Post-Doctoral Fellowships

post doc fellowship

Post-doctoral Fellowships in Pediatric Neuropsychology & Mental Health

Mass General for Children offers several full-time fellowships to run from September 2023 through the end of August 2024. It carries a $44,000 stipend along with hospital benefits.

A number of options will be available:

  • A full-time Pediatric Neuropsychology fellowship in the Neurodevelopmental Clinic (NDC). This is a one-year fellowship, with the option for a second year fellowship.
  • A number of additional full-time fellowships involving a combination of testing and clinical work are also available:
    • 50% in the Outpatient Mental Health Dept. & 50% in the NDC.
    • 50% in the Adolescent Partial Hospital Program & 50% in the NDC.
    • Applicants should indicate which options, in order of preference, they are interested in when submitting an application.

Neurodevelopmental Clinic (NDC):

The NDC provides out-patient services as part of the Neuropsychological Assessment Center at Salem Hospital; it is also part of Mass General for Children at Salem Hospital.

The NDC fellowship involves supervised neuropsychological, psycho-educational and psychological testing of children, adolescents and young adults, and weekly didactic seminar. The majority of individuals are school-aged, with learning, attention, social-emotional and behavioral problems. We also see pre-school children, including toddlers, and young adults/college students. A percentage of individuals seen in the NDC have more severe developmental disorders, including autism spectrum disorders and intellectual disabilities, or frank neurological dysfunction, including post-concussion syndrome, cerebral palsy, or seizure disorders. Some of the more complicated, multiply-impaired children are seen through our Multi-Discipline Evaluation Clinic (MDEC), which includes evaluations by clinicians from a variety of disciplines, typically including Speech and Language, Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, Audiology and Psychiatry.

Evaluations:

Evaluations may include neuropsychological assessments, personality assessments with projective testing and educational testing. We generally ascribe to the process approach to neuropsychological assessment, which incorporates cognitive psychology as well as brain-behavior relationships. The type and extent of testing is predicated on 1) the clinical questions asked, and 2) the type and extent of testing authorized by insurance.

Requirements:

The amount of testing required of post-doctoral fellows is based on a billable hour system. Fellows are required to bring in 60% billable hours a week, on average, over the course of the fellowship. Since individual evaluations typically range between 8 to 12 hours, this means that the fellow will be seeing an average of at least one patient a week (half-time position) or two patients a week (full-time position).

Supervision:

Each fellow is matched with a primary supervisor. Typically, supervisors meet on a regular, weekly basis to discuss up-coming cases, go over test results and review reports. At the beginning of the year, the supervisor will typically meet with the parents and child along with the fellow prior to the evaluation during the diagnostic interview, as well attend the feedback meeting with the parents. As the fellow acquires experience and confidence in these areas, the supervisor’s role will decrease. During the course of the year, the fellow is also encouraged to work with other supervisors on different kinds of cases.

Seminars & other training opportunities:

There is a weekly, 2-hour seminar Thursday morning that covers a variety of topics pertinent to the population seen at the Center. Presenters include Drs. Morgan and Caggiano, as well as other NDC staff, clinicians from other departments, and speakers from outside the hospital.

The NDC also has staff meeting twice a month, also on Thursdays. Usually one of these will be a presentation by an outside speaker. Topics scheduled in recent years include: Report Writing & Communication in Neuropsychology, Transition Services for Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders, and Assessment of Gifted and Twice Exceptional Individuals. In addition, there is usually a case presentation during one of the monthly staff meetings, and fellows are invited to present a case toward the end of their fellowship year.

There is also usually an informal, one hour meeting most weeks to discuss practical issues, such as administration and scoring of tests, report writing and feedback meetings, and case discussions.

Prerequisites:

  • Clinical experience with children or adolescents & families (e.g., Internship).
  • Training and clinical experience with the WISC-V and WAIS-IV as well as with some more commonly used neuropsychological and academic achievement tests and batteries (e.g., WRAML-3; D-KEFS; Rey-Osterrieth; CVLT-C; WIAT-4)
  • Training and clinical experience administering & interpreting projective tests (including the Rorschach) is also preferred for the split testing/clinical fellowships.

Outpatient Mental Health Department:

The Outpatient Mental Health Department is comprised of Mass General for Children at Salem Hospital, which serves children and their families in the greater North Shore area, and an adult outpatient clinic which is also located in Salem. Post-doctoral fellows will be required to meet specific training commitments to facilitate their learning objectives and to ensure the high level of care associated with hospital-based level of care. Each post-doctoral fellow will be assigned a supervisor, with whom they will meet for individual supervision one hour each week. Fellows will also receive didactic and clinical support around clinical supervision issues.

Caseloads:

Post-doctoral fellows will be expected to carry the equivalent of 10-12 cases per week for a 20-hour internship, which will be built up over a two-month orientation period. Weekly schedules of patient contact must be kept by the fellow and turned in weekly to both the billing office and to their individual supervisors, who will use these to track licensure credit time.

Fellows may have the opportunity to co-facilitate at least 1 therapy group during their training. These will be co-led with a senior staff clinician and focus upon skills-based training groups, behaviorally focused groups, and therapy groups focused on specific needs (e.g., children of divorced parents).

Meetings and Training Opportunities:

All fellows are required to attend specific meetings to enhance their training experience within the program and to add to the depth of their exposure of various disciplines and treatment interventions. Fellows are expected to attend all meetings unless otherwise directed by their immediate individual supervisor.

  • One dedicated team meeting per week (hospital only). This is a team meeting for the clinicians and prescribers in the pediatric outpatient clinic to discuss patients and clinical issues as well as Peer Supervision group for clinicians working in the adult outpatient clinic.
  • One Multidisciplinary Team per week (offered twice during the week)
  • Monthly Staff Meetings
  • Monthly Behavioral Medicine Consultation and Presentation.

The Department also hosts a Friday Educational Lecture Series on the fourth Wednesday of every month 11:00 a.m. to 12 noon. Presenters are typically staff clinicians presenting on their clinical areas of interest.

Adolescent Partial Hospital Program:

The Partial Hospital Program (PHP) is a day treatment program for adolescents and offers a broad range of clinical experiences. The population ranges from aged 12 to 18 with a wide range of diagnoses including Autism Spectrum Disorders, behavioral disorders, mood disorders and anxiety disorder (including PTSD, OCD, social phobia, and panic disorder). Referrals for the program are made by schools, inpatient hospitals, outpatient providers, and families. Participants’ enrollment in the program lasts between 5 to 10 days, on average.

As a post-doctoral fellow, you act as one of the clinical case managers carrying a case load of 1 to 2 patients at a time. Additionally, you will facilitate 4-5 psychoeducational and psychotherapy groups weekly. Responsibilities include: conducting initial intake assessments, daily individual therapy with patients (30 – 60 minutes), one to two groups per day, family meetings, management of the group milieu (this is not a requirement when the telehealth model is active), and collaboration with families, schools, and outpatient clinical providers. Fellows are also expected to attend weekly team meetings and monthly staff meetings and complete relevant administrative duties, such as paperwork, discharge planning, and insurance authorizations.

Fellows in the Adolescent Partial Hospital Program conduct psychosocial assessments, facilitate psychotherapy groups, deliver individual psychotherapy and family therapy sessions, and participate in weekly multidisciplinary rounds.

Primary Staff:

  • Julia Morgan, Psy.D. Director of Training and Clinical Coordinator of Child and Adolescent Assessment
  • Ryan Garrity, Ph.D. Clinical Director, Neuropsychological Assessment Center
  • Joseph DiPietro, Psy.D. Director of Outpatient Mental Health
  • Shalini Bhalla, Psy.D., Supervisor, Outpatient Mental Health
  • Robert DiGiammarino, Psy.D., Director, Psychology Training Program
  • Alycia Marchant, LMHC. Clinical Coordinator, Adolescent Partial Hospital Program
  • Robert Caggiano, Ed.D. Executive Director Psychiatry & Mental Health, Chief of Psychology and Neuropsychology  

To Apply
Please send or email a letter of interest, indicating which fellowship options you are interested in, along with your curriculum vita, 2 or 3 sample reports (preferably evaluations of children or adolescents), and 3 letters of reference to: Julia Morgan, Psy.D.  Director of Training, Neurodevelopmental Clinic, 57 Highland Ave. Salem, MA 01970