Postdoctoral Clinical Psychology Fellow

General Summary:

• The Postdoctoral Clinical Psychology Fellow in this role would join our clinical team at the Advocate Childhood Trauma Treatment Program (CTTP). CTTP has been providing care to children, adolescents, and families since 1979 to support their healing from experiences of abuse, maltreatment, and trauma. This one-year, full-time fellowship offers over 2,000 hours+ of training in a Community Mental Health setting. Fellows will manage a balanced caseload of trauma-focused and general behavioral health cases, utilizing Evidence-Based Practice. Fellows are expected to complete 20 billable patient hours weekly, receive weekly individual supervision, and gain supervisory experience with advanced externs and group didactics. Additionally, fellows will engage in APA-accredited internship program activities, including faculty meetings and community outreach. The fellowship follows a hybrid model, with two/three on-site days per week, starting September 2025.

Major Responsibilities:

Direct Service

• Provides individual and family therapy services utilizing a solution focused, brief therapy framework under doctoral level supervision.
• Interviews and evaluates patients, establishes diagnosis, and monitors patients’ behavior. The treatment plan is developed collaboratively with the patient by defining goals, specific outcomes and timeframes for treatment. Intervenes psychotherapeutically to change attitudes, beliefs and behavior of patients to improve individual and family level of functioning.
• Provides case management, outreach and aftercare services to patients.
• Counsels crisis patients to stabilize patients’ condition in order to prevent patients from harming themselves or others, and uses short-term crisis intervention techniques and/or referral to other support services.
• Meets performance standards for direct staff hours (DSH) as outlined for position.
• Develops and leads at least one treatment, skills building group, or adolescent IOP group.
• Demonstrates ability to utilize and teach appropriate cognitive/behavior management and skill building techniques.
• Communicates with other agency programs and/or human service agencies to obtain all relevant patient information, refers patients and consults with other staff regarding patient progress.
• Consults with regard to crisis services.
• Communicates effectively orally and in writing.
• Provides coverage to maintain services as needed.

Recordkeeping

• Completes various administrative and insurance forms to assure accurate data collection for billing, management information system, and other purposes in accord with agency policies and procedures.
• Maintains concise comprehensive case records by following established agency policies and procedures.

Agency and Training Activities

• Participates in quality assurance, accreditation, and Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) activities and other special projects.
• Demonstrates active involvement in supervision as evidenced by constructive participation, initiative and apparent effort.

Education/Experience Required:

• MA degree in Psychology
• 1000 hours of Psychology Practicum
• Completion of Psychology Residency

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities Required:

• Clinically appropriate skills
• Courteous and professional
• Demonstrates keyboard skills and familiarity with a Windows environment
• Interpersonal communication skills.

Physical Requirements and Working Conditions:

• Demonstrates commitment to patient focused care.
• Ability to work flexibly in a fast paced environment with established time constraints and in difficult situations.
• May be exposed to patients who potentially could be violent.
• Familiarity with the roles and functioning of other providers in the network of child and family mental health and substance abuse treatment networks.
• Provides coverage for evening programming as necessary.
• If position has direct patient care or direct patient contact the following lifting requirement supersedes any previous lifting requirement effective 06/01/2015.
• Ability to lift up to 35 pounds without assistance. For patient lifts of over 35 pounds, or when patient is unable to assist with the lift, patient handling equipment is expected to be used, with at least one other associate, when available. Unique patient lifting/movement situations will be assessed on a case-by-case basis.

This job description indicates the general nature and level of work expected of the incumbent. It is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities required of the incumbent. Incumbent may be required to perform other related duties.