Mental Health Clinical Center Psychology Training Program
The VA Maryland Health Care System (VAMHCS) offers psychology externship, internship, and fellowship training programs.
The VA Maryland Health Care System (VAMHCS) is committed to implementing and maintaining a comprehensive Psychology Training Program that will ensure high quality training of psychological services based in the scientist-practitioner model.
The Psychology Training Program models and instills strong ethical, professional practice, and scholarly values. An emphasis is placed on ensuring that training for psychological services adheres to the policies and procedures outlined by the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Academic Affairs (OAA), VAMHCS, American Psychological Association (APA), and the Association of Post-Doctoral and Internship Centers (APPIC).
The current APA accreditation status is specified below for each program, as applicable. Questions related to the accreditation status of any program should be directed to the APA’s Commission on Accreditation using the following contact information:
Questions related to the program's accreditation status should be directed to the
American Psychological Association Commission on Accreditation
Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation
American Psychological Association
750 1st Street, NE
Washington, DC 20002-4242
APAACCRED@APA.CO
Please note, psychology training positions within the VAMHCS are limited to trainees who are enrolled in or have completed APA-accredited, CPA-accredited, or PCSAS-accredited doctoral level graduate programs in psychology.
Training Verification
Please allow 48 hours for responding to requests for training verification.
Contact:
Moira Dux, Ph.D.
VAMHCS Psychology Training Program Director
Phone:
Email: moira.dux@va.gov
Jovan Bess, B.S.
VAMHCS Psychology Training Program Support Assistant
Email: Jovan.Bess@va.gov
Externship Program
Externship practicum opportunities are available to advanced doctoral students from American Psychological Association (APA)-accredited graduate training programs only. Extern positions are currently offered at multiple sites (Baltimore VA Medical Center, Baltimore VA Annex, Perry Point VA Medical Center, and various VA Community Based Outpatient Clinics). Please view the attached brochure for application procedures, externship faculty, and a complete listing of volunteer practicum opportunities offered for the current academic year.
Application due date: (TBD)
Contact:
Jennifer M. Lorenzo, Ph.D.
Coordinator, Psychology Externship Program
Phone:
Email: Jennifer.Lorenzo2@va.gov
Internship Program
The VA Maryland Health Care System/University of Maryland School of Medicine Psychology Internship Consortium is fully accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of the American Psychological Association. The next site visit is anticipated to occur during the academic year 2025.
The VAMHCS/UM SOM Psychology Internship Consortium adheres to the scientist-practitioner approach to training. The Consortium applies this model by grounding the content and process of training in research, with the purpose of developing well-rounded and competent psychologists. As one of the few internship training programs recognized by the Academy of Psychological Clinical Science (APCS), the Consortium is particularly interested in applicants from graduate programs that place an equally strong emphasis on scientific study and broad clinical training. For the scientist component, it is expected that applicants have a combination of peer-reviewed publications and professional presentations that clearly demonstrate their skills as a psychological scientist. For the practitioner component, it is expected that applicants have solid foundational training and skills across a broad range of clinical populations, evidence-based practices, and in a wide range of objective psychological assessments. Each of these requisite skills must be clearly addressed in the application and in letters of recommendation.
To round out existing scientific and clinical skills, extensive efforts are made to tailor the internship training experience to each individual intern's needs and allow a reasonable amount of focused specialization in each intern’s area of emphasis. Graduates of our program may pursue careers in research or clinical service, but in either case, their training will have prepared them to make a meaningful contribution to the effective care of patients.
For more detailed program information and eligibility requirements, please review the Consortium Brochure below.
Detailed Program Information and Eligibility Requirements
Please click on the following link to view a video that highlights VA-based training tracks:
VA Maryland Health Care System Internship - Training Tracks
Please click on the following link to view a video that highlights UM-based training tracks:
University of Maryland Psychology Internship - Training Tracks
Application due: NOVEMBER 6, 2024 11:59 PM EST
Contact:
Moira Dux, Ph.D.
Psychology Training Program Director
VAMHCS/UM SOM Psychology Internship Consortium
Phone:
Email: Moira.Dux@va.gov (preferable)
The VAMHCS/UM-SOM Consortium Training Tracks
VA Comprehensive (2 slots available)
APPIC program code: 134711
VA Health Psychology (2 slots available)
APPIC program code: 134713
UM School Mental Health Program/Center for School Mental Health (3 slots available)
APPIC program code: 134716
VA Neuropsychology (3 slots available)
APPIC program code: 134717
VA Serious Mental Illness (2 slots available)
APPIC program code: 134718
VA PTSD/Trauma Recovery Program (2 slots available)
APPIC program code: 134719
UM Clinical High Risk for Psychosis (1 slot available)
APPIC program code: 134714
UM Child Inpatient and Pediatric Consult-Liaison (1 slot available)
APPIC program code: 134715
Postdoctoral Fellowship Program in Clinical Neuropsychology
The Postdoctoral Fellowship in Clinical Neuropsychology at the Baltimore VA Medical Center is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of the American Psychological Association. The most recent site visit occurred in July of 2024 and the next site visit is anticipated in 2034. Questions related to the program’s accreditation status should be directed to:
American Psychological Association Commission on Accreditation
Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation
American Psychological Association
750 1st Street, NE
Washington, DC 20002-4242
202-336-5979
APAACCRED@APA.CO
The Neuropsychology section will recruit two postdoctoral fellows for the upcoming training cycle. The successful candidates will have completed a specialty training program in neuropsychology or completed an internship with a primary concentration in neuropsychology.
Application procedures are outlined in the program brochure which can be accessed via the link below.
Application deadline: December 30th, 2024
Interviews/Recruitment:
Two fellows will be recruited for the 2025-2027 cycle. Interviews will occur virtually over a video-based platform in January of 2025. This fellowship does not participate in the APPCN match.
Contact:
Megan M. Smith, Ph.D., ABPP-CN
Acting Track Coordinator
Phone:
Email: megan.smith8@va.gov
Postdoctoral Fellowship Program in Clinical Psychology
The Postdoctoral Fellowship in Clinical Psychology at the Baltimore VA Medical Center is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of the American Psychological Association. The next site visit is anticipated to occur during 2034. Questions related to the program’s accreditation status should be directed to:
American Psychological Association Commission on Accreditation
Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation
American Psychological Association
750 1st Street, NE
Washington, DC 20002-4242
202-336-5979
APAACCRED@APA.CO
Application deadline: December 30th, 2024
Application procedures are outlined in the program brochure which can be accessed via the link below.
The VAMHCS Postdoctoral Fellowship Program in Clinical Psychology is currently recruiting for two emphasis areas:
1. Psychology Postdoctoral Fellowship Program, Emphasis in PTSD in Returning Veterans
A successful candidate for the Psychology Postdoctoral Fellowship Program will have a history of specialty training in PTSD and readjustment concerns. The candidate will demonstrate a commitment to the scientist-practitioner model of psychology as evidenced by history of research on traumatic stress and clinical training in empirically supported treatments for PTSD.
Contact:
Melissa Decker Barone, Psy.D.
PTSD Track Coordinator
Phone:
Email: Melissa.Barone@va.gov
2. Clinical Psychology Postdoctoral Fellowship with an Emphasis in Primary Care – Mental Health Integration
This fellowship has a focus in health psychology within the primary care setting. The PC-MHI fellow will address the complex behavioral, mental and physical needs of Veterans in the primary care setting. A competitive candidate will have completed training in PC-MHI and health psychology. Application procedures are outlined in the brochure. Except under very unusual circumstances, all application materials must be submitted through the APPA CAS.
Contact:
Melisa Schneider, PsyD
PC-MHI Track Coordinator
Phone:
Email: Melisa.Schneider@va.gov
VA Advanced Fellowship Program in Mental Illness Research and Treatment
VISN 5 Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center (MIRECC)
The VA Advanced Fellowship Program in Mental Illness Research and Treatment at the VISN 5 MIRECC has one post-doctoral fellowship position and one post-residency fellowship position in Mental Illness Research and Treatment. The goal of these two-year fellowships is to train psychologists and psychiatrists to become leading clinical researchers in the area of serious mental illness. The fellowship program provides opportunities for excellent training in psychosocial treatment development, family and community interventions, health services and implementation research, and research in psychopharmacology. Fellows engage in supervised clinical training, and in delivering clinical services both in settings that serve Veterans with serious mental illness as well as in other programs within fellows’ areas of interest. In addition, fellows participate in educational activities with local, VISN-wide, and national reach within VA and benefit from academic experiences focused on biostatistical methods, health informatics, grant writing, and overall career development. Fellows spend approximately 65% of their time in research-related research and clinical activities, 25% of their time in clinical service and training activities, and 10% of their time in didactic and administrative activities. We are committed to ensuring a range of diversity among within our Fellowship and welcome applications from candidates representing different geographic areas, ages, racial and ethnic backgrounds, sexual orientations, disabilities, and life experiences. We are one of 25 sites in the national VA Advanced Fellowship Program in Mental Illness Research and Treatment and are affiliated with the University of Maryland, School of Medicine, providing an outstanding collaborative and interdisciplinary setting for fellows interested in research on interventions and recovery among individuals with serious mental illness. Our Fellowship Program follows the broad organizational structure of the national program, which aims to provide clinical research activities in concert with clinical experiences over a two-year time frame.
https://www.mirecc.va.gov/visn5/research/fellowship.asp
Contact:
Melanie Bennett, Ph.D.
Fellowship Director
Melanie.Bennett@va.gov