Why Learn with Us
About Our Program
The Kaiser Permanente Mental Health Training Programs in Northern California provide comprehensive training to over 250 Mental Health Trainees. Our Pre-Masters Mental Health Internship, Associate Post Masters Mental Health Fellowship, Psychology Doctoral Practicums, Psychology Doctoral Interns, Psychology Postdoctoral Residents and Neuropsychology Postdoctoral Residents play a vital role in the overall healthcare delivery system for one of America’s leading, integrated health care system which is committed to shaping the future of health care.
Our Postdoctoral Residency and Internship programs are APA-accredited, with the exception of our Neuropsychology Postdoctoral Residency Consortium (Vallejo/San Francisco) (APPIC membership) and North Valley Neuropsychology Postdoctoral Residency program.
Health care, as envisioned by Kaiser Permanente, is an integrated system, and each training site provides a full range of services to a broad range of diverse patients. Each site has mental health clinicians working in various departments including Mental Health, Chronic Pain, Addiction Medicine, Behavioral Medicine and in specialty areas such as Pediatrics, Internal Medicine, Neurology to name a few. We work together to provide integrated treatment and our trainees are embedded within their respective team. Every Kaiser Permanente Medical Center provides extensive clinical services, and all training sites provide brief individual, group and family therapy, crisis intervention and an Intensive Outpatient Program as well as access to inpatient treatment.
Delivery of integrated care relies on mental health service providers having a working knowledge of advances in psychoneuroimmunology, chronic medical conditions, the adaptation of neuroscience and psychotherapy research into treatment. The program brings in outside speakers each year to present on a range of topics, including the cutting edge of mind-body medicine, obesity, sleep disorders and inflammation, the science of happiness, cultural humility and the science of burnout, to name a few.
Trainees also work on a community partnership project, conduct program evaluations and attend a bimonthly diversity forum hosted by our dedicated Diversity Liaisons.
Training Programs outside of Northern California include Southern California, Colorado, the Northwest (Oregon/Washington), Georgia and Hawaii.
Mission Statement
Kaiser Permanente’s mission is to provide efficient, high-quality, evidence-based, integrated health care while supporting innovation and continuous quality improvement. KP identifies this objective in its official mission statement, “to provide high quality, affordable health care services and to improve the health of our members and the communities we serve”.
The mental health training program’s mission statement declares that the programs are “committed to training within an integrated health care system in order to prepare them for dynamic roles as practicing licensed professionals in the health care system of the future”.
Salary and Benefits
Mental Health Training Program Wage Structure 2023-2024
| Position | Hourly Rate |
|---|---|
| Psychology Doctoral Intern (1-year temporary with benefits) | $24.1827 |
| Psychology Postdoctoral Resident (1-year temporary with benefits) | $32.8365 |
| Neuropsychology Postdoctoral Resident (2-year temporary with benefits) | $33.0168 (1st year) $33.8031 (2nd year) |
| Associate Post Masters Mental Health Fellow (1-year temporary with benefits) | $21.7788 |
Mental Health Training Program Wage Structure 2022-2023
| Position | Hourly Rate |
|---|---|
| Psychology Doctoral Intern (1-year temporary with benefits) | $23.6871 |
| Psychology Postdoctoral Resident (1-year temporary with benefits) | $32.2115 |
| Neuropsychology Postdoctoral Resident (2-year temporary with benefits) | $32.2115 (1st year) $32.9786 (2nd year) |
| Associate Post Masters Mental Health Fellow (1-year temporary with benefits) | $21.3396 |
Use of Virtual Technology
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Kaiser Permanente Mental Health Training programs implemented significant changes to our training model to ensure the safety of our trainees and members. This included a rapid pivot to a remote model of service delivery and training in March 2020, in which our trainees around the region engaged in virtual care delivery and received supervision and training using remote modalities.
While the pandemic situation remains fluid, we continue to utilize virtual methods of care delivery and training activities where appropriate, and follow all state, national, and accreditation guidelines where applicable. Currently, there is variability depending on specific training location/track/discipline in terms of trainees working remotely versus in-person. Decisions around this are made balancing a combination of clinical need and training goals and are determined by local training site leadership.
When done virtually, group supervision and didactics are conducted through Microsoft Teams (at the time of this writing, all group activities of this sort remain virtual). Individual supervision is conducted either face-to-face or virtually depending on local site guidelines and in keeping with all state and national guidelines. Clinical care, when conducted virtually, is done using an encrypted HIPAA-compliant platform for video visits.
As the COVID-19 situation evolves, we will continue to balance public health safety measures, clinical needs, and training needs in the use of remote technology. Most training sites around the region will utilize a hybrid model in which virtual work remains a significant portion of the experience, with the degree of in-person duties varying by site.
Kaiser Permanente Fast Facts
Kaiser Permanente is an American integrated managed care consortium, based in Oakland, California, United States, founded in 1945 by industrialist Henry J. Kaiser and physician Sidney Garfield. Kaiser Permanente is made up of three distinct but interdependent groups of entities: the Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc. and its regional operating subsidiaries; Kaiser Foundation Hospitals; and the regional Permanente Medical Groups. As of 2017, Kaiser Permanente operates in eight states and the District of Columbia and is the largest managed care organization in the United States and currently serve 12.3 million members.
Care for members and patients is focused on their total health and guided by their personal Permanente Medical Group physicians, specialists, and team of caregivers. Our expert and caring medical teams are empowered and supported by industry-leading technology advances and tools for health promotion, disease prevention, state-of-the-art care delivery, and world-class chronic disease management.
We are dedicated to care innovations, clinical research, health education, and improving community health.
Mission
Kaiser Permanente exists to provide high-quality, affordable health care services and to improve the health of our members and the communities we serve.
Our Vision
We are trusted partners in total health, collaborating with people to help them thrive and creating communities that are among the healthiest in the nation.
History
The Mental Health Training Programs in Kaiser Permanente Northern California have been an integral part of Kaiser Permanente’s larger vision for over 60 years. Beginning in the late 1960s, Kaiser Permanente Northern California initiated its first mental health training program influenced by Nicholas Cumming, PhD, who served as Chief of Mental Health for Kaiser Permanente and later became president of the APA.
From 2000-2016, John Arden, PhD, formalized the Mental Health Training Programs into a cohesive and structured program, consisting of Training Directors and Supervisors following national standards set up by APPIC and APA for the doctoral programs. In addition, he organized the various postdoctoral training sites into seven consortiums focusing on evidence-based practice guidelines.
In addition, Masters level training was offered for Associate Marriage Family Therapy and Social Work following the California Marriage Family Therapist and National Association Social Workers guidelines on ethical principles. They are also trained in the evidence-based practice model and followed a similar structure of the doctoral programs.
In 2016, Kathryn Wetzler, PsyD, assumed the directorship for the Kaiser Permanente Mental Health Training programs and has continued to expand the Mental Health Training Programs. The Post Masters Mental Health Fellowship now includes Associate Professional Clinical Counselors.
In addition, she has expanded diversity outreach, community benefit programs, use of technology to create a more cohesive environment and increased the number of regional cutting-edge training seminars.
Through her leadership, all programs are committed to service the communities in which we serve by providing training that reflects advances in integrated care. Delivery of integrated care relies on service providers having a working knowledge of advances in psychoneuroimmunology and chronic medical conditions, and in the adaptation of neuroscience and psychotherapy research into treatment.
We offer over 200 training positions to include Psychology Doctoral Practicum Students, Psychology Doctoral Interns, Psychology Postdoctoral Residents, Neuropsychology Postdoctoral Residents, Pre-Masters Mental Health Interns and Associate Post Masters Mental Health Fellows that train at Kaiser Permanente mental health clinics throughout Northern California. Trainees are taught clinical skills based on science and follow evidence-based guidelines.