THE POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM IS RECRUITING FOR THE 2026/2027 TRAINING YEAR.
Postdoctoral fellows/residents in the APA-accredited Traditional Practice Program in Clinical Psychology receive core training that introduces them to systems-level processes and implementation in public mental health via an intersectional approach to assessing and treating psychological conditions across the lifespan. We expect successful graduates of our postdoctoral fellowship program to be equipped with skills that support them in becoming leaders in the field of psychology, whether through individual treatment of patients, in academic/research/scholarly activities, as administrators/directors of clinics and agencies, and/or as advocates for mental health parity, equity, and inclusivity.
The Program’s core didactic series includes:
- Orientations to the LAC Department of Mental Health (LAC DMH) and the Harbor-UCLA Medical Center (HUMC);
- California Board of Psychology pre-licensure courses (as available through LAC DMH);
- Review of pertinent reporting law and ethics, focus on diversity, equity, and inclusivity;
- Mandatory county trainings; and
- Other trainings provided/identified by the Program.
The training year for fellows in the APA-Accredited Traditional Practice Clinical Psychology Program begins the first working day after Labor Day in September and continues to late August of the next year. The commitment is for the full year (12 months).
Postdoctoral fellows are committed to a 40-hour work week through LAC DMH. The fellowship program has specific requirements for direct clinical training experiences, didactics, supervision, and scholarly/research projects.
Training Competencies
The fellowship program’s training and evaluation process are informed by the following core competencies:
- Interpersonal Skills
- Assessment
- Research/Scholarly Activities
- Ethics
- Evidence-Based Treatments
- Consultation/Interdisciplinary Collaborations
- Diversity/Inclusivity/Equity
- Supervisory Skills
- Metacompetencies/Self-Management
Minimum Level of Achievement (MLA)
The Training Program evaluates fellows using a competency-based evaluation tool and six-point rating scale (1=Below Expected Early Competence, 2=Early Competence, 3=Intermediate Competence, 4=Intermediate to Advanced Competence, 5=Advanced Competence, and 6=Expert Competence). Fellows are required to achieve the MLA of Advanced Competence by the end of the training year.
For fellows not progressing towards the MLA, the Training Program, fellow, and supervisors will follow the appropriate Training Program and LAC DMH policies to determine any necessary plans for remediation and/or discontinuation/termination. Fellows who fail to meet the MLA and/or all Program requirements may have this fact noted in the California Board of Psychology Verification of Experience form.
Evaluations
Competency-based evaluations of fellows, including direct observations, take place on the following schedule:
- Baseline (November): Self and supervisor
- Midyear (February): Self and supervisor
- Final (August): Self and supervisor
Therapy
Fellows carry outpatient individual, family, and/or group therapy cases throughout the year. Areas of treatment include, though are not limited to:
- Evidence-based modalities (e.g., ACT, CBT, CPT, DBT, EMDR, IPT, MI, PE, Risk Reduction, etc.)
- Serious mental illness, including high risk suicidal and self-injurious behaviors
- Perinatal mental health
- Complex medical conditions
- Neurodiversity
Assessment
Assessment techniques vary based on patient need and can include initial intake assessment, screening measurement, treatment progress/outcomes, and formal psychological testing.
Supervision
In accordance with the APA Commission on Accreditation Standards of Accreditation and the California Board of Psychology requirement for Supervised Professional Experience, fellows are directly supervised 10% of the total hours worked, totaling four hours each week (two hours of scheduled, individual, face-to-face supervision and two hours of group supervision).
The Director of Training oversees the California Board of Psychology requirements for all fellows, as well as other licensing and regulatory requirements. Delegated clinical supervisors assigned to fellows are licensed psychologists and faculty members. Additional supervision and consultation may be provided by other faculty from the Department of Psychiatry and/or licensed staff from the outpatient clinic, as arranged by the Director of Training.
In addition to their own supervision, the Fellowship Program requires all fellows receive training in and provide supervision to psychology doctoral students. Fellows are supervised on their supervision of students with each fellow participating in weekly group supervision of supervision provided by the Training Program.
Ethics
All psychology fellows are expected to be familiar with the APA Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct prior to beginning the fellowship program; additional ethics training is provided during the fellowship.
Research/Scholarly Projects
The Training Program requires fellows to complete a research or scholarly project during the postdoctoral training year. Prior projects have included secondary data analysis of the dissertation, program evaluation, and emerging theoretical papers. Past fellows who have successfully met this requirement held experiences in quantitative and qualitative research methodologies and data analytic techniques, research lab/project management and participation, grant writing and management, manuscript preparation and submission, conference presentations, and program implementation, dissemination, and evaluation, among other scholarly activities. The Training Program will provide guidance on the type of projects fellows pursue.
Conferences/Seminars
Fellows are required to attend the Training Program’s weekly didactics, as well as the Department of Psychiatry’s Grand Round series. Fellows will complete other trainings required by LAC DMH and/or the Psychology Training Program during the training year; fellows will be advised of required trainings at the beginning of the training year and as they are announced by LAC DMH and the Training Program. Past required trainings have included:
- Fellowship Program Orientation
- DMH New Employee Orientation
- DHS Contract Employee Orientation
- IBHIS Training (DMH electronic medical record system)
- ORCHID Training (DHS electronic medical record system)
- County HIPAA Training
- County Sexual Harassment Training (online learning system)
- County Policy of Equity Training (online learning system)
- County Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children (online learning system)
- County Implicit Bias and Cultural Competency (online learning system)
- CITI Training
- Five supervisor approved training days (DMH or other)
Additionally, Fellows will complete the pre-licensure courses required by the California Board of Psychology if offered by LAC DMH:
- Human Sexuality
- Alcohol/Chemical Dependency Detection and Treatment
- Child Abuse Assessment and Reporting
- Spousal or Partner Abuse Assessment, Detection, and Intervention Strategies
- Aging and Long-Term Care
- Suicide Risk Assessment and Intervention
Required LAC DMH Clinical Experience
All fellows in the APA-Accredited Traditional Practice Postdoctoral Fellowship Program will receive training in larger systems-focused services for LAC DMH. Examples may include direct clinical training experiences with focal populations (e.g., justice involved, HIV/AIDS, perinatal, disability justice, suicidal, self-injurious), provision of teaching and trainings to the broader DMH workforce, and offering specialized clinical consultation services (e.g., gender health, neurodiversity.) Additionally, other system-focused training opportunities may develop over the course of the fellowship year based on the needs of the clinical populations served and the public mental health system.
Socialization as a Class
The Training Program will assist in securing both informal and formal opportunities for professional socialization. Past opportunities have included arranging for fellows to attend specialized trainings as a cohort and a midyear retreat.
Elective Opportunities
Elective training experiences may be possible as opportunities arise. The Director of Training will assist with any possible elective training experiences; elective experiences must fit into the overall competency-based structure of the fellowship program and comprise a meaningful clinical and training experience.