Universal Psychology Postdoctoral Directory

The Geropsychology residency is designed with the goal of preparing residents for board certification in the specialty area of Geropsychology through the American Board of Professional Psychology, if they so choose. The resident can expect to develop skills necessary to offer consultation, assessment, and evidence-based treatment to older adults across a breadth of treatment settings (inpatient, outpatient, and in-home). Currently, VA St. Louis Health Care System is a member of the Council of Professional Geropsychology Training Programs.

Clinical Services: The Clinical Geropsychology resident will have opportunities to provide services on interprofessional teams in a variety of settings including the Community Living Center (CLC, primarily a short-term medical rehabilitation setting), Senior Veterans Clinic (outpatient mental health clinic for older adults), inpatient Palliative Care consultation, outpatient Palliative care, and Home-Based Primary Care. The resident may also have the opportunity to train within the neuropsychology outpatient clinic. Interdisciplinary teams may include nurses, physicians, chaplains, physical therapists, occupational therapists, recreational therapists, speech-language pathologists, social workers, dieticians, and pharmacists. Services provided may include evidence based group, family, and individual psychotherapy, environmental/behavioral modification, caregiver support, cognitive assessment, capacity evaluation, hypnotherapy, pain management services, and interdisciplinary consultation. The resident may also be given the opportunity to gain exposure to other areas such as Geriatric Primary Care, Inpatient Geropsychiatry, Spinal Cord Injury, and others.

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 didactic and training opportunities. The resident will also have the opportunity to provide vertical supervision and present/teach during grand rounds and staff trainings. Please see our brochure for additional information on this residency opportunity.

It is likely that there may be changes in the structure of the typical training year related to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. In keeping with APPIC recommendations, the safety of our trainees, supervisors, veterans, and community is of utmost importance. We strive to make the recruitment and selection process as accessible and fair as possible during these times, and we rely on an ethical framework for decision making to guard against bias and lapses. We pledge to use science, evidence-based findings, and the recommendations of public health experts to inform our process and recommended procedures related to all aspects of the trainee experiences. For more information about changes to our program due to the pandemic, please see information contained in our residency brochure.