Types of Post-docs

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InYourHead

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Does anyone have a list of different types of post-doctoral fellowships available?

Of course there are the obvious like neuropsychology and health psyc, but what else is out there? Any advice or a comprehensive list would be helpful. Thanks in advance!

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Does anyone have a list of different types of post-doctoral fellowships available?

Of course there are the obvious like neuropsychology and health psyc, but what else is out there? Any advice or a comprehensive list would be helpful. Thanks in advance!

I've never come across such a list, but maybe someone has a version they've made floating around somewhere. The main ones I've heard about are neuro, health (and related, like HIV/Hep C), trauma, forensic, SMI, possibly some related to various developmental disorders, general adult or pediatric, and research. I feel like I'm forgetting a few, but those are the ones that immediately spring to mind.
 
Counseling centers. Rounds out the list for the most part. For reseach post-docs, too many research niches to list, of course
 
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Primary Care is another one...Michigan State has an excellent one. One of the Boston Uni have a good one too (Harvard?)...but I'm not sure if that is/was ongoing funding or if it was linked to a grant.
 
Primary Care is another one...Michigan State has an excellent one. One of the Boston Uni have a good one too (Harvard?)...but I'm not sure if that is/was ongoing funding or if it was linked to a grant.

You would think a primary care psychologist would remember to add that one to the list....:)
 
Outside of newly funded spots, I'd strongly agree that a prospective applicant needs to know most/all of the established programs.

Div22 just put together a comprehensive list, so anyone in rehab should track that list down...whenever it is finalized.
 
Another post-doc question...I'm going on internship this year :))) and am still a little unsure of what I want to specialize in- I have narrowed it down to 2 areas of interest (child/forensic) I'll be getting full time rotations in both of those while on internship and have had experience in both while on externships. I joined a few listservs to get an idea of what types of post docs I'd like to do, but am concerned that while I will be getting varied experiences on internship, I won't have an official "child internship" or "forensic internship". Is it going to be a problem that I took a more generalist approach to internship when it comes to specializing at a post doc level?
 
Thanks for the replies. Is anyone familiar with programs with an emphasis on peds consult (in a medical setting)? It seems like the field has so many variations of names. I believe KKI has one, but a list or any other suggestions would be much appreciated.
 
Can anyone speak to (for lack of a better term) "informal" postdocs (e.g., postdoctoral training experiences that you have set up with a psychologist mentor or mentors)? How receptive are individuals in practice to taking on postdocs pre-licensure? What kind of pay can be expected? What are potential pros and cons to this route as opposed to a formal postdoc?
 
Can anyone speak to (for lack of a better term) "informal" postdocs (e.g., postdoctoral training experiences that you have set up with a psychologist mentor or mentors)? How receptive are individuals in practice to taking on postdocs pre-licensure? What kind of pay can be expected? What are potential pros and cons to this route as opposed to a formal postdoc?

At least in terms of the neuropsych postdoc, this would make it much harder to obtain board certification I assume. Also make it harder to get positions in some places. There are no guidelines for things such as didactics, and supervision beyond basic state reqs.

If you want a postdoc to simply get your supervised hours and then get on with something else, I guess it works to do an informal postdoc. If you want to get one last formal training experience and make yourself more marketable, formal postdocs are the way to go.
 
If you are talking about private practice post-docs, your pay, in almost all cases, will either be: a flat stipend (eg., 30K) or tied to how much they can bill for your services. Since it is hard to bill insurance in most states when you are not licesned, your are not worth very much, monetarily, to the group. Thus, the pay is low. If you happen to being working in cash-only PP, then then you would keep a certain percentage of the hourly rate.
 
At least in terms of the neuropsych postdoc, this would make it much harder to obtain board certification I assume. Also make it harder to get positions in some places. There are no guidelines for things such as didactics, and supervision beyond basic state reqs.

The same applies for rehab psych boarding (Baltimore Conference Guidelines).
 
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If you are talking about private practice post-docs, your pay, in almost all cases, will either be: a flat stipend (eg., 30K) or tied to how much they can bill for your services. Since it is hard to bill insurance in most states when you are not licesned, your are not worth very much, monetarily, to the group. Thus, the pay is low. If you happen to being working in cash-only PP, then then you would keep a certain percentage of the hourly rate.

Related to this, particularly if you're looking at the informal post-doc as a way to accrue supervised experience, be sure they'll be able to get you the necessary patient contact hours in a reasonable amount of time. That is, if you're having to find all of your own patients, it's going to be very tough to get enough hours to qualify for licensure in just one year.

Also, I've seen numerous situations/setups where the first-year pay is pretty small (e.g., the $30k erg mentioned), but you get a significant bump if you decide to stay on for year two+ (and many times, it seems to be a contractual obligation that you do so, since they might've been losing money on you in the first year, particularly if they paid you a salary rather than on a per-client basis).
 
Another way to get informal post-doc supervision is to look at MA level positions. If the facility has a licensed psychologist, then they are often willing to provide the supervision. I worked at a community mental health center alongside some LPCs and MSWs and I had a psychologist as my clinical supervisor. I also provided clinical supervision for a post-doc as clinical director of a residential treatment program. Both of these provided excellent clinical experience. The positions paid around 40k.
 
Another way to get informal post-doc supervision is to look at MA level positions. If the facility has a licensed psychologist, then they are often willing to provide the supervision. I worked at a community mental health center alongside some LPCs and MSWs and I had a psychologist as my clinical supervisor. I also provided clinical supervision for a post-doc as clinical director of a residential treatment program. Both of these provided excellent clinical experience. The positions paid around 40k.

I am curious about this route as I would think that it is a particularly feasible option for me--particularly with forensic/correctional interests (e.g. working as a masters level therapist in a state prison or relevant private practice). I presume you would need to have some kind of licensure/credentialing at the master's level in order to work in such a placement. However, I am concerned that some states do not count toward licensure those hours accrued in such a set up (with a different title/credential/license). Perhaps I am misunderstanding or missing something here.

Also, do the majority of clinical psychologists in practice go through formal postdoctoral training sites? There are so few sites and positions that I can find related to forensic evaluation or corrections (my desired eventual specialty area). I suppose I could always look for a more general postdoc opportunity. I am hoping for a formal forensic postdoc, but given the limited spots I am exploring the feasibility of an apprenticeship-style informal postdoc supplemented heavily with relevant continuuing education (which as many have noted would lengthen the board certification process).

My peers in other psychology subspecialties--social, developmental, behavioral nueroscience, etc.--speak of cold-calling and emailing faculty members to ask for postdoctoral opportunities as the norm. I wonder if this approach (if I were going for that apprenticeship-style informal postdoc to get my hours+relevant forensic work) is unheard of or frowned upon for those seeking clinical postdoctoral training with someone in private practice.
 
It's probably not the majority of all psychologists who've opted for the formal postdoc route, no. Although it's going to vary by specialty--in areas like neuropsych and, increasingly, health psych, it's becoming the norm. I believe forensics is making a push as well, as is rehab, given the board certification in the areas and what not.

And I had the same thought as you re: whether or not those hours would count toward licensure. If you're hired on as a masters-level provider, it might be hard to convince the state board that you were performing the work of a psychologist, regardless of who's supervising you. But I'd probably contact said state board directly, as it likely varies from place to place.

As for cold calls, I say--it can't hurt.
 
I am curious about this route as I would think that it is a particularly feasible option for me--particularly with forensic/correctional interests (e.g. working as a masters level therapist in a state prison or relevant private practice). I presume you would need to have some kind of licensure/credentialing at the master's level in order to work in such a placement. However, I am concerned that some states do not count toward licensure those hours accrued in such a set up (with a different title/credential/license). Perhaps I am misunderstanding or missing something here.

Also, do the majority of clinical psychologists in practice go through formal postdoctoral training sites? There are so few sites and positions that I can find related to forensic evaluation or corrections (my desired eventual specialty area). I suppose I could always look for a more general postdoc opportunity. I am hoping for a formal forensic postdoc, but given the limited spots I am exploring the feasibility of an apprenticeship-style informal postdoc supplemented heavily with relevant continuuing education (which as many have noted would lengthen the board certification process).

My peers in other psychology subspecialties--social, developmental, behavioral nueroscience, etc.--speak of cold-calling and emailing faculty members to ask for postdoctoral opportunities as the norm. I wonder if this approach (if I were going for that apprenticeship-style informal postdoc to get my hours+relevant forensic work) is unheard of or frowned upon for those seeking clinical postdoctoral training with someone in private practice.
The place I worked had a specific job title for a post-doc. Can't remember what that was, the pay was equivalent to the MA level providers, but I was able to do assessments and provide a level of expertise in psychotherapy that was commensurate with my training. In each state they have different terms and credentialing for post-docs. Some call it a Psychological Resident, others call it a Certified Psychologist. I was not operating under a different license, I was a Psychological Resident with supervision from a licensed psychologist.
This problem of obtaining appropriate post-doc experience is a pretty common one as there are insurances that won't pay. If you like working with adolescents, then there are opportunities to work in the troubled-teen industry that could work since many of those programs are not paid for by insurance.
 
Forensic psych and forensic evaluation is considered a formal sub specialty that requires specialized training and knowledge. I think you will need to be attending a formal post-doctoral training program rafter than simply getting a job that can supply supervision.
 
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I've heard it can be rough for licensure if you're not getting well documented clinical hours and/or supervision.
 
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I've heard it can be rough for licensure if you're not getting well documented clinical hours and/or supervision.

My impression is that this really varies by state. Some places are pretty laid back and others (CA, I'm looking at you) require you to jump through hoops if you don't have a formal postdoc.
 
Although, to be honest, I'm perfectly fine with making someone jump through hoops to make sure their training was up to snuff and met some minimal standards.

There are enough questionable (all the way up to straight up predatory) post-docs out there that I'd rather have the extra hoops to protect the field and the general public. It is up to each person to make sure the post-doc meets the state's standards, as some people have had to repeat their post-doc hours because they didn't record/register/report their hours correctly.
 
There are enough questionable (all the way up to straight up predatory) post-docs out there that I'd rather have the extra hoops to protect the field and the general public. It is up to each person to make sure the post-doc meets the state's standards, as some people have had to repeat their post-doc hours because they didn't record/register/report their hours correctly.

Agreed as well. I'm quite ok with hoops if they relate to attempting to ensure training quality; if they exist seemingly solely to hike up rates and prolong licensing timelines, then they're annoying.

Also, keep in mind that this could all vary by supervisor as well. Some may be more willing to easily/quickly sign off on hours than others, so this is something you'll definitely want to discuss (and, if it's not a formal post-doc, ideally have in writing) prior to accepting a position.
 
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