Clinical Psychology Placements & Specialty Tracks

Clinical Placements and Specialty Tracks

Interns' clinical placements include Massachusetts Mental Health Center (MMHC) outpatient teams, and a specialty track clinical placement, which may be one of the following: 1) the Rapid Access to Flexible Treatment (RAFT) program, also referred to as the General Track, 2) the Psychosis Across the Lifespan program, and 3) the Neuropsychology Service.

Outpatient Service

The Outpatient Service is the Department of Mental Health outpatient service for approximately 1,000 patients. These individuals are eligible for DMH services, usually signifying a diagnosis of a major mental illness, considerable functional impairment, and no means to obtain treatment in the private sector. This service includes specialized DBT and problematic sexual behavior outpatient teams. There are also teams with Spanish speaking clients and Spanish speaking supervisors.

Interns work on multi-disciplinary teams and have full clinical responsibility for their patients, and can expect this to account for approximately half of their clinical time.

Modifications due to COVID-19: In accordance with State guidance on increasing public safety measures to reduce the spread of COVID-19, teams are providing services to some clients through telehealth. Clinicians are working on-site and providing services to those who choose to come for in-person sessions, and PPE is provided.

Internship Tracks

Three tracks are available in the internship program: the General Track (at the RAFT program), the Psychosis Across the Lifespan Track, and the Neuropsychology Track. Interns spend about half of their time in their specific track. Applicants may apply to one, two, or all three tracks.

The RAFT Program (General Track) offers intensive individual and group treatment to DMH eligible patients. It has two teams: 1) The Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) team, treats primarily individuals with severe and persistent mental illness using principles of CBT and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy; 2) The Dialectical Behavior Therapy team, is an intensive DBT program, which serves mainly individuals with borderline personality disorder and other severe personality disorders. Interns participate for six months on each team.

Psychosis Across the Lifespan Track offers full year participation at the Advancing Services for Psychosis Integration and Recovery (ASPIRE) clinic for those with early psychosis (ages 18-45). Interns will have the opportunity to provide individual therapy, develop and deliver group based interventions, and administer psychological assessments.

Neuropsychology Track involves full year participation in the Neuropsychology Service at MMHC and at the BIDMC Outpatient Psychiatry Service. Intern performs evaluations of both psychiatric patients and the general population, including questions of dementia, ADHD, LD, and other neuropsychiatric disorders.

Electives

We will be providing trainees with three options for electives, which comprise a smaller part of their clinical experience:

  1. Our Southard clinic will provide groups to individuals who are receiving outpatient services at DMH. There is one longstanding group that has been running for many years. Other groups can be determined based on the interests of the trainees that select this option.
  2. Research electives are possible through collaborating with one of the many research faculty at BIDMC. Trainees who choose this elective will be matched with a mentor and work on a scholarly project.
  3. Psychodiagnostic and projective testing assessments to clients served by DMH.