Postdoctoral Fellowship Information | UC Davis MIND Institute

Applicants for the Postdoctoral Fellowship must have a degree in Clinical (preferred), Counseling, or School Psychology and have completed all requirements for the doctoral degree from an APA/CPA/PCSAS-accredited doctoral program (preferred), or a regionally accredited institution of higher learning, including an internship meeting APPIC standards. This means that on the first day of the fellowship, the fellow must have a diploma in hand or a letter from the Director of Graduate Studies at their graduate institution verifying the completion of all degree requirements pending the institution’s graduation ceremony.

Applicants who are well-suited to this program have doctoral level experience in assessment of children and have written a minimum of 25 of integrated psychological assessment reports and/or have provided evidence-based treatments (cognitive behavioral therapy, parent-child interaction therapy, trauma focused cognitive behavioral therapy) with youth with a range of clinical diagnoses. An interest in neurodevelopmental disabilities, as evidenced by research or clinical involvement in this area, is required.

All postdoctoral fellows have access to a multitude of training and career development opportunities through the MIND Institute and UC Davis Health including a diverse range of didactic seminars and other training experiences. Experience in supervision of interns is provided, with mentorship and tiered supervision. Opportunities to offer community-based trainings to parents and community providers may also be available.

Applications are due December 1, 2024.

Length of Appointment
The MIND Institute will accept two applicants for the upcoming training year. The appointment begins September 1 and ends August 31 of each training year; if these dates fall on a weekend or holiday, start/end dates are the following/preceding business day, respectively. The postdoctoral fellowship is a one-year, full-time appointment, 40-hour work week. Post-doctoral fellows receive a total of 2,000 supervised hours over the course of the training year which meets California’s state licensing requirements for health service providers, as well as the licensing requirements in most states. Upon successful completion, the post-doctoral psychology fellow will be awarded a certificate of post-doctoral fellowship completion from the UC Davis MIND Institute at UC Davis Health.

Stipend
Postdoctoral fellows are hired by UC Davis and receive a gross stipend of $58,000 per year. This stipend is competitive (slightly above average) with regional fellowships training programs. Applicable taxes, social security deductions, and benefits-related costs are also withheld.

Benefits
Based on a 100% appointment, postdoctoral fellows are eligible for coverage in the UC Davis medical, dental, vision, life, and disability insurance plans, with options to provide coverage for spouses/domestic partners and dependents. Fellows receive up to 32 days of paid time off (including 20 vacation, 12 sick, and 4 professional development days). These should be arranged in consultation with the supervisor. Fellows are eligible for medical or parental leave (FML). Fellows accruing fewer than 1,500 hours due to leave must ensure that arrangements are made to complete a minimum of 1,500 hours to the training program’s exit criterion.

Professional Development Resources
Fellows receive up to $1,000 (for the training year) to cover professional development activities. Professional development funds can be used for conferences, trainings, and certifications in relevant clinical areas.

Support
Postdoctoral fellows are provided with appropriate shared office space, computer access, and a phone line. Assessment and therapy materials required to carry out learning and clinical activities are provided. Fellows have access to the UC Davis library system, which includes a health sciences branch at the medical center and the main library on the Davis campus. The library provides loan services for written materials, access to the catalogs of all nine UC campuses, literature search tools such as PsychInfo and PubMed, and access to electronic journals. The Health System also offers confidential, cost-free assessment, counseling, consultation and referral services to all UC Davis Health faculty and staff through the Academic and Staff Assistance Program (ASAP). If a postdoctoral fellow is unable to obtain necessary support, they are instructed to contact the Director of Training who will make every effort to meet all reasonable requests

The Postdoctoral Fellowship is a 1-year program. The appointment begins September 1 and ends August 31 of each training year; if these dates fall on a weekend or holiday, start/end dates are the following/preceding business day, respectively. The postdoctoral fellowship is a one-year, full-time appointment, 40-hour work week. Post-doctoral fellows can accrue up to 2,000 supervised hours over the course of the training year which meets California’s state licensing requirements, as well as the licensing requirements in most states.

Our emphasis is on diagnostic assessment and treatment of children and youth with neurodevelopmental disorders. Over the course of the one-year Postdoctoral Fellowship Program, fellows receive training and supervised experience in diagnostic evaluations (e.g., comprehensive psychological evaluations, intake assessments, psychological screening), therapeutic interventions (e.g., individual and group therapy), and consultation (e.g., to fellow providers, community agencies, primary care settings). Fellows develop competencies in a range of areas that ensure their successful entry into the field of health service psychology.

The Fellowship is housed at the UC Davis MIND Institute on the UC Davis Medical Center campus in Sacramento, California, an integrated, academic health system that is consistently ranked among the nation’s top medical schools. Sacramento is home to a highly diverse community. The MIND Institute is internationally known as a leader in research and clinical care for children and adolescents with neurodevelopmental disabilities and was founded in 1998 by parents of individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). It brings together professionals from various disciplines united in one common vision: To improve the quality of life for individuals with neurodevelopmental disabilities.

Fellows have the unique opportunity to learn in a collaborative and interdisciplinary setting during the training year, and to acquire discipline-specific skills through work with their clinical supervisors. Supervised experiences include assessment and treatment of individuals from infancy through young adulthood who present with neurodevelopmental concerns. All clinical activities within the fellowship program take place within the MIND Institute’s outpatient clinic, the Massie Family Clinic. The clinic has eight (8) specially designed exam rooms, six (6) of which are equipped with one-way observation windows to allow live supervision of fellows engaged in clinical care. A secure outdoor playground is also available for play and for observation. Social skills and other group therapy sessions utilize the larger Family Rooms which are well-equipped for group-based intervention. All didactic activities take place within the MIND Institute.

Faculty and clinical supervisors at the MIND Institute are renowned experts in their fields of research and clinical care and are engaged in a variety of collaborative activities linking clinical and scientific endeavors. Providers from various disciplines—including psychology, developmental pediatrics, social work, genetics, speech and language pathology, and psychiatry—provide clinical services through the Massie Family Clinic to more than 2,500 individual pediatric patients per year, and fellows will have opportunities to engage in interdisciplinary patient care in this setting.

The MIND Institute is committed to advancing diversity in recruitment and training of all trainees as well as among faculty and staff who serve as mentors and supervisors. Fellows have the unique opportunity to learn in a collaborative and interdisciplinary setting during their training and to acquire discipline-specific skills through work with their clinical supervisors. Supervised experiences include assessment and treatment of individuals from infancy through young adulthood who present with neurodevelopmental concerns.

The UC Davis MIND Institute’s Postdoctoral Fellowship in Clinical Psychology is a collaboration between the MIND Institute’s Division of Psychology, Division of Research, and the Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (LEND) Training Program. The Fellowship program consists of year-long, supervised clinical placements (both treatment and assessment), participation in a variety of didactic seminars, regular clinical supervision (both individual and group), and involvement in a research project and community placement through the LEND program. It is designed to provide training in the psychological assessment and treatment of youth (infancy through to young adulthood) with neurodevelopmental conditions and other related medical and behavioral needs.

At the beginning of each year, each fellow is assigned a therapy supervisor and an assessment supervisor who will also act as mentors throughout the fellowship period. During the first week, a four-day orientation program acquaints the new fellows with the range of training opportunities available at the MIND Institute, and fellows and their supervisors will develop an individualized training plan (ITP) to identify specific individualized training goals and activities for the year within a developmental perspective.

Each fellow engages in both treatment and assessment services for the duration of the fellowship year, with relative emphasis in one or the other depending on interests and goals. Fellows also may be required to engage in a research or leadership project which may be supervised by someone other than their clinical supervisors depending on research interests, such as one of the MIND Institute’s research faculty. Fellows present their projects at the end of the training year.

Our focus on high-quality, evidence-based, interdisciplinary training in assessment and treatment of youth with neurodevelopmental disabilities provides trainees with the breadth of clinical experiences that will prepare them to successfully enter the workforce.

Please see the Postdoctoral Fellowship Program Handbook for more detail. Prospective applicants may wish to check back in September to review the Training Handbook for the upcoming training year. 

Applicants for the Postdoctoral Fellowship must have a degree in Clinical (preferred), Counseling, or School Psychology and have completed all requirements for the doctoral degree from an APA/CPA/PCSAS-accredited doctoral program (preferred), or a regionally accredited institution of higher learning, including an internship meeting APPIC standards. This means that on the first day of the fellowship, the fellow must have a diploma in hand or a letter from the Director of Graduate Studies at their graduate institution verifying the completion of all degree requirements pending the institution’s graduation ceremony.

Applicants who are well-suited to this program have doctoral level experience in assessment of children and have written a minimum of 25 of integrated psychological assessment reports and/or have provided evidence-based treatments (cognitive behavioral therapy, parent-child interaction therapy, trauma focused cognitive behavioral therapy) with youth with a range of clinical diagnoses. An interest in neurodevelopmental disabilities, as evidenced by research or clinical involvement in this area, is required.

The MIND Clinical Psychology Training Program is a member of the Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers (APPIC). Please submit your application via APPA CAS (program code 9251). A complete application will include the following:

• A completed application
• Cover letter
• Up to date Curriculum Vitae
• Three letters of recommendation. Letters from doctoral internship supervisor, practicum placement supervisor, and graduate school faculty are strongly preferred.

Please note: Applicants should ensure that their cover letters speak to the following points:

• Interests and training goals, including their alignment with the mission and values of the MIND Institute.
• Experience working with individuals from a range of diverse backgrounds.
• Commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and any prior involvement in DEI initiatives.
• Experience with the ADOS-2 and any cognitive assessment measures.
• Commitment to evidence-based practice.
• Theoretical orientation
• Any experience providing services in a language other than English.
• Any lived experience the applicant wishes to share (not required).

Application deadline is December 1, 2024.

Applicants will receive notification by December 20, 2024, as to whether they are invited for an interview. Candidates will have the opportunity to meet with current trainees and virtually tour the MIND Institute and clinic. These interviews help both the program and the applicant to determine if there is a good fit between the applicant’s experience and training goals and the program’s needs and training objectives. Interviews will be held virtually on January 28-31, 2025. Please note that these dates are tentative; final dates will be provided to you if you are invited to interview. Offers will be extended pending final budgetary approval.

If you have any questions, please contact the Director of Training Office at 916-703-0263 or hs-mind_psychtraining@ucdavis.edu.

Meghan Miller is a Professor in the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences and the MIND Institute and is the Associate Director for the UC Davis CTSC Mentoring Academy for Research Excellence. She earned her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of California, Berkeley and is a licensed clinical psychologist whose specialty is in early diagnosis of, and comorbidity between, autism and ADHD. She directs a research program focused on the emergence and intersection of autism and ADHD. She currently leads several ongoing research projects funded by the National Institute of Mental Health and serves on the training guidelines steering committee for the Clinical Child and Pediatric Psychology Training Council of the American Board of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology.