Universal Psychology Postdoctoral Directory

Program Description: The Clinical Psychology Residency position with a focus in Geropsychology is designed with the goal of assisting residents in developing advanced competency in meeting the mental health need of Older Adults with diverse backgrounds. We offer a breadth of training experiences across a variety of clinical settings, with sufficient training experiences to support a goal of pursuing board certification in the specialty area of Geropsychology through the American Board of Professional Psychology. The resident can expect to develop skills necessary to offer consultation, assessment, and evidence-based treatment to a diverse older adult population across a breadth of interdisciplinary treatment settings. Possible treatment settings include inpatient, outpatient, video-telehealth, and in-home options. Currently, VA St. Louis Health Care System is a member of the Council of Professional Geropsychology Training Programs. 

Clinical Services: The Clinical Psychology resident with a focus in Geropsychology will have opportunities to provide services as a member of multiple interprofessional teams, including treatment teams providing care in the Community Living Center (CLC, primarily a short-term medical rehabilitation setting), Mental Health - Aging Resources Team (MH-ART, an outpatient mental health clinic for older adults), inpatient Palliative Care consultation, outpatient Palliative Care, Home-Based Primary Care (HBPC), the ComPACT team (an integrated primary care team for medically complex patients), and the Interdisciplinary Dementia Evaluation Team in GeriPACT. Interdisciplinary teams may include nurses, physicians, chaplains, physical therapists, occupational therapists, recreational therapists, speech-language pathologists, social workers, dietitians, and pharmacists. Services provided may include, but are not limited to, the following: evidence-based individual, group, and family psychotherapy, environmental/behavioral modification, caregiver support, cognitive assessment, capacity evaluation, pain management services, and interdisciplinary consultation.

The resident may also be given the opportunity to gain exposure to other areas such as Inpatient Geropsychiatry, Psycho-oncology, Spinal Cord Injury, and Primary Care Mental Health Integration (brief assessments and interventions for older adults within a broader primary care setting). Also, the Geropsychology focus resident will be given the opportunity to explore involvement in the psychology community and greater VA community through participation on the Cultural Competency Committee (C3) to further DEI efforts, the Training Council to enhance the administration of training, and other committee and administrative opportunities as they are made available.

Training will occur at the Jefferson Barracks and John Cochran campuses in Saint Louis, with the possibility of telehealth work as well. In addition to providing clinical services, the resident will complete a scholarly activity with a special focus on Geropsychology. Trainees will have the opportunity to participate in the psychology residency didactic series, as well as the Geropsychology journal club, and other specialty didactics and training opportunities. The resident may also have opportunities to provide vertical supervision and present/teach during grand rounds and staff trainings.