Psychology Postdoctoral Fellowship

Adult Individual Psychotherapy rotations, available as a major or minor rotation, emphasize practice and skill acquisition for adults 18-64 with a variety of presenting concerns.  It is anticipated that the fellow would have a mix of demographic variables, with some cases potentially continuing throughout the training year.

Youth Individual Psychotherapy rotations, available as a major or minor rotation, emphasize practice and skill acquisition for children and adolescents, with the specific age range depending on the interests of the fellow and the comfort of the supervisor.  In this rotation, the fellow can expect a variety of presenting concerns, exposure to expressive arts and play therapy techniques, and a reasonable number of Medicaid cases.  It is anticipated that the fellow would have a mix of demographic variables, with some cases potentially continuing throughout the training year.

The Older Adult Services minor rotation emphasizes practice and skill acquisition for adults 65+ with a variety of presenting concerns.  It is anticipated that the fellow would have a mix of demographic variables, with some cases potentially continuing throughout the training year.  This rotation is only offered as a minor rotation due to inability to bill Medicare for the services provided by fellows.  The fellow can expect this minor rotation to include some individual psychotherapy cases of their own, some shared cases done through co-therapy with another provider, and some geriatric and neuropsychological assessment cases.

Psychological Assessment rotations, available as a major or minor rotation, allow the fellow to cultivate skill and experience with one of the aspects of a psychologist’s identity that make us unique amongst mental health providers.  The fellow should expect to complete testing cases with clients across the lifespan and with a variety of referral questions.  Within the major rotation, it may be possible for the fellow to focus somewhat on a particular kind of assessment (e.g., ADHD evaluations, clergy evaluations, DDS evaluations, etc.), though the fellow should be prepared for an assortment of cases.

The Couples and Families Therapy minor rotation offers the fellow an opportunity to gain experience working with relationship dynamics in a variety of family configurations.  Fellows are likely to gain appreciation for the variety of reasons couples seek counseling, and also will have opportunity to learn more about theoretical practice models focused on couples and marital work (e.g., Gottman, Emotionally-Focused Therapy, CBT for couples, etc.).  Fellows may also see families consisting of children and adults, all adult families, and individual therapy clients focused on family issues (e.g., caregiving, parenting concerns, adjusting to life after children, etc.).

The Health and Prescribing Medical Psychology minor rotation is an opportunity for the fellow to learn more about a developing specialty area for psychologists.  This rotation will blend health and behavioral assessments/interventions (e.g., bariatric surgery evaluations, smoking cessation, chronic pain management, spinal cord stimulator evaluations, medication compliance issues, etc.) with some training and exposure to psychopharmacology.  Iowa is one of only a handful of states to allow psychologists to acquire additional training in psychopharmacology in order to add pharmacotherapy to their treatment repertoire, and this component (psychiatric and psychopharmacology practice) of the minor rotation is not known to be available at any other postdoc in the state.  The psychopharmacology component will include some didactic and observational experiences, and will help prepare the fellow to be a more active participant in their client’s pharmacotherapy.

The Spiritually-Informed Psychological Services major or minor rotation is another unique offering of the Center. As a pastoral counseling center with a rich mind-body-spirit model of care, this rotation will allow fellows to learn more about how to integrate spiritual and religious practices and beliefs into their clinical work.  The rotation will include some psychotherapy and counseling cases with clients explicitly dealing with spiritual and psychological problems, and with clients who are seeking traditional psychotherapy but for whom a religious or spiritual identity is an important cultural identity and value.  Fellows will also have the opportunity to learn and conduct clergy psychological evaluations for denominations with which the Center works.

Additionally, there will be ample opportunities for the fellow to be involved in consultation, teaching, coaching, and outreach through the Center’s Leadership and Spiritual Life (LSL) Program.  Some examples of possible experiences the fellow might have partnering with LSL include:  teaching a pastoral care specialist program class, community outreach presentations on mental health topics, developing training and resources to help clergy with referrals for their parishioner’s mental healthcare, mental health consultation services for clergy, etc.

The Des Moines Metro continues to be the fastest growing Midwest metropolitan area, with a surprisingly rich variety of professional and recreational opportunities.  Forbes has named Des Moines the best city for business and careers, and TODAY designated Des Moines America’s Wealthiest City.  U.S. News and World Report has also repeated ranked Des Moines in the top cities to live affordably.  Yes, we do have corn fields…but just wait till you see what else we have!

With 50 years behind us, Mind & Spirit Counseling Center has one of the best-known reputations for high-quality mental healthcare in Central Iowa.  We have a large group of psychologists, a multidisciplinary team, and specialty training areas you’d be hard-pressed to find elsewhere.  We also have a dedicated children’s wing, with a unique youth service we call C.O.O.L. for a reason!  Plus, our building is almost as beautiful as the woods nearby…and the deer that regularly come to visit!

Each week, the Center staff set aside at least 2 ½ hours for various professional development and consultation options.  To name a few, we have an hour per month of dedicated psychiatric consultation and training, two hours per month of psychologist consultation and program meetings, 1 ½ hours of S.E.R.T. (Spiritual, Existential, Religious, and Theological) consultation, 1 hour of E.M.D.R. consultation, three hours of youth-focused consultation, etc.  The Center also offers seminars for our master’s level trainees that can be attended by staff and fellows, along with a number of classes and CE trainings for clinicians, pastoral care providers, mindfulness practitioners, etc.  All this means that, while we want you to spend most of your time refining your clinical work, there’s plenty of formal and informal consultation and learning time as well.

An ideal candidate will have a breadth of clinical training experience, in a variety of settings and with a range of populations.  We value diversity, and would appreciate trainees who do likewise.  Intellectual and professional growth is a high priority for our staff, and a fellow who is curious and eager to learn would be quite comfortable in our setting.  Passion for specific foci of our postdoc program, for Iowa psychology, for our mission to help as many as we can regardless of insurance or means, and/or mind-body-spirit psychological care are all very important as well.  Fellows MUST be eligible for (or have received) the Iowa provisional psychologist licensure.

We encourage any interested predoctoral intern or recently graduated Ph.D. or Psy.D. to review our UPPD program listing, all the information on this web page and to reach out to the Director of Psychological Services (Scott P. Young) with any questions.  We see this as an important discernment process, on both the part of the potential fellow and the Center.  So get to know us as much as you can, and explore for a possible fit with your career goals and developmental needs.

If you find there’s a good fit, please submit all the required application materials so we can get to know you better!

Our psychology faculty will review the materials, and communicate with all fellows offers to interview or not.  The Director may reach out to candidates for individual phone or video interviews prior to extending offers for interviews with our faculty.  Interviews with psychology faculty can be in person or virtual.

After interviews are completed, we will reach out with an offer of a postdoc fellowship placement to the selected candidate(s), and will hold the offer for two business days.  Please note, that because this is a new program, we will not yet be following APPIC Selection Guidelines (including the Uniform Notification Date).

Each fellow’s supervisor or supervisors are selected through the following considerations:  rotations the fellow has elected, availability of a given supervisor, and fellow’s preferences.

Please email Scott Young, Ph.D., M.S.C.P., Director of Psychological Services or call him at 515-251-6673.