Agency Description

The Neuropsychology and Health Psychology Training Program provides intensive training in clinical psychology at the UC Davis Medical Center in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R). For many years, psychologists in this department have been dedicated to providing high quality neuropsychological, health psychology, and pain psychology services to newly disabled and chronically ill patient populations. The mission of the training program is to train clinicians in the scientist-practitioner model for clinical, educational, and research careers in the brain-behavior and integrative health-behavior fields. The services provided by the faculty include the following assessment and intervention services: assessment and consultation services may include neuropsychological, pain psychology, health behavior, presurgical, neurodevelopmental, psychodiagnostic, and psychoeducational evaluations; and rehabilitation psychology or neuropsychology consultation to multidisciplinary teams, to school, or to providers/agencies making decisions about work re-entry. We also have a rotation specifically focused on health psychology in our bariatric program through the department of surgery. Interventions may include individual, group, and family therapy; specific therapeutic modalities may include Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT); Cognitive and Behavioral Therapy (CBT); Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC); Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR); Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), biofeedback/psychophysiological monitoring, and coping with medical conditions skills training. Please note that trainees are not guaranteed training in all these services. Training based on availability of the faculty and the trainee’s clinical educational needs. Rotations include: 1) Health Psychology (Bariatrics), 2), Adult Neuropsychology and Health Psychology, 3) Pediatric Neuropsychology and Rehabilitation Psychology, 4) Outpatient Neuropsychological Assessment

Agency Mission

Our goal is for the students to learn to competently evaluate and treat patients with a history of neurological or physical disability and/or chronic illness or pain. Training addresses cognitive and psychological assessment, diagnosis, treatment planning and intervention, case presentation, cultural competence, consultation, and ethics. It is expected that students will complete approximately twenty to forty new patient assessments, depending on the rotations they complete. Students will provide individual, family and group therapy in varying amounts, depending again on the rotations. The importance of empirically supported treatment, assessment, and diagnosis is strongly emphasized.

Population

Ages of patients span the whole lifespan, depending on rotations. Our population represents almost every ethnic and cultural background, and some of our patients are non-English speaking. The presenting problem is typically a medical one such as stroke, traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, tumor, limb amputation, chronic pain, and obesity (bariarics). In both children and adults, there are often associated psychological diagnoses including, but not limited to, mood disorders, anxiety disorders, adjustment disorders, substance dependence, and personality disorders.

Staff (#, Degree, Prof. Lic.)

# of Psychologists: 4

# of Social workers MSW - 2: 0

Required days and times

Typically Monday through Friday, 8AM to 5PM (no weekends or evenings). Some students choose to do four ten-hour days, but ultimately schedules typically mirror their supervisor's schedule. Optional day off differ depending on rotation and this means it changes in March with rotation switch.

Training and Education Offered

Health Psychology (Bariatrics) Trainees will become part of the bariatric psychology team in the department of surgery. They will work directly with patients seeking bariatric surgery or have post-operative behavioral difficulties. Every patient meets with psychology at the beginning of the bariatric program to be evaluated for readiness and risk. A complete evaluation is then completed for clearance. In addition to evaluation, follow up health and behavior intervention is offered for a limited time focused on health behaviors. Trainees will gain experiences in brief and comprehensive psychological assessment, as well as brief intervention. Program development and research opportunities may also be available. Supervisor: Emmanuel Zamora, Psy.D., Neuropsychologist, Clinical Psychologist Adult Neuropsychology and Health Psychology: Trainees learn how to conduct neuropsychological assessment and treatment with Adolescents, Adults, and Geriatric populations. Patients present with various forms of cognitive conditions, often due to traumatic brain injury, stroke, dementia/Alzheimer’s disease, hydrocephalus, tumors, and seizures. Trainees may be supervised in conducting psychotherapy, psychophysiological monitoring/biofeedback, and biopsychosocial assessment of individuals living with chronic pain, spinal cord and brain injuries, and other physical or neurological disabilities, and comorbid psychiatric and substance use conditions. Presurgical evaluation and intervention with bariatric patients may be an option. Research, teaching, and community activities are also available. Supervisor: Katie Denny, Ph.D., ABPP-CN, Board Certified Neuropsychologist; Jerry Chen, Ph.D., Neuropsychologist Pediatric Neuropsychology and Rehabilitation Psychology: Trainees learn to conduct comprehensive neuropsychological evaluations with pediatric patients ages 3-17. Training includes clinical interview, neuropsychological test administration and scoring, interpretation of data, integration of clinical data, clinical decision-making, report preparation, and explanation of evaluation results and recommendations to families. In addition, trainees are involved on the pediatric inpatient rehabilitation service and have the opportunity to develop skills in psychological evaluation, neuropsychological assessment, brief therapy, behavior management, and consultation with team members, community agencies, and schools. Supervisor: Lora DeCristoforo, Psy.D., Pediatric Neuropsychologist. Outpatient Neuropsychological Assessment: This rotation, located at UCDMC’s Spine Center, involves learning and providing neuropsychological assessment to pediatric (age 6+) and adult populations with diagnosed or suspected cognitive impairments. Trainees will learn comprehensive, flexible batteries, conduct clinical interviews, administer neurocognitive and psychological measures, write diagnostic reports, and provide feedback to patients and their families. Trainees will also learn how to conduct pre-surgical evaluations on patients referred by orthopedic and neurosurgeons in consideration of spine surgery or spinal cord stimulator implants. While this is primarily an outpatient assessment rotation, trainees will have the opportunity to learn adult pain evaluations and brief treatment involving cognitive-behavioral therapy techniques. Supervisor: Robin Timm, Ph.D., Clinical Neuropsychologist.

X-Cultural Training

Responsibilities

Our goal is for the students to learn to competently evaluate and treat patients with a history of neurological or physical disability and/or chronic illness or pain. Training addresses cognitive and psychological assessment, diagnosis, treatment planning and intervention, case presentation, cultural competence, consultation, and ethics. It is expected that students will complete approximately twenty to forty new patient assessments, depending on the rotations they complete. Students will provide individual, family and group therapy in varying amounts, depending again on the rotations. The importance of empirically supported treatment, assessment, and diagnosis is strongly emphasized.

Prerequisites

Application Procedures

Additional Comments

Please email Dr. Zamora to request a brochure or check the agency supplemental materials for a copy of our brochure. Our brochure gives more detail about our rotations and our didactic training.