The Neurobehavioral Unit Outpatient Clinic (NBU OP) provides doctoral training as part of Kennedy Krieger Institute’s APA-accredited Behavioral Psychology/Neuropsychology training program.
The NBU-OP participates in two separate training tracks: the Applied Behavior Analysis track (NMS: 134411) and the Neurobehavioral Continuum track (NMS: 134412).
In the Applied Behavior Analysis track, interns train for 6-months on the NBU-OP and 6-months in either the Pediatric Feeding Disorders Clinic or the Pediatric Developmental Disorders clinic. During a 6-month rotation on the NBU-OP, interns receive training in the assessment and treatment of severe behavior disorders, including self-injury, aggression, and disruptive and destructive behaviors, for children, adolescents, and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Emphasis is placed on learning how to apply the principles of applied behavior analysis (ABA) in clinical behavior therapy. Interns will learn how to collect, graph, and interpret behavioral data, and use this data to make informed therapy decisions. Emphasis is placed on each intern learning how to use evidence-based assessments and treatments, including indirect functional assessments; direct, analogue functional analyses; preference assessments; single-case treatment evaluations; behavioral caregiver training; and, treatment generalization. Interns receive at least 2 hours each per week of individual and group supervision from a licensed psychologist. Interns also are provided opportunities to participate in research, develop research ideas, and present research data at local and national conferences.
In the Neurobehavioral Continuum track, the intern spends the full year training across three levels of service: the Neurobehavioral Outpatient Clinic, which provides weekly outpatient services to patients who can be safely managed in the home; the Neurobehavioral Intensive Outpatient Program, which serves patients with more severe problems by providing outpatient therapy services to patients up to six hours per day, four to five days per week; and the Neurobehavioral Inpatient Unit, which serves patients with severe and treatment resistant behavioral dysfunction that necessitates hospitalization and interdisciplinary care. Click here for additional information on the Neurobehavioral Continuum track.