Pediatric Psychology Clinic and Consultation Service

Learning & supervision opportunities:

Each Pediatric Psychology Consultation Program doctoral intern will have at least 2 hours of scheduled individual supervision per week, additional as-needed supervision and case management assistance, monthly peer supervision, and 2 hours of weekly group supervision meetings (inpatient and outpatient rounds, interclinic peer review, Team Research & Speaker Series). Doctoral interns also have opportunities to engage in scholarly activities based on their interest, such as presenting at conferences.

Our program provides empirically-driven assessment and treatment to children, adolescents, and their families for challenges associated with diagnosis, treatment, and adaptation to pediatric medical conditions. Our approach helps address the behavioral, psychological, social, and environmental influences impacting the ability to cope with health conditions and needed medical care. Doctoral interns are provided with didactic training to familiarize themselves with common patient populations, diagnoses, referral concerns, procedures, and protocols. Additionally, doctoral interns participate in Pediatric Psychology Consultation Program presentations, departmental professional development seminars, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) presentations, and hospital-wide (Kennedy Krieger and the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine) learning opportunities.

Clinical experiences on internship:

Training is incremental, progressing from observation, to assistance, to increasing independence. Interns gain clinical experience in comprehensive behavioral assessment, as well as application of behavioral and cognitive-behavioral interventions during individual therapy, parent training, family therapy, and staff consultation. Doctoral interns work closely with interdisciplinary teams in the care of patients with rare and/or highly complex medical, developmental, and mental health presentations. Our clinic works with children, adolescents, and young adults with medical conditions or symptoms, with and without development disabilities.

Our Pediatric Psychology Consultation Program training aims to prepare doctoral interns to function as psychologists in a wide range of settings and across a treatment continuum including: the acute medical hospital, inpatient rehabilitation hospital, outpatient medical clinics, and outpatient psychology clinic. As such, our doctoral interns gain experience in inpatient consultation/liaison, interdisciplinary medical clinic, and outpatient pediatric psychology settings while working with diverse populations.

• Johns Hopkins Hospital (JHH) Inpatient C/L: Doctoral interns have clinical rotations through the Inpatient C/L service on the JHH acute medical floors. Common subspecialty consultations include: PICU, endocrine, GI, pulmonary, neurology, adolescent medicine, & hematology.
• Kennedy Krieger Inpatient Rehabilitation: Doctoral interns have clinical rotations through Kennedy Krieger's Inpatient Rehabilitation Unit. Additionally, they will participate in interdisciplinary team rounds. Common subspecialty consultations include: brain injury, spinal cord injury, chronic pain, post-orthopedic surgery, and medical adherence.
• Interdisciplinary Medical Clinics: Doctoral interns rotate through and/or shadow multiple pediatric subspecialty clinics with the goal of increasing independence with service delivery. All interns rotate through designated medical clinics (currently Neurology Sleep Clinic, Genetic Bone & Connective Tissue Disorders Clinic, and POTS Clinic, but subject to change every year), with the opportunity to shadow additional clinics of their choosing. Current interdisciplinary clinics include: Brain Injury Rehabilitation Clinic, Neurology Sleep Clinic, Pulmonary Sleep Clinic, Neurodevelopmental Sickle Cell Clinic, Diabetes Clinic, Concussion Clinic, Bone & Connective Tissue Disorders Clinic, Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) Clinic, Limb Differences Clinic, Post-COVID Clinic, Fit & Healthy Kids Clinic, Angelman Syndrome Clinic, and Continence Clinic. (Specific clinics are subject to change based on staffing need.)
• Pediatric Psychology Outpatient Clinic: Doctoral interns will provide individual and family therapy to pediatric patients presenting with a variety of medically-based referrals, including children with neurodevelopmental disabilities and comorbid medical concerns. Common referrals include desensitization and behavioral preparation for medical procedures, behavioral pain management, coping with new diagnoses, improving regimen adherence and disease self-management (i.e., SCD, diabetes), behavioral sleep management, addressing mental health conditions (i.e., depression, anxiety) associated with medical conditions, and shaping functional behavior in child and adolescent rehabilitation patients.

We work with a diverse range of patients and families and strive to provide accessible services to all.

• Common medical conditions seen by our service include but are not limited to: brain injury, spinal cord injury, chronic pain (e.g., CRPS, migraine), diabetes, insomnia, genetic disorders, POTS, cerebral palsy, sleep disorders, sickle cell disease, epilepsy, and functional neurological symptom disorder.
• Patients range in age from infancy through young adulthood. Caregivers are an integral component of treatment.
• Many of our patients have neurodevelopmental disabilities or functional limitations that warrant modifications to our assessment and treatment.
• Families are from a wide variety of cultural, racial, and socioeconomic backgrounds. Families with Medicaid, private insurance, and self-payment are seen in our clinic.
• Many international and non-English speaking families receive services with our clinic. A wide variety of interpreter services are available virtually and in-person to make care more accessible to our families. Additionally, trainees who are fluent in another language are encouraged to receive certification through Kennedy Krieger to conduct therapy in that language.
• Our clinic provides therapy materials (reinforcement charts, handouts, schedules, printed/laminated materials) and procedural preparation supplies to our families to make interventions as accessible as possible. Additionally, we are able to supply families with reinforcers (prizes) and supplies to support adherence (e.g., water bottles, pill boxes, bedwetting alarm, timers, sound machines, etc.) to ensure our interventions are as feasible as possible for families to implement.
• For families in need of transportation for our in-person therapy appointments, we are able to provide taxi services or bus tokens to make appointments accessible. For families with difficulty accessing telehealth services, we are able to provide resources through Kennedy Krieger's Telehealth department.