Postdoctoral fellows receive a minimum of four hours of supervision per week (two hours of group supervision and two hours of individual supervision). Supervision is provided by licensed psychologists at the Center for Autism Services, Science and Innovation (CASSI™). Group supervision focuses on presenting cases, reviewing current research and methods, and discussing best practice intervention and assessment techniques. Individual supervision takes place with the supervising psychologists of each major rotation.
Fellows will receive formal written feedback at least every six months throughout the training program. Supervisors will evaluate the fellow on their progress towards the following goals and objectives:
- Professional Conduct: Postdoctoral fellows will develop competence working on multidisciplinary teams, including effectively taking an active role on these teams and establishing smooth working relationships with colleagues. Fellows will refine skills to handle differences openly, tactfully, and effectively. Fellows will also develop competence in identifying and addressing ethical and legal issues, including identifying when to seek consultation. Fellows will refine time management skills and produce clinical documentation that is timely, clear, and concise.
- Individual and Cultural Diversity: Fellows will develop awareness, sensitivity, and skill in working professionally with diverse individuals, groups and communities who represent various cultural and personal background and characteristics. Fellows will also develop skills related specifically to cultural assessment and the provision of neurodiversity-affirming care.
- Psychological Diagnosis and Assessment: Postdoctoral fellows will develop competence in administrating psychological tests proficiently and efficiently, skillfully interpreting testing, and integrating results. Fellows will additionally develop competence in administration of the ADOS-2, including providing ratings reliable with supervisors and making adjustments for the child’s age, development, and behavior. Fellows will develop a deeper knowledge of psychiatric classification, independently engage in differential diagnosis, and develop accurate diagnostic formulations. Fellows will plan and implement feedback sessions, including responding empathically to patient and caregiver concerns and adjusting the style of the feedback session to accommodate patient or caregiver needs.
- Psychotherapeutic Intervention: Postdoctoral fellows will demonstrate competence producing case conceptualizations based on research and theoretical knowledge. Fellows will utilize empirically supported treatments to facilitate patient acceptance and change; fellows will expand their range of interventions through reading and consultation. Fellows will develop competence in adapting interventions based on patients’ developmental functioning and families’ functioning. Fellows will co-lead at least one group therapy program, including eliciting participation from group members, confronting group problems appropriately, and planning for each session. Fellows will assess and document risk situations and immediately initiate actions to manage these situations.
- Clinical Documentation: Postdoctoral fellows will refine clinical documentation skills, including producing assessment reports that are clear and thorough with relevant test results woven into the report as well as maintaining treatment notes that are clear and thorough and include effective summaries of relevant issues and treatment recommendations
- Scholarly Inquiry: Postdoctoral fellows will independently seek out information to enhance clinical practice by utilizing available databases, professional literature, seminars, and training sessions.
A copy of the evaluation form is available upon request. Fellows will receive documents detailing due process and grievance procedures.