Rehab Psychology

[NeuroLady]

Hello!
I have recently become interested in rehabilitation psychology which seems like a nice way to combine my interests... especially since I came late to the neuropsych game and have not had the opportunity to receive much training in neuropsych... from what I can tell there are few internships which offer rehab psych experience/ rotations... I'm wondering, however, what exactly makes one competitive for internships/ rotations in rehab psych? I've had experience with: SMI in inpatient psych, dual dx (substance abuse+SMI), chronic pain, geropsych, neuropsych ax with gero, and general psych ax. Does any of this help? What are the post doc requirements for boarding? Two year formal?

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[PsychBoxe]

I strongly considered taking a rehab psych route, but life took my interests in another direction. My prior research of rehab psych postdocs found that they were all 2 year fellowships - Tampa General Hospital, J.A. Haley VAMC to name a few I looked at closely. There is considerable neuropsych focus, as a lot of boarded rehab psychologists are also boarded in neuro. Overall, my impression was to have significant experience and training (APA-internship, specialty postdoc) in health psychology (inpatient), SUDs, TBI, SMI, and if possible, physiatry.

 

[Kadhir]

Rehab neuro or just rehab? If you are neuro first, rehab second, I would be most concerned about fulfilling neuro competencies first (the INS Seattle Conference conveyed this very well). Look for internships that are primarily neuro with a rehab rotation or two. Inpatient experience will be important for an eventual rehab neuro post doc. If straight rehab psych is your goal, then I would agree, you will want a health psych/behav med background.

 

[NeuroLady]

Thank you Kadhir and PsychBoxe! I don't really know which route to take tbh... but thank you, your responses are very helpful!

 

[PSYDNEUROGUY]

I will also add that if you are looking to be a neuropsychologist in which your primary interests are both the practice of and research within a rehabilitation context (i.e. cognitive based therapies, etc.), there are several APPCN post-doctoral sites that really focus on providing much more than just 1-2 rotations in rehabilitation. Several people from my program have placed at Rusk Institute at NYU's School of Medicine among other places. Rusk Institute, Johns Hopkins and Emory University's School of Medicine come to mind off the top of my head in which there is a substantial focus on applying the concepts of neuropsychological testing and diagnosis within a rehabilitation focus. I would urge you to check out APPCN's website and search for these programs; take a look at their brochures to see what the curriculum will be like (seminars, clinical rotations, research, teaching, etc.). Ultimately, figure out what interests you; as a doctoral student, I am focusing my externship/practicum efforts on gaining substantial exposure in pediatric neuropsychology, rehabilitation neuropsychology and clinical neuropsychology so that when I apply for my pre-docinternship and subsequently post-doctoral residency/fellowship, I would have gained some overall "life-span" and multi-contextual exposures of how neuropsychology is broadly practiced.

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

I will also add that if you are looking to be a neuropsychologist in which your primary interests are both the practice of and research within a rehabilitation context (i.e. cognitive based therapies, etc.), there are several APPCN post-doctoral sites that really focus on providing much more than just 1-2 rotations in rehabilitation.

This has been mentioned on here before, but it's been a year or two and may not be easy to find.

Off the top of my head:
Johns Hopkins: Multiple fellowship programs, CN & RP. They should have 1 APPCN, 1 Div 22/RP, and possibly a 3rd fellowship that is neuro but outside of APPCN. I'm most familiar with their PM&R-based RP fellowship, top notch…but long hours. Dr. Stiers is one of the best if you want to stay in the rehab world. I believe the 3rd fellowship (in Neurology?) is more research based, but it's been a number of years since I've looked at their programs.

University of Michigan: multiple fellowship programs, CN & RP. They offer two RP fellowships, adult and peds. Didactics (combined adult & peds) and exposure to world-class clinicians and researchers makes the training here awesome. Long hours. The CN fellowship (out of Psychiatry Dept) is very traditional but w. great mentorship (Dr. Ken Adams, Dr. Linus B., etc). They aren't a rehab site, but I thought I'd mention it bc it is one of the best training programs for CN in the country.

TIRR: They are probably the most rehab focused of all of the APPCN sites. Great mentorship w. Dr. Boake et al. If someone is deadset on staying within APPCN training and wants rehab…this is the place I'd recommend as your #1. It's known for long hours and a lower stipend (due to a lower cost of living).

The Ohio State: They only offer a RP fellowship. It's more research focused (25-50% research split) than most rehab fellowships, but it's great for students looking to stay in the AMC setting. Solid clinical exposure and great research mentorship. More hours than a VA fellowship, but probably less (on average) than the programs above.

There are others, but these are the programs I'd recommend to top students. I believe they are all also Model System sites for one or more speciality areas (TBI, SCI, etc), which can be a great learning experience for students/fellows.

 

[Graphton]

University of Washington and University of Kansas Medical Center have had rehab psych rotations for internship (when I last looked).

For postdoc, Minneapolis VA, University of Utah, and University of Washington have rehab fellowships. Mayo Clinic's neuropsych fellowship also has a rehab component, though secondary to neuro.

 

[Kadhir]

I believe the 3rd fellowship (in Neurology?) is more research based, but it's been a number of years since I've looked at their programs.

If you're referring to the one with Brandt, Schretlen, et al., it's in Psychiatry. I think at one point in time it was primarily research-focused but but it seems to be more balanced/clinical majority now. No rehab though. Agreed that the RP and R-Neuro post-docs are great; a colleague raved about the program.

While we're on the topic, does anyone have insights into quality non-match neuro (w/ rehab) post docs?

 

[PSYDNEUROGUY]

This has been mentioned on here before, but it's been a year or two and may not be easy to find.

Off the top of my head:
Johns Hopkins: Multiple fellowship programs, CN & RP. They should have 1 APPCN, 1 Div 22/RP, and possibly a 3rd fellowship that is neuro but outside of APPCN. I'm most familiar with their PM&R-based RP fellowship, top notch…but long hours. Dr. Stiers is one of the best if you want to stay in the rehab world. I believe the 3rd fellowship (in Neurology?) is more research based, but it's been a number of years since I've looked at their programs.

University of Michigan: multiple fellowship programs, CN & RP. They offer two RP fellowships, adult and peds. Didactics (combined adult & peds) and exposure to world-class clinicians and researchers makes the training here awesome. Long hours. The CN fellowship (out of Psychiatry Dept) is very traditional but w. great mentorship (Dr. Ken Adams, Dr. Linus B., etc). They aren't a rehab site, but I thought I'd mention it bc it is one of the best training programs for CN in the country.

TIRR: They are probably the most rehab focused of all of the APPCN sites. Great mentorship w. Dr. Boake et al. If someone is deadset on staying within APPCN training and wants rehab…this is the place I'd recommend as your #1. It's known for long hours and a lower stipend (due to a lower cost of living).

The Ohio State: They only offer a RP fellowship. It's more research focused (25-50% research split) than most rehab fellowships, but it's great for students looking to stay in the AMC setting. Solid clinical exposure and great research mentorship. More hours than a VA fellowship, but probably less (on average) than the programs above.

There are others, but these are the programs I'd recommend to top students. I believe they are all also Model System sites for one or more speciality areas (TBI, SCI, etc), which can be a great learning experience for students/fellows.

I am sure these have been suggested before in the past on here, however, it wasn't addressed in the immediate conversation, so I figured I would take a brief moment to point these out. Moving forward, these other programs you have mentioned are also great. I am very excited about working in a rehabilitation neuropsych setting myself; hopefully these recommendations help out the OP. I wasn't aware of TIRR, so I will read up on this program myself. Thanks for that tip