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Residency (Post-Doctoral Fellowship)

Program Description

The Psychology Residency is a 12-month full-time program that is designed to provide clinical training experiences in one of the emphasis areas of interest, and a minimum of 2 hours of regularly scheduled individual supervision. Residents have the opportunity to choose clinical and research activities to fit with their goals and interests through their proposed training plan, which each resident develops in their first month of residency. Additionally, Residents work closely with one or more faculty members to develop and execute at least one research project or scholarly project during year. In addition to formal supervision, they are provided with mentorship on professional development throughout the training year. Our residents are required to complete a minimum 1000 clinical hours; a minimum of 500 hours must be direct service face-to-face hours. The other 50% of the time or 1000 hours may be devoted to professional development; completing the research project, attending didactics related to professional development, professional ethics and/or cultural diversity. This non-clinical time also accounts for other training and didactics within the emphasis areas. Finally, the Residents have their own Director’s meeting and Resident Seminar for professional issues related specifically to trainees completing their postdoctoral year. The program selects individuals for specific emphasis areas within the Psychology.

Aim and Competencies

The overall aim of the Psychology Residency Program is to prepare graduates for the independent practice of Health Service Psychology. It provides the Residents with advanced skills and competencies necessary to function independently. Specifically, the program provides the training experiences to achieve advanced skills within the specific focused area of interest. However, the clinical psychology residency program requires a common training aim and competencies across all emphasis areas.

By the end of training, Residents will be able to perform at an advanced level in the following competency areas:

  1. Demonstrate skills in assessment sufficient to practice at an advanced level.
  2. Demonstrate skills in psychological treatment/intervention sufficient to practice at an advanced level.
  3. Demonstrate advanced practice skills in the provision of consultation to providers in related disciplines and function effectively in consulting roles across settings.
  4. Demonstrate an advanced understanding and awareness of individual and cultural diversity and integration of these issues into professional practice.
  5. Demonstrate advanced knowledge related to the integration of science and practice in clinical psychology in addition to research and methods through scholarly activity.
  6. Demonstrate completion of the clinical training and supervisory experiences necessary for applying licensure in the independent practice of Psychology.
  7. Demonstrate advanced professionalism with patients and colleagues and in professional situations independently across settings and contexts. This includes an understanding of professional conduct, ethics and law, and professional standards for providers of psychological services sufficient to practice at an advanced level.

Emphasis Area Descriptions

There are currently 3 positions across 3 different emphasis areas. The Adult emphasis area within Desert Sage Resource Center general practice emphasis. This emphasis area is primarily adult focused but also includes pediatric training experiences. The Child emphasis areas include Clinical Child. The forensic emphasis area includes focusing on delivering forensic services for criminal, civil, and family law matters.

APPLICATION AND SELECTION PROCESS

Internship and Academic Preparation Applicants must have completed all the requirements for an APA/CPA-approved doctoral program in psychology and a one-year APA/CPA approved internship including dissertation before the beginning of the program. The Program will also accept applications from individuals who have completed all requirements of a university-based APA/CPA-approved program of postdoctoral education for retraining in clinical, counseling, school psychology.

Applications will be sent to info@desertsagerc.com. The Deadline for applications is January 3, 2022. Each applicant is required to submit a complete set of application materials. To have your application reviewed the following are required; Central Application form, curriculum vitae, a cover letter stating professional goals for the residency and graduate transcript.

Please email the following materials:

  1. A letter of interest, including a discussion of training and career goals, including the status of your dissertation and/or completeness of all doctoral degree requirements.
  2. A copy of your curriculum vitae containing background information, academic and clinical experience.
  3. Three letters of reference.
  4. A copy of your graduate transcript. The Postdoctoral Training Director and selection committees for each area will be reviewing the applications.
  5. Writing samples are not required for the application. Applicants who are invited for interviews may be asked for writing samples at that time.
  6. Psychological evaluation or other type of assessment report (forensic reports preferred).

Interviews will be scheduled between January 18 – February 11, 2022. All interviews are on an invitation-only basis and will be conducted virtually. The Residency start date is the last working day of August.

Resident Stipends, Benefits, and Support

The base stipends currently vary from $43,000 to $55,000. Stipend levels can vary depending on budgetary restraints and funding sources Health insurance is available. Professional liability coverage is encouraged but at the Resident’s expense. Not including holiday leave, Residents receive 15 days Annual Leave, 13 days of sick leave and 5 days of academic leave.