Required Third-Year Placements:

Description

Suffolk University clinical doctoral students shall complete one year of placement service at the Mental Health Intensive Case Management (MHICM) in the Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial Hospital, Bedford, MA, during their third year of academic training.

1) Psychotherapy: Perform the following functions within the context of a care management system (MHICM): milieu, individual, group, family, vocational, educational, and/or developmental treatment, assessment, and program evaluation as required. Students will generally be responsible for 4 individual clients and 1 group.

2) Assessment: Students will be responsible for at least one neuropsychological battery per year.

3) Supervision: Students will receive two hours of placement supervision at Suffolk University, and one hour of group supervision at the MHICM. In addition, one hour of individual supervision per student will be arranged by the MHICM and Suffolk University working cooperatively.

4) Home Visits: Engage in home visits, as necessary.

5) Additional Projects: Participate in workshops, monthly seminars, case conferences, research projects, and/or administrative meetings as available.

6) Outreach Programs: Implement outreach programs, as appropriate.

7) Program Management: Learn and apply principles of mental health program management as appropriate.

To visit Edith Nourse Rogers VA directly, click here.

Lemuel Shattuck Hospital

Lemuel Shattuck Hospital (LSH) is a department of public health JCAHO-accredited facility located within the Franklin Park campus (Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts). It is a major clinical training site, with medical students, medical interns, medical residents, medical fellows, psychology practicum students, psychology interns, and psychology post-doctoral fellows in training throughout the year. Its primary affiliation is with Tufts University School of Medicine and the NEMC, however, HMS Psychiatry Residency and BU Multi-cultural Psychology Internship training takes place as well, and psychology students come from a number of local institutions. A rich variety of medical and psychiatric (neuropsychiatric) grand rounds, case conferences, and lecture series are offered (particularly between September and May).

LSH consists of a number of inpatient and outpatient programs for the indigent and disadvantaged citizens of the commonwealth. Medical units include geriatrics, infectious diseases, tuberculosis, and medical/surgical. The DMH (specifically, Metro-Boston DMH) operates a number of inpatient units at LSH for chronic Axis I patients. At any one time there are several hundred patients hospitalized at LSH. A typical patient is an older dual diagnosis patient with medical complications stemming from an ‘at-risk’ lifestyle (HIV, liver disease, renal disease, traumatic brain injury, etc.). As such a significant portion of LSH patients have chronic medical illness and also face the triple threat of psychiatric symptoms, chemical dependency, and cognitive impairment. LSH also operates the ambulatory care Goldfarb Behavioral Health Clinic (GBHC), which offers continuity of care to patients discharged from medical and psychiatric units.

Clinical neuropsychology provides diagnostic and consultative services to the inpatient units and the outpatient clinics of LSH. LSH provides services to the disadvantaged and indigent, and includes units for infectious diseases, tuberculosis, medical/surgical patients, and a number of DMH units. Disorders that are typically encountered include – AIDS dementia, alcohol and substance-induced neurotoxicity, axis I psychiatric disorders, and traumatic brain injury. Students would have multiple learning opportunities, including- interviewing, test selection, test administration, test scoring and interpretation, case presentation, consultation to other health care professionals in reference to the neuropsychological evaluation, and report preparation.

It is staffed by two full time nurses, two full-time social workers, two part-time psychiatrists, and four part-time psychologists (one of whom is not licensed). The clinic provides individual psychotherapy, group psychotherapy, and psychopharmacology services within a public health setting. Clients present with mixtures of Axis I, Axis II, and chemical dependency diagnoses and often have medical issues as well. GBHC has weekly treatment progress meetings on Friday (which our students could not make) and weekly intake/assessment meetings on Wednesday. The intake/assessment meeting might be able to be moved to a day our students could attend (Tuesday or Thursday), thereby enhancing the quality of the experience for them.

Practicum students would have the opportunity to perform intake interview assessments, develop the treatment plan on the intake, and to provide individual and group psychotherapy services. Practicum students would have multiple learning opportunities, including- interviewing skills, differential diagnosis, treatment planning, case conceptualization, intervention techniques, and working in a professional multi-disciplinary setting.

To visit Lemuel Shattuck Hospital directly, click here.

Optional Fourth-Year Practica:

Behavioral Neurology Unit at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

North Shore Children’s Hospital