Psychology Internship

Individual Intern Rotations

Internship appointments are for a continuous 12-month period during which 2,000 hours of supervised training is acquired through the program as interns work 40 to 50 hours per week. Anticipated rotational placements typically resemble the following outline.

Intern 1

Primary Children’s Outpatient Behavioral Health (general outpatient), one day working on the behavioral health continuum (e.g., child and adolescent day treatment).

Intern 2

Primary Children’s Outpatient Behavioral Health (general outpatient), one day working on the behavioral health continuum (e.g., child and adolescent day treatment).

Intern 3

Pediatric Behavioral Health outpatient clinic as well as C&L service at Primary Children’s Hospital.

Intern 4

Pediatric Behavioral Health outpatient clinic as well as C&L service and Neuropsychological Assessment at Primary Children’s Hospital.

Intern 5

Child and Adolescent Day Treatment Program & Inpatient Unit, as well as psychological assessment along the behavioral health continuum

Intern 6

Hematology/Oncology/BMT services, as well as Pediatric Behavioral Health outpatient clinic and C&L service at Primary Children's Hospital

These are our anticipated rotations during a training year. Although we don’t expect any changes, we will inform potential applicants of any modifications to these rotations by the time we conduct interviews in January.

Med Psych Eccles: Neuropsychology Emphasis (1 full-year intern): APPIC MATCH CODE 160111

The goal of the Neuropsychology Emphasis internship within the Med Psych (Eccles) clinic at PCH is to prepare interns to apply for post-doctoral training and a career in pediatric neuropsychology. As such, approximately 50% this intern’s clinical work is related to neuropsychological assessment and consultation. Interns completing the Neuropsychology Emphasis also provide clinical services that will foster development in the areas of pediatric psychology more generally. The following activities comprise the intern’s clinical schedule (additional information provided below).

• Neuropsychological assessment services
• Consultation liaison services
• Outpatient therapy services

Consultation Liaison Services

• Conduct comprehensive inpatient consultation services to children and their families where emotional and behavioral comorbidities are impacting the patient’s medical care and treatment adherence
• Correspond with interprofessional teams with primary and specialty care physicians involving a variety of services including: Cardiac Intensive Care Unit, Cardiology and Heart Transplant Team, Gastroenterology, Hematology/Oncology, Hospitalist Teams, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Neurology, Neuroscience Trauma Unit, and the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit.
• Communicate clearly with inpatient and outpatient interdisciplinary team members, to provide concise conceptualizations and recommendations to patients, families, and the medical teams. Utilize evidence-based interventions including behavioral therapy, cognitive- behavioral therapy, and motivational interviewing to address acute psychological concerns associated with hospitalization, treatment, and adjustment to medical conditions.
• Function independently as a consultant for a variety of medical teams providing insight into additional contributing factors of patient presentations.
• Participate in individual in vivo supervision and daily psychology rounds. Additionally, attend rounds and treatment team meetings within different medical specialty teams as consult cases permit.
• Opportunity to supervise rotating medical students on the C/L service.

Neuropsychological Assessment Services

• Provide neuropsychological assessment services to children ages 2 to 18 years in both outpatient and inpatient settings. Patient populations include wide range of medical diagnoses that may impact central nervous system functioning, though acquired brain injury and epilepsy are especially common. Assessment services include review of pertinent historical data, consultation with the patient and their family, designing a battery to best address the testing referral question, administration of several assessment measures, scoring and interpretation of the instruments, provision of feedback and delivery of a comprehensive integrative report. Assessments are completed in two separate settings.
  • Outpatient Pediatric Behavioral Health Clinic: Includes patients referred by both medical teams within the hospital setting and community providers. Patients generally have a medical diagnosis that may impact central nervous system functioning.
  • Neurotrauma Unit: Includes assessment of pediatric patients with recent acquired brain injury during their hospitalization. Consultation is provided to both patients and their families, as well as the rehabilitation medical team regarding the patient’s acute neurocognitive functioning to assist with inpatient treatment plans, post-discharge services, and school reentry.
• Specific neurocognitive domains assessed include intellectual, language, visual perceptual, visual motor, memory, attention, and executive functioning. Depending on the referral question, assessments may also include evaluation of patient’s academic, social, emotional, and personality functioning.
• Additional training opportunities include participation in rehab rounds, epilepsy surgery rounds, tumor board, and other multidisciplinary conferences.

Outpatient Therapy Services 

• Complete outpatient intake evaluations, and provision of ongoing individual and family therapy with evidence-based interventions, for children with a variety of co- morbid medical and psychiatric conditions in an outpatient behavioral health clinic.
• Opportunity to supervise a practicum student 

Med Psych Eccles: Pediatric Psychology Emphasis (2 full-year interns): APPIC MATCH CODE 160113

The goal of the Pediatric Psychology Emphasis internship within the Med Psych (Eccles) clinic at PCH is to prepare interns to apply for post-doctoral training and an eventual career as a pediatric psychologist. As such, interns participating in the PBH: Pediatric Psychology Emphasis complete those activities that will assist in training clinicians to provide psychological services to patients in a pediatric hospital setting. The following activities comprise the intern’s clinical schedule (additional information provided below).

• Consultation liaison services
• Outpatient therapy services
• Medical clinics

Consultation Liaison Services

• Conduct comprehensive inpatient consultation services to children and their families where emotional and behavioral comorbidities are impacting the patient’s medical care and treatment adherence
• Correspond with interprofessional teams with primary and specialty care physicians involving a variety of services including: Cardiac Intensive Care Unit, Cardiology and Heart Transplant Team, Gastroenterology, Hematology/Oncology, Hospitalist Teams, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Neurology, Neuroscience Trauma Unit, and the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit.
• Communicate clearly with inpatient and outpatient interdisciplinary team members, to provide concise conceptualizations and recommendations to patients, families, and the medical teams. Utilize evidence-based interventions including behavioral therapy, cognitive- behavioral therapy, and motivational interviewing to address acute psychological concerns associated with hospitalization, treatment, and adjustment to medical conditions.
• Function independently as a consultant for a variety of medical teams providing insight into additional contributing factors of patient presentations.
• Participate in individual in vivo supervision and daily psychology rounds. Additionally, attend rounds and treatment team meetings within different medical specialty teams as consult cases permit.
• Opportunity to supervise rotating medical students on the C/L service

  Outpatient Therapy Services

• Complete outpatient intake evaluations, and provision of ongoing individual and family therapy with evidence-based interventions, for children with a variety of co- morbid medical and psychiatric conditions in an outpatient behavioral health clinic.
• Opportunity to supervise a practicum student

Medical Clinics

• Opportunities to collaborate with medical providers in some of the following medical specialty clinics throughout the training year: Sleep, Headache, Eosinophilic Esophagitis (EoE), Diabetes Mellitus (DIME), Cystic fibrosis (CF)

Med Psych Eccles: Hematology/Oncology/BMT Emphasis (1 full-year intern): APPIC MATCH CODE 160115

The goal of the Pediatric Psychology, Hematology/Oncology/BMT Emphasis internship at PCH is to prepare interns to apply for post-doctoral training and an eventual career as a pediatric psychologist with specific interest and experience in hematology/oncology/bone marrow transplant. As such, approximately 40% (two days) of this intern’s clinical work is related to providing psychological services to patients within hematology/oncology/BMT. Interns completing the Hematology/Oncology/BMT Emphasis also provide clinical services that will foster development in the areas of pediatric psychology more generally within the Pediatric Behavioral Health (Eccles) clinic.  The following activities comprise the intern’s clinical schedule (additional information provided below).

• Hematology/Oncology/BMT services (consultation, intervention, and assessment)
• Outpatient therapy services
• Consultation liaison services

Hematology/Oncology/BMT

The Hem/Onc/BMT service line is a multidisciplinary team and the intern will have regular interaction and collaboration with oncologists, nurse practitioners, clinic and bedside nurses, as well as our Hem/Onc/BMT psychosocial team (which includes the psychologist, social workers, child life specialists, an education specialist, a Spanish speaking interpreter, and a financial navigator).  The intern will see patients age 0-26 with a full range of oncological disorders (including leukemias, brain tumors, solid tumors, etc.) as well as patients undergoing bone marrow transplant as part of their treatment for cancer or other medical/genetic disorders.  There will also be some exposure to patients with hematological disorders (such as hemophilia and sickle cell disease). 

• Services provided will include psychological consultation and intervention on the inpatient cancer unit as well as the outpatient Hem/Onc/BMT clinics. Common referral questions include adjustment to illness, treatment, and/or relapse, behavior problems affecting compliance with treatment 
• Provide neurocognitive testing and assessment of late neurocognitive sequelae post treatment for cancer 
• Interns will also gain exposure to patients who are adjusting to cancer survivorship and those who are nearing end of life
• Opportunity for the intern to learn about how large cooperative group research is conducted in pediatric cancer via our site’s participation in Children’s Oncology Group (COG) clinical trials

Outpatient Therapy Services

• Complete outpatient intake evaluations, and provision of ongoing individual and family therapy with evidence-based interventions, for children with a variety of comorbid medical and psychiatric conditions in an outpatient pediatric behavioral health clinic
• Opportunity to supervise a practicum student

Consultation Liaison Services

• Conduct comprehensive inpatient consultation services to children and their families where emotional and behavioral comorbidities are impacting the patient’s medical care and treatment adherence
• Correspond with interprofessional teams with primary and specialty care physicians involving a variety of services including: Cardiac Intensive Care Unit, Cardiology and Heart Transplant Team, Gastroenterology, Hospitalist Teams, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Neurology, Neuroscience Trauma Unit, and the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. 
• Communicate clearly with inpatient and outpatient interdisciplinary team members, to provide concise conceptualizations and recommendations to patients, families, and the medical teams. Utilize evidence-based interventions including behavioral therapy, cognitive- behavioral therapy, and motivational interviewing to address acute psychological concerns associated with hospitalization, treatment, and adjustment to medical conditions. 
• Function independently as a consultant for a variety of medical teams providing insight into additional contributing factors of patient presentations. 
• Participate in individual in vivo supervision and daily psychology rounds. Additionally, attend rounds and treatment team meetings within different medical specialty teams as consult cases permit.

Child and Adolescent Day Treatment and Inpatient Programs Rotation (1 full-year intern): APPIC MATCH CODE 160114

Child and Adolescent Day Treatment Unit Opportunities 

• Provide weekly individual and weekly family therapy to adolescents (ages 14-17) and children (ages 7-13) with severe emotional and behavioral disorders (generally 2 patients on caseload at a time, one child and one adolescent), as well as brief check-ins throughout the week
• Run psychotherapy skills groups (generally once per week)
• Run process groups for adolescents (generally once per week)
• Participate in weekly team meeting with other therapists
• Provide safety assessments to assess suicidality in patients 
• Engage in the therapeutic milieu providing support throughout the day
• Provide discharge planning of individuals into other levels of care 
• Provide comprehensive psychological assessment to individuals on the continuum for diagnostic clarification including evaluation for autism, ADHD, depression, anxiety, and other disorders 
• Opportunities to engage with clients on the inpatient unit

Inpatient Unit Opportunities 

• Participate in daily rounds meetings 2-3 times a week with other therapists, medical providers, and additional staff
• Complete brief consultative psychological assessments or behavior management plans when indicated including evaluation for cognitive function, autism spectrum disorder, and psychosis-related symptoms 
• Represent psychology in the inpatient unit and provide education to other providers on the utility and limits of psychological assessment

Internship Responsibilities

Two psychology interns at Primary Children's Outpatient Behavioral Health will provide services at the outpatient clinic and will also spend one day a week (on a rotating basis) providing psychological assessment in the Child and Adolescent Day Treatment Programs.

The psychology intern will attend staff meetings, treatment team meetings that include case presentation/consultation, weekly individual supervision, and weekly group assessment supervision from licensed psychologists.

Supervising Faculty

The treatment team consists of psychiatrists, psychologists, and social workers, for a total of approximately 20-25 staff and trainees at any one time.

The medical director is a board-certified child psychiatrist, providing direct clinical care as well as direction for the multi-disciplinary team. A business manager and clinical team leads also share administrative duties.

Description of Rotation

Primary Children's Outpatient Behavioral Health is an outpatient psychiatric clinic located on Wasatch Canyons Campus, serving clients ages 2-18 with a wide range of developmental (e.g., autism spectrum disorder) and mental health (anxiety, depression, ADHD, behavioral disturbance, trauma) needs through a team-based care model (trauma, parenting, CBT, DBT, testing).

Available services at Primary Children's Outpatient Behavioral Health include:

• Medication management
• Individual, family, and group therapy
• Didactic, skills-based groups (e.g., parenting)
• Psychological testing

PCOBH Outpatient Rotation (2 full-year interns): APPIC MATCH CODE 160112

• Conduct intake interviews and provide outpatient individual and family therapy for children ages 3 through 17 for a range of presenting concerns (e.g., anxiety, depression, self-harm, anger issues and behavioral problems, OCD)
• Complete comprehensive psychological evaluations for outpatient clients at PCOBH one day per week (e.g., ADHD/LD evaluations, diagnostic clarification for mood, anxiety, and/or psychosis, Autism Spectrum Disorder evaluations)
• Complete comprehensive psychological evaluations for the Behavioral Health continuum (child day treatment program, adolescent day treatment program, or outpatient clinic) one day per week
  Produce comprehensive integrated reports in both the outpatient and day treatment settings
  • Approximately 1 to 2 comprehensive reports completed per week (approximately 50-60 comprehensive reports completed during the internship year)
• Conduct feedback sessions with parents of PCOBH and day treatment clients to review assessment results and associated recommendations
• Opportunity to participate in a weekly DBT consultation group with interns, social workers, and psychologists
  • Opportunity to co-lead a weekly DBT skills group for adolescents and their caregivers 
• Opportunity to co-lead other group therapies with social workers or psychologists (e.g., mindfulness, anxiety, depression, parenting) 
• Opportunity to attend and participate in treatment team meetings, such as the Parenting Team, CBT Team, and/or Trauma Team
• Possible optional opportunities throughout the year to participate in additional trainings and clinical experiences (e.g., TF-CBT training, supervising practicum students, mini rotations)
• Receive weekly individual supervision (minimum 2 hours) from a licensed psychologist
• Receive weekly assessment supervision (1 hour per week) in a group format with a licensed psychologist
• Participate in biweekly Testing Team meetings with other trainees and staff psychologists
• Attend monthly grand rounds regarding relevant treatment topics
• Correspond with mental health providers, physicians, educators, school psychologists, and other professionals to provide comprehensive care and resources for patients and their families

Formal Program Seminars and Activities

In addition to individual training and service activities on each rotation, all interns attend four structured weekly training activities together, from September/October through May.

1. Peer Supervision
2. Diversity Seminar (Oct-Jan) or Family Therapy Seminar / Supervision (Feb-May)
3. Individual Psychotherapy Seminar / Supervision
4. Didactic Seminar Series

Each intern receives a minimum of two hours of individual supervision weekly. In some services or programs a single supervisor provides the supervision, and in other services or programs supervision is split between two supervisors. Interns in each service or program also participate in regularly scheduled staff meetings or rounds, typically including a multi-disciplinary treatment team.

Mondays

• 4:30 - 6 p.m. – Diversity Seminar or Family Therapy Seminar / Supervision

Fridays

• 8 to 9 a.m. – Individual Psychotherapy Seminar / Supervision
• 9 to 11 a.m. – Peer Supervision
• 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. – Didactic Seminar Series

Group Training Activities

Individual and family therapy seminars also provide interns with two hours per week of group supervision. As further clarification of these group training activities:

• Peer supervision: Interns meet weekly to discuss issues relevant to current cases or placements or to focus on other issues.
• Diversity Seminar: An educational and experiential seminar in which interns learn from invited speakers, read related materials, and discuss issues related to various facets of diversity in their work.
• Family Therapy Seminar / Supervision: An educational and experiential seminar including review of systems theory and group supervision of family therapy cases.
• Individual Psychotherapy Seminar / Supervision: Case presentation, with recorded session material, to discuss individual therapy and therapeutic interventions for a wide range of patients. Psychology interns meet with psychiatry fellows.
• Didactic Seminar: Various topics related to diagnosis, assessment, and treatment. Presenters include hospital-employed training faculty and community-based psychologists. A few of these seminars are held with psychology interns from other local APA-accredited psychology internship training programs (Utah State Hospital, The University of Utah Huntsman Mental Health Institute, VA Salt Lake City Health Care System).

Program Summer Changes

During June through August, formal training seminars are discontinued, allowing interns to spend 1/2 day each week on a "mini-rotation" developed in collaboration with their supervisor. Past interns have spent their mini-rotations learning and conducting TF-CBT, producing educational materials for a walk-in free clinic, engaging in research, and providing consultation/research assistance in Primary Children’s Diabetes Clinic.

Psychologists serve under the administration of each specialty service program or within the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health. Although employed in different services, programs or departments, psychologists meet monthly and work collaboratively to coordinate the internship program, with the Training Director taking a leadership role.

Program Mentoring

Primary Children's psychology staff represents a variety of interests and theoretical orientations.

• Several of our supervising psychologists are involved in research;
• Others are involved in state or national organizations; and
• Some of our supervisors maintain faculty appointments at the University of Utah.

Interns in Primary Children's Psychology Internship program will have an opportunity to work with the following staff psychologists:

Celestia Buckley, PsyD

Psychologist, University of Utah School of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Pediatric Behavioral Health, PCH
PsyD, Wright State University School of Professional Psychology
Interests: Treatment of children and adolescents with medical illness and psychological distress, improving medical adherence with individuals who have Diabetes, and treatment of youth with sleep disorders

Leon Butler, PhD

Psychologist, Primary Children’s Outpatient Behavioral Health,
PhD, 2010, Auburn University
Interests: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy. Impulse control, behavioral economics, substance use/misuse. Psychological assessment across the lifespan including ADHD, LD, personality, and ASD.

Dedee Caplin, PhD

Pediatric Psychologist, University of Utah School of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics
PhD, 1998, Ohio University
Interests: Behavioral management of children and adolescents with chronic medical problems, medical hypnosis with children and adolescents; anxiety, pediatric consultation/liaison.

Paul Colte, PsyD, MSCP

Pediatric Psychologist, Primary Children's Hospital, Divison of Hematology / Oncology and Bone Marrow Transplant
PsyD, 2003, Minnesota School of Professional Psychology
Interests: Pediatric consultation liaison services for children with various pediatric cancers (leukemias, solid tumors, brain tumors, bone marrow transplant patients), sickle cell disease, and hemophilia; clinical psychopharmacology; psychological and neuropsychological sequelae of pediatric cancer, including neurocognitive late effects of tumor(s) and treatment (e.g., chemotherapy and radiation therapy) and participation in Children’s Oncology Group (COG) studies and initiatives.

Annie Deming, PhD

Clinical Director, Pediatric Behavioral Health Service Line; Psychologist, Primary Children's Outpatient Behavioral Health
PhD, 2009 University of Alabama
Interests: Coordination of psychological testing across our continuum of care,  Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), trauma-focused therapy (including EMDR & TF-CBT), assessment, including ADHD/LD, trauma, and personality assessment.

Missy Dixon, PhD

Psychologist, University of Utah School of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, PCH
PhD, 2016, University of Utah
Interests: Children and adolescents with complex medical conditions, including neuromuscular disorders, neurological and genetic conditions that affect cognitive and behavioral functioning; cognitive behavioral interventions chronic pain conditions, somatic symptom-related disorders, anxiety, and depression.

Katie Elish, PhD

Psychologist, Primary Children's Outpatient Behavioral Health
PhD, 2018, Wichita State University 
Interests: Psychological assessment with children and adolescents, including ADHD, learning disorders, and autism spectrum disorders, individual therapy with children and adolescents, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, parent training

John Fulton, PhD, ABPP/CN

Neuropsychologist, Department of Pediatric Behavioral Health
PhD, 2007, Brigham Young University
Interests: Neuropsychological assessments of children and adolescents with a range of medical conditions that affect cognitive and behavioral functioning.  Particular interests in traumatic brain injury and epilepsy.

Lyssa Haase, PsyD

Psychology Training Director; Psychologist, Primary Children's Outpatient Behavioral Health 
PsyD, 2016, University of Denver
Interests: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, intellectual and neurodevelopmental disabilities (including autism spectrum disorders), psychological assessment with children and adolescents, Mental Health Integration

Christina Hudak-Rosander, PhD

Psychologist, Center for Safe and Healthy Families 
PhD, 2014, University of Utah
Interests: Utilizing evidenced based treatments with children and adolescents with histories of trauma and abuse