Primary focus in autism, mental health and pediatric neuropsychology at Fraser
The Fraser Clinical Psychology Postdoctoral Residency program emphasizes generalist training in child and adolescent clinical psychology with unique specialized training opportunities in autism spectrum disorders, child and adolescent mental health and neuropsychology. Both clinical services tracks provide experiences that promote the development of advanced knowledge, skills and competencies aligned with the program’s overarching goals and objectives. Our program is designed to prepare residents for an early career in these areas of professional practice.
The Training Track option #1 combines Fraser Autism and Mental Health psychological evaluations (e.g., early childhood evaluations, child and adolescent evaluations, adult autism evaluations) and an outpatient caseload. Residents are expected to complete two evaluations per week, along with one hour of supervision. The typical outpatient intervention caseload for each resident includes seven to eight outpatient psychotherapy cases (children/adolescents, adults, families, groups), with clientele drawn from the Mental Health and Autism programs. Another hour is spent in supervision related to intervention.
The Training Track option #2 includes a combination of Fraser Autism and Mental Health psychological evaluations and neuropsychological evaluations. Residents will complete two neuropsychological evaluations and receive an hour of supervision with a qualified neuropsychologist. Residents have the choice to complete one Autism and Mental Health psychological evaluation (e.g., early childhood evaluations, child and adolescent evaluations, adult autism evaluations) or an additional neuropsychological evaluation. Residents in track #2 maintain a small, short-term therapy caseload of outpatient psychotherapy clients (e.g., parent coaching, executive functioning skill building) or psychoeducational groups while receiving one additional hour of individual supervision.
Residents receive an additional two hours monthly devoted to didactic seminars and at least one hour per week in group multidisciplinary case consultation meetings. As is typical for child serving agencies, additional time is required for consultation with referral sources, community agencies, schools, families and other service providers.
We are committed to developing an individualized training experience for each resident. The residency program offers flexibility for further developing clinical interests across a range of ages. Residents conducting Autism and Mental Health psychological evaluations specify their demographic of interest, with opportunities to shift their focused demographic throughout the year as competency is achieved. These clinical experiences emphasize comprehensive, in depth training in generalized areas of psychology, but also allow flexibility to maximize personal and to provide for more in-depth experiences in areas that are of particular interest to the trainee. We emphasize a comprehensive approach to training across clinical work, didactics, case consultations and research. Residents receive a reduction in assigned evaluations for research under the direction of a staff mentor for four to six months of the twelve month residency. We have positions for four residents annually.
Due to COVID-19 and in order to provide fair and equitable access to all residency candidates, there will be no in-person interviews during this recruitment cycle. Thus far, our program has had no delays with start dates or end dates due to COVID-19 restrictions. Please do not hesitate to reach out to Dr. Jaffe-Talberg regarding specific questions about our training program and processes during the pandemic.
The residency year begins on August 1, 2024, and ends July 31, 2025. Applicants will be invited to attend an interview through Zoom. During the interview process, prospective residents will speak with the training director and faculty in a joint interview format via Zoom.
Fraser follows APPIC selection standards and Common Hold Date (CHD). CHD allows postdoctoral programs to make offers at any time following the completion of interviews. Fraser anticipates completing interviews by Friday, February 2, 2024, and will extend offers on February 5, 2024. Applicants can then accept, decline, or hold an offer until the designated CHD of Monday, February 26, 2024. Consequently, as the offer and acceptance process naturally unfolds, it is expected that most offers and acceptances will occur prior to the CHD.