Education & Training
Strengths of our Program
The goal of the Pediatric/Clinical Child Psychology Postdoctoral Fellowship is to provide advanced training for psychologists specializing in assessment and treatment of a wide range of psychological concerns including for children and adolescents with medical conditions in an academic medical setting. At the completion of training, fellows should be capable of independent patient care, research, and teaching in a range of settings including the academic medical center, hospital, or private practice settings.
The fellow will be supervised on a rotating basis based upon patient presenting concern and elective. Clinical and research supervision will occur during individual meetings with the identified supervisor. The fellow will have at least 2 hours of direct supervision every week. The fellow will also meet with the program director to discuss career development and professional issues at least once a month or as topics arise.
Components of the Our Program include:
- Clinical Training
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The fellowship is one year in duration with a possibility for a second year based upon interest. The fellow is expected to have approximately 20 hours spent in clinical care per week. Based upon interest and rotation, this time will be comprised of outpatient pediatric evaluations and therapy. The fellow will devote approximately 60% of their time to clinical activities. The remaining time will be divided among clinical training opportunities, teaching, and research.
The fellow will maintain a caseload primarily comprised of general clinical child psychology patients with presenting concerns such as ADHD, ASD, anxiety disorders, and sleep disorders. Fellows may also choose specialty tracks/rotations. This includes the following concentration areas:
Autism Spectrum Disorder
- Rainbow Autism Diagnostic Clinic – Supervision provided by Dr. Spannagel
- Preschool Autism Rainbow Assessment Clinic – Supervision provided by Dr. Burkhart and Dr. Roemhild
- School Age Autism Rainbow Assessment Clinic – Supervision provided by Dr. Burkhart
- Adolescent Autism Assessment Clinic – Supervision provided by Dr. Babbitt
- Autism Spectrum Disorder Therapy – Supervision provided by Dr. Burkhart
Early Childhood
- Rainbow Autism Diagnostic Clinic – Supervision provided by Dr. Spannagel
- Preschool Autism Rainbow Assessment Clinic – Supervision provided by Dr. Burkhart and Dr. Roemhild
- Rainbow Interdisciplinary Substance Exposure Clinic – Supervision provided by Dr. Burkhart
- HealthySteps – Supervision provided by Dr. Roemhild
Integrated Primary Care
- ADHD Evaluations – Supervision provided by Dr. Hazen and Dr. Roemhild
- HealthySteps – Supervision provided by Dr. Roemhild
- Brief Psychotherapy – Supervision provided by Dr. Roemhild
- Trauma-informed Assessment and Intervention – Supervision provided by Dr. Burkhart
Pediatric Psychology
- Behavioral Sleep Medicine – Supervision provided by Dr. Ievers-Landis
- Gastroenterology – Supervision provided by Dr. Hazen and Dr. Ramos
- Endocrinology – Supervision provided by Dr. Hazen
- Craniofacial Conditions- Supervision provided by Dr. Hazen
- Hematology/Oncology – Supervision provided by Dr. Ievers-Landis
- Nephrology (kidney transplant) – Supervision provided by Dr. Ievers-Landis
- Didactic Teaching
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The fellow will have the opportunity for a range of didactic and educational opportunities at Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital, other University Hospitals, and at Case Western Reserve University. Mandatory didactic experiences include participation in a weekly Division of Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics Seminar, clinical case conference, and journal club. Additional didactic opportunities include neuropsychology seminar, Pediatric Grand Rounds, and Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Grand Rounds. Fellows will be required to present at the clinical case conference and journal club. The fellow may also have opportunities to present to schools, clinicians practicing in the primary care setting, and community organizations. The fellow will devote approximately 10-15% of their time to didactics.
In addition, the fellow will be expected to complete readings related to clinical child psychology and pediatric psychology. Readings will be chosen for each fellow by their supervisors. Case conceptualization, knowledge of evidence-based intervention and ethical standards will be assessed at three time points over the course of the fellowship year.
- Research Training
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Fellows will devote approximately 20% of their week to research activities. The fellow will be required to present their research project at the end of the fellowship year. Data sets are available for children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders, autism spectrum disorders, screening instruments administered in the pediatric primary care setting, and management of behavioral/mental health issues by emergency department professionals. The fellow may also choose to initiate their own research project with one of the core faculty. Core research faculty includes Dr. Kimberly Burkhart, Dr. Rebecca Hazen, and Dr. Carolyn Ievers-Landis. Potential projects include sleep interventions for children with autism spectrum disorders, imagery rehearsal therapy for treatment of nightmares, factors related to psychological adjustment of children undergoing kidney transplant, adherence and psychosocial adjustment of children with diabetes etc.