Two one-year fellowship tracks are available at CCFTS:
(1) Clinical Trauma Fellowship. The clinical trauma fellow sees assessment and treatment cases, provides clinical supervision (under umbrella supervision) to doctoral interns in our APA accredited internship program, and has 4 hours per week of protected time for research, community interventions, and/or presentations. Clinical work is the centerpiece of this fellowship; the fellow conducts approximately 18 hours per week of a combination of therapy and assessment with children, adolescents, and their families, as well as provision of supervision to interns. The fellowship provides specialty training in evidence-based and empirically supported treatments for childhood trauma. In addition to regular seminars and learning labs, the fellow has two hours of weekly supervision by licensed psychologists: one hour of which is supervision for intake assessments and psychological evaluations, and the other hour for psychotherapy. The fellow also attends regular case conferences and group supervision meetings for clinicians practicing particular modalities and treatment approaches. Training in evidence-based trauma interventions is integral to the clinical trauma track. Fellows receive training and ongoing consultation in applying Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavior Therapy (TF-CBT) and Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) - and may additionally choose one or more other assessment or treatment modalities for concentrated learning over the fellowship year.
(2) Clinical/Research Trauma Fellowship. The clinical/research fellow has a 60% Clinical/40% Research time division. The fellow sees assessment and/or treatment cases for a total of approximately 11 hours per week and has access to training in TF-CBT and/or PCIT, consistent with their interests. The fellow receives two hours of clinical supervision per week in addition to didactics and seminars, and group supervision in specialized modalities. They also participate in clinical research at CCFTS in areas consistent with the mission and aims of the Center. Research may focus on early childhood trauma intervention, racial identity and discrimination trauma, developmental disabilities and trauma, or other projects under the mentorship of CCFTS faculty researchers.
Case Management, telehealth, and assessment
Indirect services such as case management, attendance at IEP or other school meetings, contact with collaterals such as foster care workers, child protective services professionals, and multi-disciplinary consultation are often required to meet the complex needs of Center clients.
Currently, clinical work is a hybrid of in-person and telehealth assessment and intervention services. Assessment is done both in formal psychological testing and intake diagnostic evaluations. Referrals for psychological evaluation typically come from therapists, psychiatrists, and/or family members. The questions include requests for diagnostic clarification, the influence of cognitive factors on the child’s functioning or treatment progress, and recommendations for getting therapy “unstuck.” The fellow conducts the testing and provides feedback to the clinical team as well as the child and the family. The fellow also supervises doctoral interns on assessment task. and they have time allotted for research projects.
The fellow regularly performs intake evaluations (“diagnostic interviews”) to assess patients’ diagnoses and treatment needs. These diagnostic interview reports are then used to assign clients to evidence-based or other treatment modalities that are matched to the patient’s presenting concerns.
Fellows see a combination of therapy cases in the family systems, TF-CBT, and/or PCIT clinics. After establishing basic competency in these areas, the fellow chooses other training experiences depending on interest and training availability. Fellows may also take cases in other evidenced-based models or draw from available populations such as adults, Spanish-speaking clients, and neurodevelopmental disabilities and trauma. A typical day may begin with seminars, supervision, research, and paperwork. Later afternoon schedules are usually filled with after-school evaluation or therapy appointments. Fridays are reserved by some fellows for research or paperwork.
The fellowship is approximately 40-45 hours per week, Monday through Friday. However, flexibility is possible in the daily schedule, as some fellows have chosen to work four 10-hour days or other arrangements, as approved by the training director. The fellow is required to see clients through at least one “late night” per week, until 7 p.m.
The training director meets regularly with fellows throughout the training year to help facilitate the fellow's professional goals. The fellow rotates to new supervisors after the first six months in order to gain experience with different supervision perspectives.
Mentoring
A senior, non-supervising training mentor is matched to each fellow based on the fellow's interests and needs. The fellow meets regularly with the mentor to help further the attainment of professional development goals such as identification and pursuit of research projects, connections with other departments and research scholars in the Institute, clinical goals and support for identity development as a psychologist.
Preparation for licensure
There is no requirement for postdoctoral training in order to obtain Maryland licensure as a psychologist. However, the fellowship satisfies supervised practice hours that are required for several surrounding jurisdictions (i.e., D.C., Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania).