Program Description and Curriculum

At the beginning of the training year, you will be assigned to several faculty members for weekly one-on-one supervision of individual adult outpatient cases, clinic intakes, adult inpatient cases, patients seen within elective rotations, testing cases, and small group supervision of child and family cases. You will receive a minimum of six hours of clinical supervision per week in different formats. You will also get informal feedback periodically from your supervisors. In addition, three times a year, after each rotation, staff will evaluate your progress toward identified training goals. You will consult regularly with an attending psychiatrist or psychiatry residency regarding pharmacotherapy and other medical issues.

Interns have the opportunity to supervise externs dealing with individual cases on the inpatient and outpatient settings, as well as supervise inpatient extern groups. You will participate in a peer supervision group where you hone your supervisory skills while considering each other’s work with patients. Faculty advisors oversee these supervisions.

The outpatient rotations represent the core of your experience here, since you will be assigned to these services on a half-time basis for the entire year. These rotations will give you experience with adult, children, and family cases, and you will see a range of cases suitable to application of various therapeutic approaches. In case conferences and seminars, you will learn to integrate the insights gained from this diversity of perspectives.

Integrated Outpatient Service Rotation (Adults)

This is a half-time, full year experience. The typical weekly outpatient caseload for an intern consists of 8 to 10 hours of individual or couples treatment for adults (you may see some patients more than once a week), weekly intake evaluations, and two or three ongoing groups. You will conduct weekly intake interviews with new clinic patients for four months of the year. The intake process is closely supervised, with live observation during the interviews. You will be responsible for making differential diagnoses, collecting collateral information, designing treatment plans, and presenting your cases to an interdisciplinary disposition team. In addition, you will perform one or two adult outpatient psychological evaluations.

Integrated Outpatient Service (Child, Adolescent, and Family) Rotation

All interns do a four-month rotation on this service. This involves conducting intake evaluations and psychological assessments. You also collaborate with various members of the child's school or other community agencies, such as child welfare. The patient population provides exposure to a wide range of disorders and very complex family and cultural backgrounds. You will become proficient in various psychotherapy modalities, including play therapy, parenting skills training, family therapy, and cognitive behavior therapy. You will also be introduced to trauma-informed interventions for children with complex trauma histories. We respect the individual's particular family and cultural background. When possible, treatment approaches are grounded in evidenced-based practices. 

Interns carry two individual child cases (one is a complex trauma case), as well as one family case. In addition, you will conduct one child intake per week and complete one child psychological testing battery during your child rotation. 

Psychological Testing

You will perform four comprehensive psychological assessments in a variety of clinical settings. One or two of the four required testing batteries will occur with inpatients, during the inpatient rotation. In addition, most interns conduct one outpatient child battery and one or two adult outpatient assessments. The testing may include cognitive, educational, behavioral, and projective assessment.

Specialized Outpatient Trainings

The Center for Complex Trauma, the Trauma-Focused Family Systems Training Program, and the Brief Psychotherapy Research Program will be integral parts of your outpatient experience throughout the year. You may also gain additional experience in these areas by enrolling in intensive elective rotations in these areas.

Interns spend four months, half-time, on one of two adult inpatient psychiatry services. A supervising psychologist is involved in all aspects of patient care on each unit and provides regular supervision for all of your activities. You may choose either a general adult/dual diagnosis substance abuse service, or a combined geropsychiatric and general adult service. The typical caseload for interns assigned to these services is two patients at any one time.

On all units, interns coordinate and provide services for their assigned patients in the context of the multidisciplinary treatment team. You will have ample opportunities for individual and family interventions as well as psychological and neuropsychological evaluations during inpatient rotations. Medication and other biological treatments are managed by your medical backup, generally a psychiatric resident, with whom you will collaborate closely. You will also lead two inpatient psychotherapy groups per week; with one group, you will work with a psychiatric resident. Group psychotherapy is an integral aspect of the unit's milieu treatment program. In addition, you may develop skills in clinical supervision by serving as co-supervisor with the inpatient psychologist for a small group of psychology externs who lead weekly psychotherapeutic groups and provide individual therapy on the inpatient unit.

The two inpatient units treat individuals age 18 and older. Patient diagnoses are often varied and complex, and may include affective disorders, psychotic disorders, and personality disorders. Emphasis is on rapid resolution of acute distress and return to baseline functioning. Since many inpatients are then referred for individual, group, or family outpatient treatment, you might have the opportunity to provide continuing care for these patients following their discharge into the integrated outpatient service.

The general adult/psychiatric substance abuse inpatient service emphasizes treatment of persons with both a major psychiatric disorder and substance use disorder. On this unit, the psychiatric disorder is complicated by the presence of alcohol and/or drug addiction. Interns on this rotation gain familiarity with psychiatric and neurological disorders specifically associated with substance use disorders (e.g., antisocial personality disorder and substance-induced psychosis). The general adult and geropsychiatric inpatient service treats individuals ages 18 and above with a specialty unit for people age 65 and older, who are diagnosed with a broad range of psychiatric disorders, particularly depression and dementia. We make special efforts to integrate an understanding of biological, psychological, and social dimensions of aging in conceptualizing the patient's illness and treatment, as well as to provide experience in treating acute psychiatric illness.

All interns choose a four-month elective from a variety of ongoing services provided at Mount Sinai-Behavioral Health Center. Potential electives currently include brief psychotherapy research, addictions psychiatry, comprehensive psychiatric emergency room, and complex child trauma, as well as the Intensive Outpatient Treatment Program and Trauma-Informed Family Systems Program elective rotations. The Comprehensive Psychiatric Emergency Program and Brief Psychotherapy Research Program electives are paused for the coming academic year.

Addictions Training Program Elective: This elective provides intensive experience in treating individuals with substance use disorders. You will receive training in harm reduction, motivational interviewing, cognitive behavior therapy, and abstinence-based and psychodynamic approaches to addictions treatment. As part of the integrated outpatient service (addictions) elective rotation, you will carry up to three patients with addictions issues throughout the year and will rotate through both outpatient and inpatient rehabilitation units, where you will conduct individual and group psychotherapy. As part of the group therapy component, you will lead a dual diagnosis group for patients with co-occurring psychiatric and substance use disorders. You will also participate in and observe lectures led by other staff members, attend morning rounds, lead morning meetings, and attend open Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.

Complex Child Trauma Elective: This specialized rotation provides a comprehensive overview of the assessment, conceptualization, and treatment of childhood traumatic stress. You will develop skills rooted in the theory and practice of four trauma-informed, evidence-based models of treatment: trauma affect regulation; guide for education and treatment; attachment, self-regulation, and competence; trauma-focused, cognitive-behavioral therapy; and child-parent psychotherapy. Our training and treatment philosophy is also grounded in a practice- and evidence-based, relational approach using trauma-informed engagement strategies. Through this rotation, you will select and develop a learning project centered on the following or other areas of interest: research in the area of complex trauma in children; development of an in-depth case study or project focused on an element of clinical interest related to your existing child therapy work; program, clinical, or trauma-informed engagement strategies training development. You and your supervisor will pick the specific project early in the year and will develop it throughout the rotation.

Intensive Outpatient Treatment Program Elective: This elective rotation offers an opportunity to develop clinical competencies when treating a diverse patient population. Our patients present with complex and acute mental health care needs (e.g., severe personality, mood, and psychotic disorders). This program bridges inpatient services and traditional outpatient treatments. Patients attend this program several hours a day for a minimum of two days a week. You will function as a fully integrated member of the interdisciplinary treatment team, consisting of psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, and trainees. You will provide individual psychotherapy, co-lead groups, and conduct diagnostic evaluations. Additionally, you will be responsible for developing treatment plans, disposition recommendations, and liaising with referring providers. Working in a time-limited framework, you will gain proficiency in integrating interventions rooted in client-centered, psychodynamic, and cognitive-behavioral theoretical traditions, as well as in evidence-based approaches, such as dialectical behavioral therapy and motivational interviewing. Team meetings, case conferences, and program evaluation and development activities round out your training experience. You will be supervised by the psychology program director, medical director, and psychology fellow.

Trauma-Focused Family Systems Elective Rotation: This rotation provides an in-depth understanding of the short- and long-term treatment of families and couples through a trauma-informed systems lens. You will also use a variety of shorter-term approaches, such as attachment-based family therapy. You will receive additional family and couples cases beyond the one family case that all interns receive. The cases focus on a rotation deliverable that may include opportunities to collaborate with the director of program development, developing a research project, planning and organizing an event for families, parents, and staff to enhance family engagement and retention, developing clinical resources, or delivering guest lectures.

Elective Rotations Paused for the Coming Academic Year

Several programs have been paused for the academic year 2024-2025. These include:

Brief Psychotherapy Research Program Elective: All psychology interns participate in the Brief Psychotherapy Research Program by carrying several cases throughout the year as part of the Brief Psychotherapy Seminar (described in the didactics section). You may also elect to enroll in a specialized four-month research elective in brief therapy. In this rotation, you will conduct a research project involving data collected under the auspices of the Brief Psychotherapy Research Program. The idea for a research project is conceived early in the internship year in collaboration with one of the project’s supervising psychologists. Since the program is mainly focused on the study of the therapeutic relationship in time-limited treatment, projects typically have this focus. They are also often based on intensive, single case designs. The database for the Brief Psychotherapy Program is rich and extensive, which permits a variety of interesting small-scale projects. The aim of this rotation is to complete a study worthy of presentation and/or publication. You will have the opportunity to participate in the psychotherapy research seminar.

Comprehensive Psychiatric Emergency Program Elective (CPEP): This elective involves participating as a member of a multidisciplinary team (social workers, nurses, psychiatry residents, and psychiatrists). The Comprehensive Psychiatric Emergency Program is a primary entry point to the mental health system for individuals who seek psychiatric services on an emergent basis. Components of emergency psychiatric treatment in the Comprehensive Psychiatric Emergency Program include observation, evaluation, medication management, and behavioral interventions. We will offer interns the opportunity to rotate through the CPEP for two weeks.