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Curriculum

You will be admitted to one of the following three Specialty Practice Programs in the fellowship. In each specialty, you will receive advanced, focused, and in-depth training opportunities encompassing assessment, psychodiagnostics, research and evidenced-based clinical practice.

This fellowship has six core training objectives that apply to all fellows: Clinical skills, consultation skills, scholarly activities, administrative and organizational skills, professional conduct and individual diversity skills. In addition, fellows in each specialty are expected to possess knowledge and demonstrate specific skills in areas of assessment, treatment/therapy, consultation, scholarship/research, and administration that are specified by each of the specialty practice programs.

Clinical Child Psychology

The primary purpose of training in this specialty program is to provide you with a depth and breadth of assessment, intervention, educational, consultative and research experiences in clinical child psychology and pediatric psychology that results in advanced professional practice competency.

Training takes place primarily in three clinical areas:

  • Clinical Child Psychology
    Fellows develop expertise in diagnosing and treating child and adolescent emotional and behavioral problems. Fellows complete a major rotation on the Inpatient Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Unit, where they join a multidisciplinary team that includes psychiatry, psychology, social work, nursing, and other pediatric subspecialties. Within the outpatient setting, fellows join multidisciplinary teams within the Pediatric Anxiety Clinic, Pediatric Mood Clinic, ADHD Clinic, and Eating Disorders Program. Fellows also maintain an outpatient caseload (four to six patients per week) that is tailored to meet their individual needs and includes supervised experiences in both individual and group modalities.

  • Pediatric Psychology
    Fellows develop expertise in consultation, diagnostic assessment, and treatment of children and adolescents within a medical setting. Fellows complete a major rotation on the Pediatric Psychology Consult/Liaison Service within the Mayo Eugenio Litta Children’s Hospital.

    Fellows may elect to participate on a multidisciplinary team within the Pediatric Pain Rehabilitation Center, an intensive three week, hospital-based day treatment program. They may also elect rotations in a number of other multidisciplinary clinics, including the Pediatric Pain Clinic, the Pediatric Diabetes Clinic, the Craniofacial Clinic, and the Pediatric Diagnostic and Referral Clinic; and participate in a variety of individual outpatient evaluations through referrals for questions such as assessment of elimination disorders, emotional adjustment to chronic medical illness, behavior modification for obesity management, appropriateness and readiness for bariatric surgery, and assessment of psychological contributions to illness presentation.

  • Child Psychological Assessment
    Fellows may elect to participate in the Learning Disorders Clinic, where they conduct clinical interviews and coordinate testing of cognitive functioning, academic achievement, attention regulation and executive functioning, and behavioral / emotional regulation. Fellows may also participate in comprehensive pediatric neuropsychology evaluations, where they assess pediatric patients with more complex medical presentations across multiple neurocognitive domains.

    Clinical Child Psychology training is consistent with guidelines outlined by the APA Commission for the Recognition of Specialties and Proficiencies in Professional Psychology (CRSPPP) and recommendations from the Society of Pediatric Psychology Task Force Report.

Clinical Child Psychology Specialty Program goals and objectives

Clinical Health Psychology

The primary purpose of training in this specialty program is to provide you with a focused and in-depth assessment, intervention, educational, consultative and research experiences in clinical health psychology, which results in advanced professional practice competency. You will have a primary major clinical concentration (rotation) and mentor, and may have several minor clinical concentrations (rotations). A major concentration will extend over the two years of the fellowship (50% of clinical experience) and minor concentrations are flexible in duration. Major Clinical Health Psychology rotations include:

  • Blood and Marrow Transplantation
    Participation in both inpatient and outpatient multidisciplinary care and participation in NIH- funded research is possible. A significant focus is on the evaluation of blood and marrow transplantation candidates and psychological/behavioral intervention for patients with psychosocial concerns. Faculty: Shawna Ehlers, Ph.D., ABPP, L.P.
  • Behavioral Medicine Program (BMP)
    Interdisciplinary program that provides consultation and intervention for patients who are at the interface between medical and psychological conditions referred from medical and neurological specialties. Major focuses include assessment and management of unexplained physical symptoms, somatization disorders, depression and health anxiety in medically ill, and psychological/behavioral factors contributing to gastrointestinal and neurological conditions. Faculty: Richard Seime, Ph.D., ABPP, L.P.
  • Obesity Program
    Evaluation and treatment of patients with medically complicated obesity in a multidisciplinary bariatric surgery program. Services include assessment of bariatric surgery candidates, individual cognitive-behavioral therapy for obesity and binge eating, weight management, and weight loss maintenance, and post-bariatric surgery support groups. Participation in NIH- and internally-funded obesity research is possible. Faculty: Karen Grothe, PhD, ABPP, LP, Matthew Clark, Ph.D., ABPP, L.P.
  • Psycho-Oncology Service
    Primary sources of referral include breast clinic and radiation oncology. Research examining tobacco use among underserved populations and quality of life interventions for cancer patients is available. Faculty: Matthew Clark, Ph.D., ABPP, L.P.; Christi Patten, Ph.D., L.P.
  • Pain Rehabilitation Center
    A multidisciplinary three-week intensive outpatient treatment program for patients with intractable pain. There is also a two-day program and a family program. Participation in NIH- and internally funded research is possible. Faculty: Cynthia Townsend, Ph.D., ABPP, L.P.; Barbara Bruce, Ph.D., ABPP, L.P.
  • Primary Care Psychology
    Integrated/collaborative primary care in primary care clinics. Evaluation and treatment of anxiety, depression, somatization in close collaboration with primary care physicians. The emphasis is on short-term evidence-based intervention, co-management with primary care, and disease self-management. Major focus on depression management and treatment of anxiety disorders. Faculty: Kristin Vickers-Douglas, Ph.D., ABPP, L.P.

Clinical health psychology training is based upon education and training guidelines as endorsed by the Council of Health Psychology Training Directors and adopted by the APA Council of Representatives as the "Archival Description of Clinical Health Psychology."

Clinical Health Psychology Specialty Program goals and objectives

Clinical Neuropsychology

The primary purpose of this specialty program is to provide you with a depth and breadth of assessment, educational, consultative, intervention and research experiences in adult clinical neuropsychology, which results in advanced professional practice competency.

The principal training site during the first year is the Psychometric Assessment Laboratory which evaluates both inpatients and outpatients referred by Mayo physicians for neurocognitive evaluations.

You also will spend a minimum of two months during the first year on the inpatient Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Unit.
During your second year, you can choose elective rotations in:

  • Traumatic Brain Injury Outpatient Program
  • Dementia Behavior and Response Team
  • Behavioral Neurology
  • Inpatient General Neurology/Stroke Services
  • Neuropathology
  • Neuroradiology
  • Speech Pathology
  • Sleep Medicine
  • Pediatric Neuropsychology
  • Pain Rehabilitation Program
  • Behavioral Medicine Program

The Neuropsychology Specialty Program is based on educational guidelines of APA Divisions 22 and 40 and the Houston Conference; Member, Association of Postdoctoral Programs in Clinical Neuropsychology (APPCN). Rehabilitation psychology training is based on the Division of Rehabilitation Psychology Postdoctoral Training Guidelines.

Clinical Neuropsychology Specialty Program goals and objectives

Clinical Training in the Medical Psychology Fellowship Program

You will gain the skills and experience necessary to independently evaluate and treat complex psychological problems. This fellowship program offers you a unique opportunity to participate in several multidisciplinary teams and to participate in their approach to psychological problems. Fellows also work in close collaboration with physicians providing consultative recommendations and intervention.

Mayo Clinic offers a unique inter-professional practice environment, in which you will be intimately involved in clinical decision-making with many opportunities to develop your assessment and intervention skills. There is an emphasis on the integration of science and practice with training in empirically supported interventions.

Medical Psychology Fellowship goals and objectives

Rotations

You may rotate through inpatient and outpatient experiences. The duration of rotations and other educational experiences will depend on how central a rotation is to your specialty program and your previous background and experience.

A number of primary clinical rotations and supplementary educational experiences are available. Each specialty program has rotations that are specific to the program. Fellows may elect to have clinical experiences that are in another specialty program to broaden or enhance their skills. In each of the substantive specialty practice areas, you will devote over 50 percent of your time to clinical and consultative activities and at least 30 percent of your time to research activities.

There also are opportunities for experience in other clinical settings based upon your educational and training needs. You can complete rotations with other departments when consistent with your training goals (e.g., Neurology, Women's Health Clinic, Wellness, Medical Oncology). External rotations are arranged at Mayo Clinic in Arizona or Mayo Clinic in Florida, consistent with an individual fellow's training goals and plan.

Teaching Opportunities

You may have the opportunity to teach psychiatry residents through clinical instruction or the psychiatry residency didactics (e.g., cognitive-behavior seminar). Fellows often provide seminars or lectures to other departments. There are also opportunities to collaborate with department faculty in teaching students in the Mayo Medical School.

Psychotherapy Supervision Opportunities

You may participate in training designed to develop your competence in delivery of clinical supervision. Interested fellows may supervise psychiatry residents in learning and delivering evidence-based psychotherapies, under the supervision of clinical faculty.

Committee Assignments

You will be assigned to a range of committees to promote administrative training. Options include the Departmental Research Committee, Fellowship Training Committee, Grand Rounds Committee, Division Meetings and Work Group Meetings. Fellows also have the opportunity for a 3-month rotation as a member of the Department Clinical Practice Committee.

Evaluation

To ensure that you acquire adequate knowledge, training, and supervision to develop your skills, your performance will be evaluated and you will be given feedback during the course of this fellowship. You will be evaluated formally by your supervising faculty members after each rotation and at least semi-annually. The Medical Psychology Fellowship Training Committee meets monthly and progress of fellows is discussed and feedback to the fellows is given by the Specialty Program Associate Director. In addition, you will evaluate the fellowship program and the faculty.

Career Development

You will meet periodically with various faculty members, your specialty program associate director and the program director to discuss your career goals and ways your fellowship training can be tailored to help you achieve those goals.

Didactic Seminars and Conferences

Clinical conferences, seminars, small discussion groups, and one-on-one supervision are all an integral part of the Medical Psychology Fellowship Program. Grand Rounds in Psychiatry and Psychology is held on a weekly basis. The Medical Psychology Seminar Series for fellows across the three specialties is held monthly, with a focus on professional development, diversity, and research issues. Additionally, each specialty program also has a didactic series, case conference, and/or journal club.

During your second year of training, you will prepare and make a presentation about your research interests or a pertinent clinical topic at our department's grand rounds.

Grand Rounds

Topics during Tuesday's weekly Grand Rounds at noon have included: PTSD, brain stimulation, suicide, child and adolescent disorders, geriatrics, women's health, addiction, mood disorders, sleep disorders, somatoform disorders, anxiety disorders, eating disorders, psychopharmacology, psycho-oncology, genetics, neuro-imaging, and cross-cultural issues. Speakers are selected from within Mayo Clinic and from psychiatry and psychology departments nationally and internationally.

Research Training

Your research opportunities at Mayo Clinic are outstanding. Due to the wealth of patient data, prospective or retrospective investigations in either basic science or clinical studies are possible.

You will have the opportunity to work with established clinical researchers on ongoing projects, as well as develop independent research projects. Several faculty members are involved in externally funded research projects.

You will be assigned a research mentor and encouraged to participate in the development of at least one research project resulting in at least one presentation at a national meeting and two manuscript submissions (at least one in a peer-reviewed journal) by the end of fellowship. Workshops focusing on grant writing skills and publishing articles are offered during the fellowship.

Several fellows in the Medical Psychology Fellowship have received internal or external grant funding for their research applications.

If you desire a more intensive research experience following your postdoctoral training, a Clinician-Investigator Training Program is available.

Also see:

  • May 8, 2012
  • ART504120