Internship training is organized around didactics, observation, and experiential learning. Beginning in September, the interns start by spending much of their time observing different clinicians at many different activities. These include adult / child / adolescent medication management clinics and new patient evaluations, adult psychotherapy, in-patient child / adolescent psychotherapy, consult-liaison psychiatry, gero-psychiatry, and Memory Clinic. Concurrently, the interns receive weekly clinical supervision, together, for 90 minutes.
Slowly, beginning in about November and according to the interns’ comfort levels, they start to pick up a weekly adult psychotherapy caseload, to a maximum of about 7-8 patients through to the end of April.
In October-early March, the interns attend the 2-hour weekly Introduction to Psychotherapy seminar with the second year residents. Throughout the internship, they attend weekly Grand Rounds, and complete case management assignments as organized by the supervisor. Weekly reading assignments are about 1-2 hours in length. Interns are also asked to observe 3 different medical social workers at some point throughout their internship and to participate in co-facilitating 1-2 different groups, as available. From September-April, interns attend and observe the clinicians at the weekly adult new patient evaluation clinics. When they are comfortable, the interns complete these evaluations under supervision and write up the evaluation.
Other didactic learning opportunities are also available in the form of day-long symposiums offered by the department in fall and spring, and monthly 3-hour CEU seminars at the adjacent Hines VA and other campus speaker events that may occur..
Learning Activities Checklist
- Complete EPIC modules to learn charting system
- Maintain adult psychotherapy caseload with proper charting procedures
- Attend weekly clinical supervision
- Complete 1 process recording
- Complete 1 audio-recording
- Attend weekly adult new patient clinics
- Conduct and complete charting for 5 adult new patients
- Observe 6 adult medication management clinics
- Observe 4 child/adolescent new patient evaluations
- Observe 6 child/adolescent medication management clinics
- Observe monthly Memory Clinics
- Observe weekly gero-medication management clinics
- Observe 4 consult-liaison clinics
- Attend observational therapy sessions (# to be determined)
- Attend Introduction to Psychotherapy class
- Complete case management requests as assigned
- Attend weekly Grand Rounds
- Observe 1 session of psychological testing
- Observe EMDR session(s) if possible
- Observe and co-facilitate 2 groups, as possible
- Observe / shadow 3 medical Social Workers for 1 day each
Goals
By the end of the internship, interns should be able to:
- have a working understanding of the different roles of psychiatrist, psychologists, and social workers in an out-patient psychiatry setting
- have a working understanding of the differences between psychiatric and medical social work
- understand the differences between medication management and psychotherapy
- have a beginning understanding of how to work with psychiatrists in split treatment and how to advocate for the patient with the doctor
- have a basic familiarity with common DSM diagnoses
- have a beginning understanding of some common psychiatric medications
- define what is consult-liaison psychiatry
- complete a biopsychosocial assessment and chart it accordingly
- complete a multiaxial diagnosis
- differentiate between Process Notes and Progress Notes and properly chart the latter
- provide beginning level of psychotherapy to adult patients
- understand and operationalize the 3 phases of therapy
- utilize both some supportive and psychodynamic interventions
- understand case management procedures
- understand what is and how to utilize clinical supervision