their background and culture influences who they are as therapists, as well as their relationships with patients. Throughout the year, postdocs will be asked to bring in scientific articles related to EID, and present cases in which EID is a central component of the patient’s presenting problem, the therapeutic relationship, and/or treatment planning.  Each week, postdocs also have the opportunity to check-in and process anything that has surfaced over the previous week related to EID. The licensed psychologist who facilitates this supervision works hard to create a safe space to explore these complex issues.

The Vacaville EID Task Force is a group of psychologists, LMFTs, LCSWs, psychiatrists, trainees, and support staff in the Vacaville Psychiatry Department who are passionate about issues related to culture and diversity. The task force meets monthly to plan events and discussions for staff related to EID, discuss trainings and speakers to bring to the department, and continue advancing employee understanding and engagement of issues related to EID. Additionally, the task force discusses how to continue enhancing our Kaiser Permanente members care experience in our department, and ensure we create a welcoming and safe space for individuals and groups who have been historically marginalized. We invite interested trainees to join the task force, and welcome new ideas and perspectives.

As part of their training year, postdocs will attend weekly local didactic trainings and monthly regional didactics with all northern California Kaiser Permanente trainees. These trainings span a wide array of topics, but many are directly related to culture and varying types of diversity.

The training year typically begins the Tuesday after Labor Day and extends through the Friday before Labor Day of the following year. Orientation lasts through the first 3 weeks of September and involves training in our electronic records system (an Epic based program) as well as our booking system.

Residents will have an opportunity during these weeks to shadow and observe staff in the clinic through intakes as well as groups as a means to help them decide how they would like to tailor their training year.  At the end of orientation, residents meet with primary and secondary supervisors to discuss an individualized training plan for the year that is unique to their interests and training needs.

The training year is very fast paced. Our most successful residents are flexible, open, and self-sufficient. Given our multidisciplinary model of care, it is also helpful to be comfortable with collaboration and consultation.

• 100% of our former residents went on to be hired into professional Psychologist/Psych Assistant positions right out of their residency year!
• 15/17 former residents chose positions within the Kaiser Permanente Northern California region
• All of our residents will have an opportunity to supervise a practicum student during their training year
• Residents have access to the staff gym on the Vacaville campus as well as a number of fitness and wellness programs offered to staff
• Residents also have access to Kaiser Permanente employee discounts for events such as NBA game tickets and Bottlerock Festival day passes

Our clinics offer a wide variety of clinical programs for adults and children/teens including individual and group treatment, as well as Intensive Outpatient Programs and psychological assessment. Residents have an opportunity to work in all areas of clinical service and we encourage our residents to choose programs and clinical opportunities that allow them to hone their specific areas of interest.

• Eating Disorders Track
• Adult Team Track
• Child & Family Team Track
• Hybrid Adult/Child & Family Track

“Mini” Rotations

• Addiction Medicine Recovery Services (AMRS)
• Behavioral Medicine (Family Medicine & Women’s Health)
• Hospital Based Consult/Liaison Services
• Intensive Outpatient Programs (IOP)

In this year-long training track, residents have the opportunity to experience working with a variety of eating disorder presentations through our outpatient clinic.

• Residents will manage an individual caseload of patients struggling with disordered eating behavior and body image concerns.
• Attend weekly multidisciplinary case consultation to round on cases and consult with medical team and medical nutrition therapist(s)
• Attend Regional Trainings specific to treatment of eating disorders in outpatient setting.
• Co-lead clinic groups focused on treatment of disordered eating behavior and body image concerns

In this year-long training track, residents have the opportunity to experience working with a variety of mental health presentations through our general outpatient behavioral health clinics.  We see a wide range of clinical concerns from adjustment disorders, depression, anxiety to PTSD, and Schizophrenia and everything in between. Residents on this track will have opportunities to:

• Manage an individual caseload of patients using evidence-based treatments to address their clinical concerns
• Attend weekly Feedback Informed Care case consultation meetings to decipher treatment efficacy and consult about adjusting treatment needs
• Attend Regional Trainings specific to treatment of adult mental health concerns in outpatient setting.
• Co-lead clinic groups focused on treatment of a variety of clinical presentations (e.g., DBT, Depression Skills, Anxiety Skills, Relationship Skills)
• Participate in specialized Adult Treatment Services including our new Trauma Treatment Program which focuses on reducing ACE Scores, treating PTSD and Acute Stress Disorder using CPT (Cognitive Process Therapy) via individual and group modalities.
• Participate in our Adult Intensive Outpatient Program which is a two-week long, 3-4 day per week, intensive group program focusing on stabilizing acute psychiatric symptoms.
• Conduct psychological assessments with adult patients examining a variety of referral questions (e.g, diagnostic clarification, treatment recommendations, Adult ASD).

In this year-long training track, residents have the opportunity to experience working with a variety of mental health presentations through our general outpatient behavioral health clinics.  We see a wide range of childhood clinical concerns from Adjustment issues, anxiety, ASD, to ADHD, ODD, and other behavioral problems. Residents on this track will have opportunities to:

• Manage an individual caseload of patients using evidence-based treatments to address their clinical concerns
• Attend weekly Feedback Informed Care case consultation meetings to decipher treatment efficacy and consult about adjusting treatment needs
• Attend Didactic Trainings specific to treatment of childhood mental health concerns in outpatient setting.
• Co-lead clinic groups focused on treatment of a variety of clinical presentations (e.g., Anxiety, Teen Stress, Flexible Thinking, ADHD)
• Complete psychological assessments for ADHD and a number of other psych diagnostic questions.
• Participate in the Teen and/or Young Teen Intensive Outpatient Programs (IOP) including co-leading skill and process groups for teens and their families.

In this year-long training track, residents have the opportunity to experience working with a variety of mental health presentations through our general outpatient clinics with both adults and children/families. They will have a chance to participate all any of the clinical service opportunities listed on the Adult Team Track and the Child & Family Team Track to be able to tailor a truly unique and specialized training experience. Residents on this track will:

• Manage an individual caseload of adult and child patients struggling with a variety of clinical concerns.
• Attend both weekly Feedback Informed Care case consultation meetings (child and adult) to decipher treatment efficacy and consult about adjusting treatment needs
• Attend Regional Trainings specific to treatment of both adult and child mental health concerns in outpatient setting.
• Co-lead clinic groups focused on treatment of a variety of clinical presentations for adults and children
• Participate in specialized treatment programs for adults and children (IOP, Trauma Program, Teen IOP, or Young Teen IOP).
• Conduct psychological assessments with adult and child patients examining a variety of referral questions.

“Mini” Rotations

Residents have an opportunity throughout the training year to engage in “mini”-rotations which involves working one full or half day in a specialized program outside of general psychiatry. It is generally possible to complete at least 2 in a given training year depending on the length of time chosen to participate which can range from 8-12 weeks but sometimes longer depending on a resident’s training interests.

“Mini” Rotations:

• Addiction Medicine Recovery Services (AMRS)
• Behavioral Medicine (Family Medicine & Women’s Health)
• Hospital Based Consult/Liaison Services
• Intensive Outpatient Programs (IOP)

Residents work closely with AMRS staff to provide intake services and co-lead treatment groups for patients struggling with substance use and addiction issues. Topics include Harm Reduction, Early Recovery Program, Codependency, and Buprenorphine and Suboxone Management

Step inside the world of a health psychologist working within the departments of Family Medicine and Obstetrics and Gynecology.

A “mini”-rotation through our BMS program allows residents to experience the fast paced, ever exciting world of psychology in primary care. Residents usually complete a half day rotation, one day per week, holding a caseload of BMS patients for the duration of the rotation.

While there are numerous opportunities for our residents to work closely with interdisciplinary staff in all of our programs, this “mini”-rotation allows the residents to work directly with primary care physicians and staff.

A “mini”-rotation through the Hospital Based Consult Liaison services offers residents a glimpse of the fast- paced professional life of a hospital-based psychologist.

Our facility houses a 24-hour Emergency Room as well as a Level 2 Medical Trauma center and medical unit. Residents who choose this “mini”-rotation have an opportunity to learn how to conduct safety assessments in the ER as well as provide on-site urgent intervention for patients on the medical units.

All of our residents will have the opportunity to rotate through one of our three Intensive Outpatient Programs depending on their clinical training interests. This can be a half day per week commitment or more if the resident wishes to have a more immersive experience.

Many of our residents over the years have chosen to participate in multiple IOP “mini”-rotations. Our Adult IOP offers case management, group therapy and skills, and medication management to adults struggling with high acuity mental health concerns and meets 3 half days per week.

Our Teen IOP  and Young Teen IOP programs offer support and skills for teens and their families via two different process groups that meet weekly (one focused on families and the other allowing the teens their own space to process and receive support).