Graduate and Professional Training

The oldest outpatient children's mental health clinic in the United States, widely-known for innovative programs and dedicated staff, the Clifford W. Beers Clinic offers internship opportunities for graduate social workers, psychology interns, and nurse clinicians. See below for contact information and a detailed description of this program.

The Clifford Beers Clinic offers:

- Emergency psychiatric intervention
- Treatment for sexually aggressive children and adolescents
- AIDS affected children’s program
- Sexual Abuse Treatment
- Infant and toddler development assessment
- Parent training
- Substance abuse prevention
- Family Violence services
- Outreach services
- School Consultation
- Professional development

By interning at Clifford Beers Clinic, you’ll get a lifetime’s worth of experience that will significantly shape your professional future.

For more information --

• psychology trainees  contact Dr. David Abrams at 203.772.1270, x 212
• medical students  contact Dr. Pieter Joost van Wattum at 203.772.1270, x 244
• social work, other mental health professional trainees  contact Kathleen Boudreau, LCSW at 203.772.1270, x 218. 

Pre-Doctoral Psychology/The Consortium

The Clifford Beers Clinic and The Post Traumatic Stress Center have formed a consortium to pursue common training, research and treatment goals. Both organizations share a commitment to providing comprehensive community based services to individuals and families suffering from disorders caused by psychological trauma. The combined initiative will provide interns with the opportunity to develop expertise in the treatment of trauma throughout the life span. Competence in understanding the effects of trauma on child, adult and family development will be emphasized.

The physical proximity of the two organizations and the shared philosophy of commitment to community based treatment and clinical research allows us to provide a rich, coordinated training environment.

THE CLIFFORD BEERS CLINIC

The Clifford W. Beers Clinic is a non-profit psychiatric, community based mental health agency committed to service, training, and research to promote the psychological and physical well being of children and adolescents, and their families. In clinic and community based settings, it provides programs and services that identify, treat, arrest, prevent and reduce psychiatric disorders. The agency engages in practices to ensure equal access and service accessibility. It strives to establish a community awareness of mental health services to eliminate the stigma associated with mental illness.

Established in 1913, the Clinic is the oldest outpatient mental health clinic in the country. Program services are provided through the Central Clinic Outpatient facility at 93 Edwards Street, New Haven, CT and the Child and Adolescent Mobile Psychiatric Emergency Service/EMPS program. Additionally services are provided through satellite offices in West Haven and Guilford; through three school-based health centers in New Haven; and in the community. Last year over 1,500 children and families were treated at the Clinic.

Central Clinic Programs

Services to children and youth, up to eighteen years of age, and their families include: comprehensive diagnostic assessment, psychiatric evaluation, pediatric consultation, individual, group and family therapies, and psychopharmacology. Clients include children displaying non-compliant, aggressive or disruptive behavior, poor academic performance, school refusal, developmental delays, depression, and mood disorders, anxiety, attachment and adjustment difficulties and parent-child conflict. Referrals are encouraged from schools, residential facilities, hospitals, professionals and parents. Spanish speaking therapists are available.

A list of specialized clinic programs which compliment the general outpatient services follows:

• Sexual abuse treatment: Treatment of children and adolescents who have been sexually abused with provision of clinical services to non-offending parents and siblings. Coordination with other community agencies such as the police, DCF and attorneys is offered.
• Treatment of sexually aggressive youth: Evaluation of children with sexually inappropriate behaviors. Early intervention for youth ages 10-18 including those adjudicated for a first offense. The staff provides group, family and individual outpatient therapy and collaborates with the Probation Department or other community agencies as deemed appropriate.
• Project CATCH: Through Project CATCH, the Clinic, in conjunction with the Yale Sexual Abuse Evaluation Clinic, offers intensive outreach services, advocacy and treatment to families affected by sexual abuse. Clinic staff also participates in the New Haven MIT, an interagency collaboration to improve services to sexual abuse victims. Additionally, the CATCH Program works with families who have experienced domestic violence. Staff are active in community networks working on family violence issues.
• EMPS - Emergency Mobile Psychiatric Services: A 24-hour emergency psychiatric service for children and youth under the age of 18 that provides in-home and community-based crisis assessments; referral services and time limited case management for 17 towns in the New Haven area. The staff has knowledge of resources in the South Central Region and can access support services from various agencies and organizations. Coordination of Care teams provide intensive case management and advocacy services to some of the community’s most needy families.
• Outreach services make mental health care accessible by providing treatment in schools, community centers and homes. The Clinic operates two school based mental health centers, one in a New Haven elementary school, one in a middle school.

TRAUMA TREATMENT AT THE CLIFFORD BEERS CLINIC

The Clifford Beers Clinic has been a lead agency in providing trauma-informed treatment to the most economically challenged families in the New Haven area. The Clinic has developed a community based, clinical center for the treatment of children and families who have been exposed to trauma.

Clifford Beers staff are active members and leaders in community groups that are focused on addressing child trauma exposure. For example, Clifford Beers clinicians chaired the Children Affected by Domestic Violence sub-committee of the Greater New Haven Domestic Violence Task Force, and have Chaired the Multidisciplinary Investigative Team of Greater New Haven, made up of police, judiciary and clinical forensic experts who gathered together to facilitate services for children who have disclosed sexual abuse and domestic violence.

The mission of the Clinic is to improve the quality of life for trauma-exposed children and their caretakers (for example, parents, guardians, relatives); strengthen and create advocates within the community for trauma survivors; and improve the quality of treatment services available to those families within the greater New Haven Region. The latter is to be accomplished through assisting other human service agencies to “take root” and implement evidenced-based practices.

Exposure to traumatic events in childhood is far too common. More than 25% of American youth experience a serious traumatic event by their 16^th birthday, and many children suffer multiple and repeated traumas throughout their childhoods. Currently 71% of the children using services at Clifford Beers Clinic report being exposed to one or more forms of interpersonal or community-based traumatic life events. The Trauma Program is an important component of the training of pre-doctoral interns in comprehensive interventions for these traumatized children. Additionally, it will focus our training on current evidence based practices.

POST TRAUMATIC STRESS CENTER

The Post Traumatic Stress Center is a private practice, fee-for-service clinic in New Haven, Connecticut that specializes in evaluation, education and treatment of people suffering from disorders caused by psychological trauma. A wide range of services are provided for clients who may have experienced traumatic stresses such as accidents, incest, sexual abuse, rape, combat, criminal and domestic violence, or the Holocaust.

The therapeutic staff of the Center are highly trained professionals who are deeply committed to the treatment of post traumatic stress disorder and related conditions. The Center was established in 1992 and has 250-300 active clients of all ages. It is located at 19 Edwards Street in New Haven.

Program Services

• Evaluation

Comprehensive evaluation for PTSD is offered, providing a reliable assessment of the presence of, degree of severity, and functional impairment caused by the condition, within the context of the person’s life.

• Psychotherapy

Individual, group, and family therapy aim to help the trauma survivor reestablish productive relationships with other people in their lives, as well as reduce the impact of their symptoms on their life. Creative arts therapies, psychoeducational programs, consultation to schools and social agencies, expert witnessing, medication, and hospitalization are also employed when appropriate. The Center actively collaborates with many community agencies.

• Education and Supervision

Workshops and supervision are offered for therapists, other professionals, survivors, and the public on a wide range of topics relevant to the identification and treatment of PTSD.

Specialized Services

• The Women’s Trauma Program

The Women’s Trauma Program provides trauma-focused therapy for victims of civilian trauma, e.g., sexual assault, early childhood abuse, physical and emotional abuse, domestic violence, traumatic injuries, motor vehicle accidents, and natural disasters. Women who are in acute crisis, actively abusing substances, psychotic, or actively suicidal are excluded from the program. The treatment program focuses on the devastating effects of the trauma on all aspects of the individual’s life. The program consists of three-phase trauma-focused group psychotherapy for sixteen weeks, using the Interactive Psychoeducational Group Therapy Model developed by the co-directors of the Center.

• Women in the Workforce

Women in the workforce are faced with issues that range from general work-related stress to gender-specific stressor such as sexual harassment and discrimination. Women are challenged by the complexity of social role identities of mother, wife, and professional. This program provides psychoeducation and psychotherapy to professional women interested in exploring these issues more deeply.

• The Family Program

The Center offers the members of traumatized families a wide range of services including family therapy, multiple family therapy groups, a psychoeducational lecture series concerning family issues, and play therapy for children.

• The Veterans Project

Specialized programs for Vietnam veterans, focusing on their experience of the homecoming as it currently impacts on their lives through family, work, and social settings. The programs include ceremony-based interventions and expressive modalities.

• Brief Symptom Reduction Study

Continuing research on various methods of rapid reduction in PTSD symptoms is being conducted. These methods have included cognitive-behavioral, exposure-based, and desensitization approaches.

THE PRE DOCTORAL INTERNSHIP

The Consortium of the Clifford Beers Clinic and The Post Traumatic Stress Center will offer four pre doctoral internships in each training year. Appointments are for 12 months and begin in September. The annual stipend is $22,500 and interns are offered individual medical insurance coverage at no cost. The Consortium provides 4 weeks of vacation, 8-11 paid holidays and 5-8 days for illness. Malpractice insurance will be provided by the Consortium.  Interns can choose either a concentration on children (where the worksite will be the Clifford W. Beer Clinic), or on adults (where the worksite will be the Post Traumatic Stress Center).

Requirements

An applicant must be a third or fourth year student in a psychology doctoral program, preferably an APA approved program in clinical psychology. Completion of all course requirements and elevation to doctoral candidacy are necessary. It is expected that applicants will have at least two years of practicum experience in clinical assessment, psychotherapy and/or psychological testing. Interest and experience in working with children and families; in the treatment of trauma; and in urban, low-income and ethnically diverse populations is highly desirable. Interns with a persistent curiosity about human variety, high energy, strong organizational skills and flexibility are likely to have a positive training year with the consortium.

Program Philosophy & Goals

The goal of the consortium internship is to provide a varied, high quality training experience which will support interns in developing a professional identity as clinical psychologists. Interns will receive training in individual and family assessment and in individual, family and group therapy and parent guidance. The internship will include comprehensive training in clinical and developmental assessment, differential diagnosis and treatment planning and experience in both short and long term psychotherapy. Through varied training experiences, interns will develop an integrated understanding of individual psychodynamics, developmental issues and family systems. Given the agencies’ longstanding commitment to community services, interns will be expected to provide advocacy and case management services for clients and engage in community consultation projects with local agencies and schools. Emphasis is placed on providing treatment and services which are culturally and ethnically sensitive.

The training program is designed to provide interns with the wide range of skills expected of a community mental health practitioner. Training experiences are tailored to the background, goals and interests of each intern. Interns will be provided with learning experiences and a professional orientation designed to make their skills transferable to other populations and settings.

Interns will be provided with opportunities to learn a wide range of therapy techniques, consultation skills and outreach practices. Training is achieved through the provision of direct clinical services, individual and group supervision, co-therapy and collaborative therapy with experienced staff members, participation in various clinical team meetings with multidisciplinary staff, and didactic and case presentations. Video and audiotapes and co-therapy may be used as teaching techniques. Appropriate creativity is encouraged and interns may be supported in developing independent projects. Interns will work collaboratively with highly qualified professionals from other disciplines including psychiatry, social work and nursing. The Clinic has a longstanding commitment to training community mental health practitioners and has provided practicum training to graduate social workers, psychologists, clinical nurses and public health students for over 20 years. The Post Traumatic Stress Center has been involved in clinical research and training of psychologists since its inception in 1992.

CORE TRAINING EXPERIENCES Treatment Services

The majority of each intern’s time will be spent providing direct clinical services to a diverse population of children, adolescents, adults and families.

(a) Child psychotherapy cases: (Clifford Beers Clinic) include clinical assessment of the child and family, diagnosis and treatment planning and individual, family, parent guidance and/or group treatment. Case management services include liaison with schools, child protective services, medical, and social service providers.

(b) Adolescent and Adult psychotherapy cases: (Post Traumatic Stress Center) Clinical assessment and individual, and couples and family therapy.

(c) Group treatment: Opportunities to co-lead therapy groups are available at the Clifford Beers Clinic and the Post Traumatic Stress Center. Additional group treatment opportunities may be available as interest and opportunities dictate.

(d) Clinical rotations: (Clifford Beers Clinic) Interns will participate in a 6 month rotation on the Emergency Mobile Psychiatric Services team. This rotation is integrated into the primary placement within the outpatient clinic.

Supervision

Each intern will be provided with a minimum of two hours of individual clinical supervision each week from at least two of our licensed psychologists, and three hours of group based supervision. Most interns will have two different supervisors. Two hours of individual and one hour of group based supervision will be at the site of concentration, and two more hours of group based at the alternate site.

Additional ongoing individual supervision will be provided around specialty rotations and community projects.

Additionally, extensive case consultation and supervision will be available from agency staff through co-therapy and collateral therapy and case discussions.

Treatment Team Participation and Didactic Seminars

1. The Trauma Consultation Team (Clifford Beers) meets weekly to provide ongoing case consultation and review, and didactic training around the treatment of child sexual abuse victims and their families and treatment of children and families who have experienced or been exposed to domestic violence. Individual, family and group treatment issues are discussed. Opportunities are available for training in court testimony, and in collaboration and advocacy with local service agencies involved with families who have experienced sexual abuse including, but not limited to, medical and Protective Service personnel, police, the courts.

2) Post Traumatic Stress Center Seminars meet twice weekly to provide ongoing training in

a) Theory, Research and Practice on the Treatment of PTSD and Anxiety Disorders, and

b) Treatment Methods

3) Case Conference – Interns will participate in a weekly case conference of the agencies’ multidisciplinary staff. Weekly sessions focus both on case presentation and consultation and didactic training around a variety of clinical issues.

4) In-service training –  Regular inservice training on varied issues related to the diagnostic treatment of children and families will be provided at both consortium sites. Recent in-service seminars have covered such topics as issues in group treatment, treatment of attachment disorders, and differential diagnosis of bipolar disorder in children.

5) Multidisciplinary team (Clifford Beers)- A series of mini courses are offered to psychology interns and other agency trainees including: evaluation of children and families, treatment of behavior disorders of childhood, sexual abuse treatment, training in court and expert testimony, family therapy, psychological trauma, and desensitization techniques.

INTERN EVALUATION

Ongoing evaluation of the interns’ performance is an important part of the training process. Establishing learning goals and monitoring progress will be part of the intern/supervisor collaboration. Formal mid-year and final evaluations which consolidate this ongoing feedback may be written by supervisors, if requested, and forwarded to the Directors of Training at the intern’s university.

Interns will be asked to complete formal evaluations of their training experience mid year and at the end of the internship.

DUE PROCESS AND GRIEVANCE PROCEDURES

Due process procedure:

Concerns about Intern performance/behavior will be handled in the following manner -

INFORMAL: Every effort will be made to address concerns about Interns performance in ongoing supervision. Concerns identified by the supervisor will be discussed with the intern in supervision and the intern shall be given the opportunity for remediation.

NOTICE: If concerns are not adequately resolved through the informal supervision process, a second attempt to address the concern in supervision will be attempted and documented. Written documentation will outline the specific concern and any prior attempts made to resolve the situation. This notification will be provided to the intern, supervisor and Training Director. A meeting with the intern, supervisor and Training Director will be scheduled to discuss next steps.

HEARING: A meeting between the intern, supervisor, Training Director, and the site director of the Post Traumatic Stress Center shall be scheduled by the Training Director to formally discuss the concerns and to provide the intern an opportunity to respond verbally to the concerns identified. At the meeting a written plan will be devised to address the concerns, including specific actions to be taken and relevant timeframes.

APPEAL: The Intern may appeal the outcome of the hearing in writing and request that a meeting with the Chief Psychologist be scheduled to review the proposed actions to be taken.

Grievance Procedure shall include the following:

1) Interns should bring any of their concerns first to their supervisor during supervision so that all concerns may be raised and addressed in ongoing supervision.

2) If an intern’s concern(s) have not adequately been resolved within supervision, it/they should be brought to the attention of the Training Director, who will attempt to resolve it/them.

3) If no satisfactory settlement is reached with the Supervisor, or through consultation with the Training Director, grievances or disputes shall be placed in writing and submitted to the Chief Psychologist or the Site Director of the Post Traumatic Stress Center, or both, if applicable. Interns may also submit a copy to representatives of their university program.

4) The Chief Psychologist or the Site Director - which ever is appropriate - shall answer the grievance within 5 working days.

5) If no agreement has been reached the intern may file an appeal upon receipt of which a meeting to discuss the concern/grievance will be scheduled to include the intern, supervisor, Training Director, Site Director, Chief Psychologist and a representative of the intern’s university if requested by the intern. The outcome of this meeting will be submitted to the intern, in writing, within 10 working days of the meeting.

APPLICATION PROCESS

The application process follows APPIC guidelines and is completed online.

The application should include:

a) APPIC Application for Psychology Internship.

b) 3 letters of recommendation addressing academic abilities, clinical skills and personal qualities.

c) An official transcript of all graduate work in psychology.

d) A letter specifying why you have chosen to apply to our internship and whether you are applying to the Adult or Child Concentration.

The site Director for the  Child Concentration is:

David Abrams, PsyD
Clifford Beers Guidance Clinic
93 Edwards Street
New Haven, CT 06511 203.772.1270, x212

The site Director for the Adult Concentration is:

David R. Johnson, PhD
Post Traumatic Stress Center
19 Edwards Street
New Haven, CT 06511

After a review of completed applications, selected candidates will be invited for an interview. Invitations for interviews will be made by December 15^th.

Medical Student Education

As of the summer of 2005, the Clinic has been an official training site for the Yale School of Medicine’s medical student core curriculum. As part of their six-week psychiatry rotation, and under supervision of a child psychiatrist, the students learn interview and diagnostic skills as well as psychopharmacotherapy in child and adolescent psychiatry. For more information, medical students may contact Dr. Pieter Joost van Wattum at 203.772.1270, x 244.