Health & Rehabilitation Psychology Postdoctoral Fellowship - St. Luke's Cedar Rapids

Program Overview

UnityPoint Health - St. Luke's Hospital in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, is pleased to offer a one-year fellowship in clinical psychology with training experiences in health and rehabilitation psychology. The next fellowship year starts on Monday, August 5, 2024 (flexible start date).

St. Luke's Hospital is highly involved in the community by providing financial assistance to the underinsured and uninsured, as well as offering services to the community with the goal of helping members thrive. St. Luke's has also been recognized regionally and nationally for its exceptional delivery of health care services.

Highlights
  • Fellows will have the opportunity to work in accredited brain injury, stroke rehabilitation and inpatient rehabilitation programs with individuals presenting with various medical conditions including, but not limited to: spinal cord injury, stroke, traumatic brain injury, limb amputation, traumatic burns, physical deconditioning, cancer debility, neurologic conditions, and other acute and chronic health conditions.
  • The Psychology Fellowship Program is led by a dynamic and collegial multidisciplinary team that includes four physiatrists, two neuropsychologists and two rehabilitation/health psychologists. Meet the psychology team. Fellows will also collaborate with physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech/language pathologists, registered dietitians, spiritual services, pharmacists, nurses, social workers, care coordinators, and many other health disciplines.
  • Fellows will also have training experiences in health psychology and neuropsychology outpatient clinics, as well as the growing outpatient Pain Psychology Program.
Goals

A goal of the fellowship program is to provide 2,080 hours of specialized training (including paid time off, vacation and sick leave benefits) in clinical psychology; 1,500 hours will be supervised professional experience as required by the Board of Psychology in the state of Iowa for postdoctoral experience for licensure. The program will adhere to a practitioner-scholar model and provide weekly didactic and experiential training opportunities in clinical psychology with emphasis in rehabilitation and health psychology.

The fellowship program is committed to training practitioners whose interventions are grounded in research evidence and science. The goals and criteria of the fellowship program will adhere to APPIC and APA accreditation guidelines. The fellowship will focus on assessment (e.g., psychological, neuropsychological, spinal-cord stimulator), treatment interventions, and multidisciplinary team consultation in a number of inpatient and outpatient settings, including the inpatient PM&R unit, Pain Psychology Program, inpatient/outpatient neuropsychology, psychology consultation-liaison service (in development), and outpatient health psychotherapy clinic. Training opportunities in integrated healthcare are also in development.

Fellows will be trained to use a number of treatment modalities including cognitive-behavioral treatments (CBT) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) for chronic pain; self-regulation techniques (e.g., clinical hypnosis, mindfulness meditation); motivational interviewing approaches; behavioral management strategies for challenging patient behaviors; and educational interventions for patients with various medical concerns. Training will also focus on ethical, cultural and diversity issues in relation to assessment, intervention and treatment planning.

Fellows will have the opportunity to participate on hospital-wide committees, such as pain or ethics committees. While research participation is not a requirement of the fellowship program, opportunities for research exist for interested trainees. Fellows will also have opportunities to supervise undergraduate students, provide workshops and training to staff. Support will be provided to attend the spring and fall conferences of the Iowa Psychological Association. Fellows will also receive support and designated time for EPPP and licensure preparation.

Training Experiences

Inpatient Health/Rehabilitation Rotation
Inpatient psychological services are provided for all patients and families on the Inpatient Rehabilitation Unit. Fellows will conduct psychosocial evaluations with patients and families to assess adjustment to new onset disability, emotional dysregulation, coping skills/style, substance use, sexual health/functioning, personal strengths/assets, and other barriers that may impact patients' ability to participate in rehabilitation activities.

Psychology services on the Inpatient Rehabilitation Unit are well respected and the health care team frequently requests recommendations and consultation from health psychology providers. Fellows will be integrated within the multidisciplinary team and attend morning reports, case conferences, and other family meetings.

Opportunities to provide recommendations and coach team members are also present, along with providing in-services on a variety of topics (e.g., dealing with self-injurious behaviors; enhancing motivation to make health behavior changes; respecting patients' autonomy and individuality).

Fellows will carry a regular caseload and follow patients over the course of their hospitalization. Additionally, the health psychology service is also developing a consultation-liaison service. Fellows will also have opportunities to assist with program development and other administrative responsibilities in relation to health-service delivery.
Outpatient Psychology/Pain Psychology Rotation
Outpatient psychological services at St Luke's are provided in the PM&R Clinic, and fellows will be part of this rotation throughout the entire year. Presenting concerns include: post-discharge follow-up from the rehabilitation unit (stroke, traumatic brain injury, neurological disorders, spinal cord injuries, and amputations), caregivers of and patients with chronic illnesses, and pain-related disorders with psychological features. Referrals often involve psychosocial problems with adjustment to the presenting concerns previously listed.

Fellows will have the opportunity to hone skills in outpatient psychotherapy through diagnostic interviews and utilization of evidence-based treatment approaches. In addition to providing individual psychotherapy, fellows will co-facilitate groups for the Pain Psychology Program.

There are four main groups that are part of this program: a bi-monthly screening group, cognitive behavioral group therapy for chronic pain, acceptance and commitment therapy for chronic pain, and a monthly maintenance group for patients who completed the CBT group. Additionally, on occasion, fellows may have the opportunity to conduct psychological evaluations for spinal cord stimulators. The overall goal of this rotation is to build and refine individual and group psychotherapy skills from a health psychology perspective.
Neuropsychology Rotation
Neuropsychological services at St. Luke's are provided in the outpatient PM&R Clinic, on the Inpatient Rehabilitation Unit and on acute inpatient units for individuals with a wide range of diagnostic issues including stroke, dementia, head traumas, tumors, seizures, multiple sclerosis, neurological disorders, and various cognitive and psychiatric disorders. Inpatient referral questions often relate to decision making capacity and level of needed care at discharge, while outpatient evaluations are focused on differential diagnosis and outpatient care planning.

Fellows learn how to conduct neuropsychological clinical interviews, administer and score neuropsychological/personality assessments, interpret findings within the framework of differential diagnosis, and provide feedback to the patient and family members. Fellows will also gain experience in working within an interdisciplinary team.

As this fellowship is focused on training in health service psychology, the training is not intended to meet Houston conference criteria for training in neuropsychology. The goal is to introduce health psychology trainees to the specialty of neuropsychology and to make them more informed consumers of neuropsychological assessments over their careers.

Application Instructions

To apply for this position please submit materials to the APA CAS Postdoc Application portal.

  • Applications for the 2024-2025 fellowship year are due December 24, 2023.

If you have questions, please contact Psychology Program Training Director Benjamin A. Tallman, Ph.D., at Benjamin.Tallman@unitypoint.org or call (319) 369-8877.

Admission Criteria

Required Qualifications
Completion of a doctorate (PhD or PsyD) in clinical or counseling psychology from an APA/CPA accredited program and completion of an APA/CPA accredited internship prior to start date of August 2024.
Application Materials
  • Cover letter that describes training goals for the fellowship year; how you envision this training will further your professional identity as a clinical psychologist; fit with the fellowship program, and interest in health/rehabilitation psychology and working with a multidisciplinary team; your theoretical orientation; and experience working with diverse populations.
  • Current CV that includes a description of your internship rotations and anticipated graduation date.
  • All graduate transcripts associated with training for your degree (masters and doctoral).
  • Three letters of reference.
  1. A letter of reference from your internship director, describing your progress and anticipated completion date.
  2. A letter from the chair of your dissertation committee that details the status of your dissertation and the anticipated completion date of your doctoral training.
  3. A letter of reference from a supervisor familiar with your work with individuals who have medical concerns.
  • De-identified work sample according to HIPPA Standards. The work sample can be a comprehensive treatment summary/plan or a psychological assessment report.