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Setting and Population Served:  The Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry is one component of the Department of Psychiatry in the Vanderbilt School of Medicine.  It has provided an APA-approved internship experience for more than 20 years.  The Division consists of a staff of child/adolescent psychologists and psychiatrists together with trainees from several mental health disciplines.  It is associated with the youth services component of the Vanderbilt Community Mental Health Center and is both a major mental health services provider for Middle Tennessee and a regional training center.  The Division has developed a multi-faceted outpatient program.  Interns primarily will provide outpatient mental health services to low-income children and their families at the Mental Health Center and also may provide therapy in an elementary or middle-school-based site.  Children present to the clinics with a range of psychiatric problems including conduct and behavioral disturbances, adjustment problems, depression and anxiety, and symptoms of psychotic disturbances.  Interns will gain experience with patients ranging in age from early childhood to late adolescence and representing several racial and ethnic groups, primarily Caucasian and African American with increasing numbers from African, Middle Eastern, and Latin American countries. While treatment of some patients may be relatively straightforward, many patients are quite complex. Our children and adolescents often present with comorbid disorders, exposure to a variety of family and environmental stressors, and with the involvement of numerous agencies and systems.

Training Objectives:  The goal of the internship experience is to provide supervised clinical training, as well as didactic teaching, so that graduates are prepared to assume roles as child and adolescent oriented clinical psychologists.  Objectives for this placement include development of basic skills in child clinical psychology including psychological evaluation, psychotherapy with children and teenagers, work with parents, family therapy, and consultative work with school systems.  We expect interns at the end of their year to be familiar with the operation of a child and adolescent outpatient service.  Also expected is the development of skill in interacting productively with other disciplines, recognition of patient problems that call for consultation with other professionals, understanding of relevant ethical and legal principles arising in the treatment of children and adolescents, and sensitivity and competency in providing services to a racially, culturally, and socio-economically diverse patient population. Trainees will gain familiarity and competence in delivering a range of evidence-based treatment approaches to address child, adolescent and parenting issues.

Training Program/Experiences:  Although this placement is not organized into a system of rotations, multiple training experiences are offered.  The structure of this placement includes assessment with child and adolescent psychiatric populations, psychotherapy with children, teenagers and parents, consultation with trainees and staff from varied disciplines, and professional development, as well as opportunities for more specialized training experiences which are tailored to the intern's interests whenever possible.  Services provided at the Mental Health Center are organized around the provision of evidence-based treatment protocols (e.g., cognitive behavioral therapy, parent training protocols, etc.).  Training and supervision for interns, fellows, students and staff in evidence-based treatments are incorporated into the program.  In addition to two individual supervision hours per week, interns participate in weekly group supervision with staff therapists and trainees from multiple disciplines. Further didactic offerings include weekly child and adolescent grand rounds, a psychiatry fellows’ seminar series, and various trainings and lectures offered through the Psychiatry Department and affiliated Medical School and University departments.

There are certain experiences that this setting does not provide.  These include extensive work with individuals with mental retardation and autism spectrum disorders.  Clinical work with infants also is not represented.  Eating disorders are infrequent in our population.  Although we see parents as an adjunct to our work with their children or adolescents, we do not normally work with adult patients.

A secondary placement experience through Child and Adolescent Psychiatry is available for interns with primary placements elsewhere.  This placement is in the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry outpatient clinic.  This position involves seeing Medicaid eligible children, adolescents and families for psychotherapy.  Additional secondary placements may be added from year to year.  However, beyond the psychotherapy placement, we cannot guarantee the availability of any further placements for the 2012-13 training year. 

Additional Criteria for Acceptance:  Enrollment in an APA accredited program is preferred.  Note: All interns with primary placements in the Vanderbilt Department of Psychiatry must pass a background check. This will be performed after match day.  Match results and selection decisions are contingent on passing the background check. No prospective TVHS intern has ever been refused employment as a result of the background check, but it is a possibility.  Several have had difficulty, in all cases because of past legal problems they chose not to reveal during the application process.  Department of Psychiatry Interns performing a secondary placement in the VA must also complete a VA background check.

Potential for Program Change:  None known.

Positions:  1                                                              

Salary:  $25,000

Starting Date:  July 1, 2012

Ending Date:  June 30, 2013

Faculty Contact:     Kirsten L. Haman, Ph.D. (Ph.D., Vanderbilt University)

Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychiatry

Email: kirsten.haman@vanderbilt.edu

Phone:  (615) 343-2572

Affiliated Faculty:   Blythe Corbett, Ph.D. (California School of Professional

                                    Psychology)                           

                                    Assistant Professor of Psychiatry

                                    Areas of Clinical Expertise: Autism, Tourette Syndrome, ADHD

Jon Ebert, Psy.D. (Wheaton College)                                             
Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychiatry                                             
Areas of Clinical Expertise: Marriage and family therapy, juvenile justice, trauma and attachment

Patti Van Eys, Ph.D. (Bowling Green State University)                 
Assistant Professor of Psychiatry                                                          
Areas of Clinical Expertise: Assessment of complex cases, trauma and attachment

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9-29-2010