Psychology Postdoctoral Fellowship

History

The Psychology Postdoctoral Fellowship program is an outgrowth of the Center’s commitment to training quality mental health providers for nearly the entire history of the Center.  To learn more the history, read about our Graduate Clinical Training Program.  The Psychology Postdoctoral Fellowship is an additional training program focused on building the psychologist workforce in Iowa through the highest quality supervision, training, and clinical experiences.  In prior years, the Center would provide a postdoc position ad-hoc.  We have now established an ongoing training program designed to host one or more fellows each year.

About our Name

Our counselors and clients come from diverse backgrounds and our services are designed to respond to the individual needs of each person we walk alongside. Pastoral Counseling is a tradition within psychotherapy that reflects a commitment to respecting and integrating a client’s whole person, including any religious or spiritual identity that is important to them.  At the Center, we believe in caring for each individual as a whole person: mind, body and spirit.  Spirituality or faith are important to many clients and can be incorporated into a client’s experience to the degree the client and counselor agree it would be helpful. The Center is not affiliated with any religion, denomination or faith tradition, and all exploration of faith and spirituality is client-driven.

About the Program

We are pleased to offer a full-time, one year, applied clinical and counseling Psychology Postdoctoral Fellowship.

Fellows will have many supervised clinical activities from which to choose, allowing for a truly custom experience as they work toward independent licensure.  It is expected that the fellow would complete an average of 25 hours per week of direct service activities to fulfill Iowa requirements for licensure and to adequately prepare the fellow for independent practice. These hours could include a mix of individual therapy across the lifespan, testing and assessment cases, health and behavior assessments and interventions, and couples and family therapy.  Additionally, there may be opportunities to include group psychotherapy, teaching, outreach presentations, career counseling, and/or supervision of trainees to the fellow’s clinical activities.  Contingent on the needs of the Center, there may also be some opportunities to learn more about administrative responsibilities and/or to conduct some limited research or data analysis.

The Center’s clinicians approach their widely varied clinical tasks from an array of theoretical perspectives.  The fellow will be able to learn more various theories beyond that of their individual supervisor’s particular orientation, including approaches used by non-psychologists.

This program will immerse the fellow in many of the consultation, case presentation, and didactic offerings available to senior staff clinicians.  There may also be opportunities to participate in training offerings provided to the master’s level trainees in the Center’s Graduate Clinical Training Program as desired and appropriate for the fellow’s level of development.

Training Rotations

Fellows will elect foci for their year of training.  Rotations are for 6 months, and each fellow will select a single major and minor rotation for each half-year. Rotation options include:

  • Adult Individual Psychotherapy
  • Youth Individual Psychotherapy
  • Older Adult Services
  • Psychological Assessment
  • Couples and Families Therapy
  • Health and Prescribing Medical Psychology
  • Spiritually-Informed Psychological Services

Read more about the training rotations.

Program Leadership

The Psychology Postdoctoral Fellowship program is directed by Scott P. Young, Ph.D., M.S.C.P., Director of Psychological Services.

Dr. Scott P. Young

Benefits

The fellow will receive a stipend of $45,000 and liability coverage under the Center’s policy. The fellow will also have the option of participating in the Center’s individual health insurance and dental insurance policies. The fellow is also eligible to participate in the Center’s 403(b) retirement program at her/his discretion. The fellow will receive 2 weeks of vacation time and will accrue 1 day of sick leave per month. The fellow will be allotted time during the fellowship for EPPP preparation and attendance at the Iowa Psychological Association Conferences. A stipend will be provided toward licensure fees, and the fellow will be included in the Center’s professional liability insurance policy. Long-term disability insurance is provided, and the fellow may elect additional insurance coverages (e.g., short-term disability, life, etc.).

Eligibility and Application Requirements

Required qualifications:

  • Completion of a doctorate (Ph.D. or Psy.D.) in Clinical or Counseling Psychology from an APA/CPA accredited program and completion of an APA/CPA accredited health service internship prior to start date in August each year.
  • Provisional Psychology Licensure or eligibility

Application requirements:

  • Cover letter that describes training goals for the fellowship year; how you envision this training will further your professional identity as a practicing psychologist; fit with the fellowship program, and interest in the Des Moines Pastoral Counseling Center specifically; your theoretical orientation; and experience working with diverse populations.
  • Current C.V. that includes a description of your internship rotations and anticipated graduation date.
  • All graduate transcripts associated with training for your degree (master’s and doctoral) – unofficial transcript is acceptable.
  • Three letters of reference including:
    • A letter of reference from your internship director or primary internship supervisor describing your progress, clinical work, and anticipated completion date.
    • A letter from the chair of your dissertation committee that details the status of your dissertation and the anticipated completion date of your doctoral training.
    • A letter from a recent clinical supervisor familiar with your work.
  • Work samples, including a case conceptualization and a psychological assessment report, deidentified according to HIPPA standards.

Applications will be accepted until the position is filled.

To apply, send all application materials via email to: syoung@dmpcc.org

Or via mail to:

Scott P. Young, Director of Psychological Services
Des Moines Pastoral Counseling Center
8553 Urbandale Ave. Urbandale, IA 50322

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