Postdoctoral Internship Program
in
Clinical Psychology

Health Home Residency Home Program Structure, Rotations, and Training Activities Program Philosophy, Training Model, and Objectives Application Requirements and Selection Process Benefits COVID - 19 Ethical Conduct Faculty Training Manual Residency Admissions, Support, and Initial Placement Data

Philosophy and Training Model

The Florida Department of Corrections Postdoctoral Residency Program is organized around a Practitioner-Scholar Model of the relationship of science to practice, where scientific training is integrated into the practice training component (Stoltenberg et al., 2000.) The program is designed to allow residents to use their clinical experiences as opportunities to apply scientific concepts. Additionally, the program structure is guided by a competency based model in which training activities, supervision, and evaluations by supervisors, peers and self are designed to give residents opportunities to progressively develop and then demonstrate competency in each area delineated in our goals and objectives (Kaslow et al 2009). Finally, we adhere to a training philosophy of experiential learning to train and prepare our residents. Classroom knowledge and written test assessment of information is an appropriate measure of basic knowledge but is insufficient to produce or measure competency in the practice of psychology. Therefore, we provide opportunities for our residents to apply knowledge through concrete clinical experiences, abstract conceptualization, reflective observation, and active experimentation. Experiential learning produces awareness, knowledge, skills, attitudes and the ability to apply these with increasing appropriateness to their future experiences.

Applicants who come from scientist-practitioner graduate programs or internships should find that our residency program complements, and is consistent with, the general long-term goals of a scientist-practitioner training program. However, primary research is not a requirement of the residency. Residents are expected to be knowledgeable consumers of psychological research and practice in a manner that is guided by psychological theory and research. In order to complete their residency, they are required to demonstrate an advanced level of competency in the provision of evidence-based psychological services that are appropriately sensitive to individual and cultural diversity. We provide our residents with progressive training, clinical experiences, opportunities for self-reflection, and supervision by faculty and peers in order to prepare them to competently incorporate strategies of scholarly/evidence based inquiry that is sensitive to individual and cultural diversity into their provision of psychological services. Mechanisms used to establish competency levels include live-supervision, video/audio tape review of therapy sessions, formal presentations designed to showcase their competencies, as well as supervisor, peer and self-evaluation.

Individual Supervision

At least two hours of individual one-on-one, face-to-face supervision focused on clinical care of patients will be provided, each week by an approved faculty supervisor, who is a licensed psychologist with clinical responsibility for the resident’s patients. This individual supervision must total at least 100 hours by the end of the training year. Supervision by multiple supervisors is intended to provide residents with exposure to differing perspectives and treatment approaches. Individual Supervision hours must be provided by at least two faculty supervisors. Residents will find that they receive significant amounts of informal supervision by other members of our staff, in addition to that which is formally tracked. Because our residency and internship programs are highly valued by the Department of Corrections from central office to the institutional level, our psychiatrists, other mental health providers, nurses, administrative and security staff provide professional guidance and consultation to our trainees.

Supervision will address numerous issues including: the residents’ concrete clinical experiences with patients; scholarly/evidence-based conceptualizations of their cases, their patients’ assessments, and therapy; issues of individuality and social and cultural differences; reflective observations of their interventions, patient, and other staff behavior; and active experimentation. Supervisors will take care to incorporate consideration of the following during supervision: the Florida Department of Corrections’ Mission and Code of Conduct; the American Psychological Association’s Ethical Principals of Psychologists and Code of Conduct (2017), and relevant Federal and State laws.

Supervision will be progressive and will include, but not be limited to: 1) live/direct observation of resident performance in multiple, clinical and professional settings; 2) review of audio/video taped therapy sessions; 3) review of written work including therapy notes, treatment plans, psychological testing protocols, evaluations and reports; and, by the end of the year, the resident’s supervision of the clinical work of our intern or master’s level clinical staff.0

The Resident and Faculty Supervisor will enter into a supervisory agreement. The agreement will specify the responsibilities of the resident and of the supervisor as well as goals for supervision.

Other Training Activities

Two hours of clinically relevant structured learning/training activities that are overseen by a faculty supervisor will be scheduled weekly, on average, to total 100 hours of formal training during the year. One hour will generally include activities such as clinical/service delivery issues, peer consultation, review of professional issues related to work in a correctional environment, or attendance of administrative and institutional meetings/conferences. The second hour will involve formal training activities such as seminars, grand rounds, research and journal reviews, and planning and preparation for the EPPP exam.

Group Supervision:
Group Supervision will focus on patients currently being treated or evaluated and will be overseen by one of the faculty supervisors. At times throughout the year, residents will participate in group supervision along with pre-doctoral psychology interns. These interactions allow the opportunity for residents to engage in peer supervision as well as gain exposure and experience providing supervision to interns and other professionals.

Research and Journal Reviews:
Keeping current on research, theoretical work and public policy related to our work as psychologists is an important aspect of our program. Residents are required to bring current research articles that are relevant to their clinical activities to group discussions at varying points throughout the year. The critical evaluation, application, and dissemination of relevant research is an advanced clinical skill. Residents are afforded multiple opportunities to demonstrate this skill in didactic formats as well as informal group discussions regarding the application of scientific theory and research to clinical best-practice. Journal articles and other publications related to the theory and practice of psychology provided by faculty supervisions will also be included in these discussions.

Seminars:
Didactic seminars are an integral part of the residency and are scheduled routinely throughout the year. Topics often include treatment modalities (e.g., DBT, CBT, mindfulness, positive psychology), crisis intervention, group therapy modules, suicide and self-injurious behavior, supervision techniques, psychopharmacology, legal, ethical and professional issues, competency, civil commitment, risk assessment, individual/cultural diversity, leadership, program organization, management, administration and evaluation, grief and loss, treatment planning, HIV/AIDS issues, sex offender assessment. Seminars are most often presented by psychologists, but may be led by psychiatrists or others with expertise in the area (e.g., neurologists, pharmacists, nurses, etc.)

Grand Rounds Presentations:
This includes formal presentations that are of interest to residents, interns, institutional leadership staff, and correctional professionals. Residents attend these trainings and present four of their own throughout the year. The purpose of this training component is to improve residents’ communication and professional skills as well as to develop and demonstrate the ability to extract and present relevant information in areas of clinical work, skills development, organization, and program evaluation.

Presentations assigned to residents are described further in the Residency Training Manual and related briefly as follows. Residents will present a training on the use of an assessment instrument with special sensitivity to the application of this assessment in a correctional setting. Residents will create a formal training seminar meant to improve the clinical and professional skills of mental health staff assigned to a unit where they are providing supervision. Residents will complete a quality improvement review using established processes and will provide a summary of findings along with plans for corrective action as needed, staff training and policy review as required, and outcome tracking. The fourth presentation will focus on the identification, development and improvement of a systemic process.

Professional Psychological Services

Our primary training methodology is supervised delivery of psychological services. Residents will spend at least 25% of their time engaged in the practice of professional psychological services. This will total at least 500 hours by the end of the year and must include 350 hours of face-to-face patient contact. The remaining 150 hours must include provision of some of each of these services: consultation: supervision of others; psychological services program management, organization, administration, and evaluation; research; and formal training.

Professional Development

Residents will have 100 hours of Professional Development time approved ahead of time by the training director. These hours may be used to study for the EPPP, attend conferences or professional meetings or to work on other research projects or publications. Studying for the EPPP is strongly encouraged. In addition to the available 100 hours, residents are required to spend at least 30 documented hours in preparation for their EPPP examination. This requirement supports our overarching programmatic goal of producing licensed psychologists by the end of the training year.

Evaluations

Our residents will be provided with informal supervisory feedback on an ongoing basis throughout their training year. They will be formally evaluated in writing using the Psychology Resident Evaluation Form (see Appendix C of the Training Manual). Formal evaluations will be completed at least at mid-year and at the end of the year by both rotational supervisors and the Training Director. Areas assessed will include Therapeutic Interventions, Psychological Assessment and Diagnosis, Scholarly/Evidence Based Inquiry, Professional Values, Ethical and Legal Issues, Supervision, Communication, Consultation, Program Organization, Management, Administration, and Evaluation, and Diversity Awareness. Residents will also evaluate their rotations, their supervisors, and the residency program, at the end of the year.

Research

The Florida Department of Corrections holds great potential for research. Interested parties must submit formal proposals for approval, per Florida Department of Corrections Procedure Manual 207.001, before beginning any research. Research consultation is available upon request. The evaluation of and incorporation of current research into clinical work is an integral part of the residency program.

Program Goals and Objectives

• I. Therapeutic Intervention: To provide progressive training, clinical experiences and supervision that adequately prepare our residents to reach an advanced level of competency in therapeutic interventions such that they may enter licensed psychologist positions in general and/or correctional settings and succeed at providing evidence-based individual therapy, group therapy and crisis intervention to individuals with a broad spectrum of mental disorders in either inpatient or outpatient settings with both respect and sensitivity to cultural and individual differences.
  • I. A. Residents will demonstrate an advanced level of competence in the provision of evidence-based individual therapy that is well-informed, respectful and sensitive to individual differences to inmate patients of diverse backgrounds with a wide range of mental disorders.
  • I. B. Residents will demonstrate an advanced level of competence in the organization, provision and supervision of evidence-based group therapy to inmate patients that is well-informed, respectful and sensitive to cultural and individual differences.
  • I. C. Residents will demonstrate an advanced level of competence in the provision of evidence-based crisis intervention services to inmate patients that are well-informed and sensitive to cultural and individual differences.
• II. Psychological Assessment and Diagnosis: To provide progressive training, clinical experiences and supervision that adequately prepare our residents to succeed as licensed psychologists in general and/or correctional clinical settings in the provision of evidence-based psychological assessment and diagnosis, using intellectual, objective and subjective personality assessment instruments, as well as patient interviews, historic and collateral information with appropriate consideration of relevant issues of cultural and individual differences.
  • II. A. Residents will demonstrate an advanced level of competence in the provision of evidence-based psychological assessment and report writing using intellectual, and both objective and subjective personality assessment instruments including appropriate consideration of relevant issues of cultural and individual differences.
  • II. B. Residents will demonstrate an advanced level of competence in evaluating and diagnosing patients using patient interviews, historic and collateral information, as well as intellectual, objective and subjective personality assessment instruments with appropriate consideration of relevant issues of cultural and individual differences.
• III. Scholarly/Evidence Based Inquiry: To provide progressive training, clinical experiences and supervision that prepare our residents to incorporate strategies of scholarly/evidence based inquiry that is sensitive to individual and cultural diversity into their provision of psychological services including treatment, assessment and supervision as licensed psychologists within general and/or correctional clinical settings.
  • III. A. Residents will demonstrate an advanced level of competence in the provision of evidence-based individual and group therapy that is sensitive to individual and cultural diversity.
  • III. B. Residents will demonstrate an advanced level of competence in the provision of scholarly/evidence-based psychological assessments and diagnosis that are appropriately sensitive to individual and cultural diversity.
  • III. C. Residents will demonstrate an advanced level of competence in the provision of evidence-based group therapy that is appropriately sensitive to individual and cultural diversity.
• IV. Professional Conduct, Ethics and Law: To provide progressive training, clinical experiences and supervision that produce licensed psychologists working in general and/or correctional clinical settings, who are professional and ethical in their work, including attending to issues of cultural and individual diversity.
  • IV. A. Residents will verbalize an understanding of and demonstrate an advanced level of competence in the application of and adherence to Federal and State laws governing the practice of psychology and the American Psychological Association Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct including attention to issues of cultural and individual diversity that pertain to them.
  • IV. B. Residents will demonstrate an advanced level of competence in meeting the professional standards of deportment for psychologists in general and/or correctional clinical settings.  
• V. Supervision: To provide progressive training, clinical experiences and supervision that adequately prepares our residents to effectively utilize supervision experiences and to succeed in training and supervising other mental health staff with both respect and sensitivity to individual and cultural diversity in their work as licensed psychologists in general and/or correctional clinical settings.
  • V. A. Residents will demonstrate an advanced level of competence in the use of peer and faculty supervision experiences.
  • V. B. Residents will demonstrate an advanced level of competence in the provision of training and supervision to other mental health staff with both respect and sensitivity to individual and cultural diversity.
• VI. Consultation: To provide training that adequately prepares our residents to succeed in providing and obtaining consultation, with sensitivity to individual and cultural diversity, as licensed psychologists in general and/or correctional clinical settings.
  • VI. A. Residents will demonstrate an advanced level of competence in their provision of consultation to other professionals with sensitivity to individual and cultural diversity.
  • VI. B. Residents will demonstrate an advanced level of competence in knowing when and how to obtain consultation from other professionals with sensitivity to individual and cultural diversity.
• VII. Program Organization, Management, Administration and Evaluation pertinent to the provision of professional psychological service:  To provide training that adequately prepares our residents to succeed in the organization, management, administration and evaluation of psychological services, practice, training programs and research with sensitivity to individual and cultural diversity as needed while working as licensed psychologists in general and/or correctional clinical settings.
  • VII. A. Residents will demonstrate an advanced level of competence in organizing, managing, administering and evaluating psychological services, practice, training programs and research with sensitivity to individual and cultural diversity as they are relevant to work as a psychologist in general and/or correctional clinical settings.
• VIII. Maintain Professional Standard of Training: Assure that our program continues to provide residents with quality training experiences that are sensitive to and respectful of individual and cultural differences.
  • VIII. A. Maintain Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers membership
  • VIII. B. Obtain and maintain American Psychological Association accreditation.
  • VIII. C. Annually review the postdoctoral residency training program’s outcome measures and make appropriate changes as needed.

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