Casa Colina Hospital and Centers for Healthcare offers training in neuropsychological
assessment, rehabilitation psychology, and clinical/health psychology
within continuum of medical-surgical and rehabilitative care, including
featured programs in
Brain Injury,
Stroke, and
Spinal Cord Injury. Casa Colina is committed to a strong interdisciplinary model of treatment
planning, spanning across disciplines of physical therapy, occupational
therapy, speech therapy, neuro/clinical psychology, nursing, medicine,
spiritual counseling, and dietary. Casa Colina’s Department of Neuropsychology
and Psychology plays a critical role within the interdisciplinary treatment
teams across our care continuum.
Our continuum of care includes a 68-bed
Acute Rehabilitation Wing, 31-bed
Medical-Surgical Wing,
Outpatient Center, and
short-term residential rehabilitation unit specializing in the diagnosis and treatment of catastrophic illness
and injury. Casa Colina Hospital provides inpatient rehabilitation and
medical-surgical services, ICU, outpatient, and post-acute rehabilitation
and residential services, all utilizing physician-led, interdisciplinary
care teams.
About the Program
Students accepted to our one-year Psychology Practicum Training will spend
the majority of their training in one of the following three primary treatment tracks:
One student will focus, under the direct supervision of a Clinical Psychologist,
on providing team consultation, consultation/liaison diagnostic services,
individual and group psychotherapy with physically disabled and medical
patients utilizing brief symptom focused therapy emphasizing mind/body
dynamics. Focus will also be on promoting wellness behaviors while at
the same time treating common psychological disorders.
Student will co-lead group therapy, which will emphasize the mindfulness
approach to acute and chronic pain treatment. The student will carry a
patient load of approximately 4 to 6 patients at any one time. Trainee
will be involved in consultation/liaison, provision of individual and
group psychotherapeutic treatment, and staff consultation. Students may
have the opportunity to consult not only on the Acute Rehabilitation Wing,
but also in the ICU and Medical-Surgical Wing.
Three students will focus on neuropsychological and psychological assessment
under the supervision of a Clinical Neuropsychologist. Time will be divided
between our our Acute Rehabilitation Wing and Medical-Surgical Wing, where
screenings and brief evaluations are performed, and our
Outpatient Neuropsychology and Psychology Clinic. Outpatient evaluations are predominantly comprehensive neuropsychological
evaluations. Patients present with primary diagnoses that include dementia,
mild cognitive impairment, vascular cognitive impairment, stroke, traumatic
brain injury, and movement disorders.
We see a significant number of traumatic brain injury patients in the context
of their workers’ compensation cases, which is great experience
for students interested in medical-legal work. Students will gain a great
deal of experience in neurobehavioral and psychodiagnostic interviewing
and are expected to become proficient in the administration and interpretation
of a wide range of neuropsychological and psychological measures. There
is a strong emphasis on comprehensive report writing, as well as the opportunity
for participation in feedback to patients and families and the interdisciplinary teams.
Transitional Living Center: Rehabilitation Neuropsychology/Health Psychology
Under the supervision of a Clinical Neuropsychologist, three students will
gain experience in neurobehavioral interviewing and neuropsychological
testing, including flexible battery approach with opportunities to gain
experience in a wide range of neuropsychological assessment measures and
some psychodiagnostic measures. Students will co-lead group education
and psychotherapy. Current groups that meet throughout the week include
brain injury education and support, spiritual support, executive functioning,
mood management, and pain management. However, which ones the student
co-leads would be based upon which days they are present.
There are also opportunities to participate in interdisciplinary team conferences
and in feedback sessions with patients and families. This rotation is
an excellent opportunity to become familiar with treatment paradigms in
neuropsychological rehabilitation.
SCAPTP Member
No, but we abide by uniform notification policies. We will participate
in the early notification/captive site process.
Openings
1 Inpatient Clinical/Health Psychology, 3 Inpatient/Outpatient Neuropsychology,
3 Transitional Living Center
Practicum Length: 12 months
Approximate Start and End Date
August 2024 to July 2025. There is opportunity for interested students
to have an earlier summer start date, if desired.
Total Hours per Week
16-20 hours; 2 full days preferred. Students wishing for a supplemental
practicum position of 8-10 hours (1 full day) may be considered after
all other positions have been filled.
Patient Contact Hours per Week: TBD
Mandatory Days/Hours: Determined by track placement. Monday didactic series
from 12:00 - 1:00 p.m. is required for all practicum trainees. If not
an on-campus day, practicum students can join via Zoom.
Patient and Services Provided
Patients have a medical diagnosis—e.g. traumatic brain injury, spinal
cord injury, amputation, stroke, and other neurological disorders. The
population is also very diverse in terms of cultural and linguistic background
and levels of physical and cognitive ability. Ages range from 16-90+ in
the inpatient and outpatient units and are generally 18-65 at the Transitional
Living Center. Specific tasks/services provided depend on the track and
are described above. All students will have the ability to work with an
interdisciplinary team, in conjunction with physicians, occupational therapists,
physical therapists, speech pathologists, and case managers.
Most Frequent Diagnostic Categories
Traumatic brain injury, dementia, acquired brain injury, orthopedic injury,
spinal cord injury, brain tumor, mild cognitive impairment, and other
neurological disorders, as well as those with acute/chronic pain. Patients
often have cognitive/neuropsychological deficits and co-morbid psychological
or psychiatric disorders, (e.g. depression, anxiety, adjustment to disability,
and occasional delirium/psychosis and somatic symptom disorders).
Supervision
Onsite psychologists provide both individual and group supervision, which
are provided formally and informally a minimum 1.5 hours per week. Members
of the Neuropsychology and Psychology faculty also provide a mandatory
weekly group didactic seminar (Mondays).
Minimal Requirements
Experience, training, or strong interest in neuropsychology, health psychology,
or rehabilitation psychology is required. Academic history with courses
in neuropsychology, brain anatomy, health psychology, clinical interviewing,
and psychopathology is helpful. Training in the administration, scoring,
and interpretation of neuropsychology batteries is beneficial but not
absolutely necessary. Further training will be provided. Bilingual students
highly encouraged to apply.
Application Guidelines
Interested students should send an email including the following: a cover
letter with their stated interest in the practicum and their preferred
training track(s), CV, 2 or 3 letters of reference, and a de-identified
psychological or neuropsychological evaluation report. We invite a limited
number of applicants to interview. If a student agrees to interview at
this site, they are not obligated to accept an offer for placement.
Application Deadline: 8:00 a.m. on January 15, 2024
Notification Date: February 2024 (by SCAPTP captive site notification deadline)
Contact
Elizabeth Preston Cisneros, PhD
Clinical Director of the Department of Neuropsychology and Psychology
Casa Colina Hospital and Centers for Healthcare
255 E. Bonita Ave.
Pomona, CA 91767
