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Due to staff departures from the Salida VA Clinic, the clinic hours will temporarily be reduced starting on October 7. The new clinic hours will be Tuesday-Thursday from 9am-12pm and 12:30-3:30pm. Lab draw appointments will be available on Tuesday mornings only.

Psychology Training Programs

The VA Eastern Colorado Healthcare System provides psychology training opportunities at the graduate, doctoral internship, and postgraduate level. Explore our training programs below to find out about how we can help you start your career as a health care professional.

Psychology Internship Program

Applicants for the psychology internship must be enrolled in a doctoral-level APA, CPA, or PCAS-approved clinical or counseling psychology graduate program and must also be U.S. citizens. As an equal opportunity training program, the internship welcomes and strongly encourages applications from all qualified candidates, regardless of gender, age, racial, ethnic, sexual orientation, or disability status. We value the richness created by applicants who have a wide range of backgrounds and experiences and encourage them to apply. Please review our brochure in the link below for further details about our program philosophy, training opportunities, and application instructions.

Application Dates

Applications are due November 1st each year with virtual interviews taking place the following January. The internship start date takes place each year on the Monday of the first federal pay period in July.  Applicants must meet both program-specific and VA-wide eligibility requirements for their applications to be considered. See our brochure for program-specific eligibility requirements. VA-wide eligibility requirements can be viewed through the link below:

Am I Eligible? Checklist for Health Professions Trainees (HPTs) Training at VA Facilities 

APPIC Match Numbers

117411 – General Track (three slots) 
117412 – Behavioral Medicine Track (one slot) 
117413 – Geriatric Psychology Track (one slot)
117414 – Neuropsychology Track (one slot)

Internship Program Accreditation

The doctoral internship at the VA Eastern Colorado Healthcare System, Denver VA Medical Center is fully accredited by the American Psychological Association Commission on Accreditation (APA-CoA).

Questions related to the program's accreditation status should be directed to the APA Commission on Accreditation:

Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation
American Psychological Association
750 1st Street, NE
Washington, DC 20002-4242
202-336-5979
email: APAACCRED@APA.COM
website:  Education and career (apa.org)

Psychology Practicum Program

External practicum placements are offered on a yearly basis with application review and interviews conducted by each placement’s clinical supervisors. Practicum placements are only available to students enrolled in doctoral level PhD or PsyD programs in clinical or counseling psychology (master’s level students may apply if their current master’s degree program is en route to a doctoral degree within the same program).   

Recent Practicum Offerings

Practicum placements vary in terms of length, expected hour commitments, schedule, and telework opportunities. These requirements and policies are listed in the ECHCS Psychology Practicum Fact Sheets for each placement disseminated at the beginning of every practicum application season. The following is a list of placements that have recently been offered:

  • Couples and Family Program
  • Neuropsychology
  • Outpatient PTSD Clinical Team (Colorado Springs, CO)
  • Health Psychology
  • General Mental Health/BHIP (Golden, CO) 

Practicum Timeline

November – Practicum fact sheets are distributed to local programs

Early February – Practicum applications are due to the point of contact listed on the fact sheet

End of February – Applicants are notified of their status

July – Orientation meeting between training program staff and incoming practicum students

Late August/Early September – Practicum students begin placements

Internship and Practicum Contact Information

Jacob Farnsworth, PhD
Psychology Internship and Practicum Training Director
Psychology Program Manager
Rocky Mountain Regional VA Medical Center
VA Eastern Colorado Healthcare System
Phone : 720-723-7337
Email: Jacob.Farnsworth@va.gov

Postdoctoral Residency Program

The VA Eastern Colorado Healthcare System at Rocky Mountain Regional VA Medical Center is offering four Postdoctoral Residencies with special emphasis areas in Health Services Psychology:

  1. Couple and Family Psychology Postdoctoral Residency
  2. Trauma- PTSD Psychology Postdoctoral Residency
  3. Primary Care- Mental Health Integration (PC-MHI) Psychology Postdoctoral Residency
  4. Health Psychology Postdoctoral Residency

Our aim is to train psychologists from a scientist-practitioner model with advanced skills and knowledge in evidence-based practice within the above specialty areas. This includes covering a common core of practice that includes integration of science and practice, ethical and legal standards, cultural diversity and individual differences, teaching and supervision, assessment and intervention, professional development, and interprofessional consultation. Residents spend most of their time providing clinical services with a small effort allocated to a clinically-relevant project and other professional development activities. 

Eligibility

To be considered for the VA Eastern Colorado Healthcare System Psychology Postdoctoral Residency Program, an applicant must have completed all the requirements for the doctoral degree, including internship and dissertation.  The Department of Veterans Affairs requires that the applicant’s doctoral degree and internship be completed at programs accredited by the American Psychological Association. 

Recent exceptions to this are as follows: (1) new VHA psychology internship programs that are in the process of applying for APA accreditation are acceptable in fulfillment of the internship requirement, provided that such programs were sanctioned by the VHA Central Office Program Director for Psychology and the VHA Central Office of Academic Affiliations at the time that the individual was an intern and (2) VHA facilities who offered full one-year pre-doctoral internships prior to PL 96-151 (pre-1979) are considered to be acceptable in fulfillment of the internship requirement.

The VA Eastern Colorado Healthcare System Psychology Residency Program looks carefully at these candidates to ensure the candidate has appropriate training in the special emphasis areas and may contact the site for clarification of training if necessary.

Other VA-wide eligibility requirements

  1. U.S. citizenship. VA is unable to consider applications from anyone who is not currently a U.S. citizen. Verification of citizenship is required following selection. All residents must complete a Certification of Citizenship in the United States prior to beginning VA training.
  2. A male applicant born after 12/31/1959 must have registered for the draft by age 26 to be eligible for any US government employment, including selection as a paid VA trainee. Male applicants must sign a pre-appointment Certification Statement for Selective Service Registration before they can be processed into a training program. Exceptions can be granted only by the US Office of Personnel Management; exceptions are very rarely granted.
  3. Residents are subject to fingerprinting and background checks. Final selection decisions are contingent on passing these screens.
  4. VA conducts drug screening exams on randomly selected personnel as well as new employees. Interns and residents are not required to be tested prior to beginning work, but once on staff they are subject to random selection for testing just like VA employees.
  5. All Psychology Postdoctoral Residents, like all VA personnel and trainees in VA facilities, must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and receive their annual Influenza shot or have an exemption filed (medical or religious) with the Designated Educational Officer.

The VA Eastern Colorado Healthcare System Psychology Postdoctoral Residency Program actively supports and is in full compliance with the spirit and principle of Affirmative Action in the recruitment and selection of psychology residents.  As an equal opportunity training program, the residency welcomes and strongly encourages applications from all qualified candidates, regardless of gender, racial, ethnic, sexual orientation, disability or other minority status.

Residency start date

August 11, 2025. Other start dates may be possible depending on individual circumstances.

Applicant checklist

Please submit one complete application consisting of the materials below in an e-mail to Barbara.Dausch@va.gov by December 9, 2024:

  1. Cover letter expressing interests, career goals and goodness of fit with residency.  If applying for multiple residencies, please clearly identify the specific residencies you are applying for.
  2. Curriculum Vitae
  3. A signed letter of status of completion or expected completion from APA-accredited internship.
  4. Letter from your dissertation chair regarding your anticipated defense date (if not already completed)
  5. Three signed letters of recommendation, one of which must be from an internship supervisor.

The VA Eastern Colorado Healthcare System Psychology Postdoctoral program is committed to the values of diversity, equity, and inclusion in our training program and selection process. In your application materials (e.g., cover letter) you are invited and encouraged to make note of and/or discuss your cultural identities, including but not limited to those identities that are underrepresented in the psychology workforce

Please feel free to contact us with any questions. General inquiries and applications to:  Barbara M. Dausch Ph.D. 

Contact

Barbara M. Dausch, PhD
Psychology Postdoctoral Residency Training Director
720-723-6873

Specific information and contacts

Couple and Family Psychology - Briana Robustelli, Ph.D.
Trauma- PTSD - Mandy Rabenhorst Bell, Ph.D.
PC-MHI - Catherine Moden, Ph.D.
Health Psychology - Emily Schroeder, Psy.D.

Please view our posting at Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers (APPIC)

APPIC Number 9181

Accreditation status

The VA Eastern Colorado Healthcare System, Rocky Mountain Regional VA Medical Center Postdoctoral Residency Program is accredited in Health Services Psychology by the Commission on Accreditation of the American Psychological Association (APA-CoA).  The next site visit will occur in 2029.

Questions related to the program’s accredited status should be directed to the Commission on Accreditation:

Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation
American Psychological Association
750 1st Street, NE
Washington, DC 20002
Phone: 202-336-5979
Email: apaacred@apa.org
Web: www.apa.org/ed/accreditation

The VA ECHCS Psychology Postdoctoral Residency Program is a member of the Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers (APPIC).

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