Focus Areas
The Division of Behavioral Medicine and Clinical Psychology Postdoctoral Fellowship at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center offers several focus areas:
Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics
The fellow is based in the Division of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics. This one-year fellowship is designed for those interested in gaining clinical skills in assessment and treatment for children with developmental disorders and their families.
The fellow will conduct four evaluations weekly and carry two to three therapy cases weekly. Case coordination and participation on an interdisciplinary team allows for the exposure and integration of clinical skills across disciplinary boundaries. Significant didactic / seminar opportunities are incorporated into the training program.
Teaching / mentoring experiences will be available through umbrella supervision to a graduate-level practicum student. The fellow will participate (20 percent of the time) in ongoing research focused on some aspect of developmental disorders and chronic handicapping conditions.
For more information, please contact Suzanne Pennetti, 513-636-4633, suzanne.pennetti@cchmc.org.
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Neuropsychology
The fellow is based in the Division of Behavioral Medicine and Clinical Psychology. This two-year program is designed for the practice of pediatric neuropsychology and is fashioned around the guidelines provided by the International Neuropsychological Society (INS), Division 40 of the American Psychological Association (APA), Association of Postdoctoral Programs in Clinical Neuropsychology (APPCN), and the Houston Conference for advanced specialty training in clinical neuropsychology.
Approximately 70 percent of the fellows' time is spent in the delivery of clinical services. Major rotations are available in Neuro-oncology (Brain Tumor) Clinic (fellowship year one), the Inpatient Neurorehabilitation Unit (fellowship year two), and the Neurobehavioral Clinic rotation (fellowship years one and two). First year fellows also spend one day per week at the Cincinnati Veterans Administration Hospital to broaden their clinical experience with adult populations.
Minor rotations and training opportunities include:
- Neuropsychology Inpatient Consultation Service
- Pediatric Epilepsy Surgery Team
- Outpatient Psychotherapy
- Autism Spectrum Disorders
Professional development skills are sharpened through collaborations with various multidisciplinary clinics. Teaching / mentoring opportunities are available with both graduate students and psychology residents. Educational / training experiences and research activities account for 30 percent of the fellow's time.
Current research projects focus upon a wide range of populations including children with brain tumors, sleep disorders, lead-exposure, epilepsy, tuberous sclerosis, and traumatic brain injury.
Additional information about these and other clinical, research and didactic training experiences is available in our training brochure.
As you review our training brochure, you may wish to consider the following elements of our program that, when taken together, make it unique from other postdoctoral fellowships in pediatric neuropsychology:
- In-depth training with pediatric populations is complemented with exposure to adult work.
- Residents see a diverse patient population, with a strong emphasis on medical / neuro cases.
- Residents work with a variety of supervisors, each with a unique knowledge base to share.
- There are multiple board-certified faculty. Preparation for board certification is emphasized.
- As a founding member of APPCN, our program has an established track record of excellence.
- The resident caseload is based upon educational needs, not billing demands.
- Residents are supported in integrating research into their clinical training experience.
- We offer a supportive training environment in a highly-ranked pediatric hospital.
Download the Neuropsychology Training Brochure
You may download the Neuropsychology Training Brochure (95k) in portable document format (.pdf).
You must have Adobe Acrobat" Reader installed on your computer to read this file. You can download Adobe Acrobat" Reader at Adobe's Web site by selecting the version appropriate for your type of computer.
For more information, contact Marsha Nortz, PhD, 513-636-7771, marsha.nortz@cchmc.org
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Pediatric Psychology Adolescence
The fellow is based in the Division of Adolescent Medicine and Division of Behavioral Medicine and Clinical Psychology. The Division of Adolescent Medicine provides comprehensive health care to an urban, high-risk population of adolescents ranging in age from 12 through 21 and has a multidisciplinary staff of physicians, nurse practitioners, nutritionists, and social workers. This one to two-year fellowship is designed to provide broad-based, advanced training in the evaluation and treatment of adolescents in clinic and community settings, as well as experience in community consultation.
The fellow functions as a member of a multidisciplinary team. The fellow will be involved in the clinical care of adolescents and their families. Additionally, the fellow spends one day a week at Lighthouse Youth Services, a community agency providing services to adolescents involved in the social service system.
With regard to teaching / mentoring, the fellow has the opportunity to work with pediatric medical residents and medical students and undergraduate students. Research is the focus of 50 percent of the fellow's time and activities are related to ongoing studies on psychosexual development. Professional Development opportunities are available though multidisciplinary teams and community speaking.
For more information, please contact, Frank Biro, MD, frank.biro@cchmc.org, 513-636-4681.
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Biobehavioral Assessment and Treatment
The fellow is based in the Division of Behavioral Medicine and Clinical Psychology. This fellowship is designed for those interested in developing proficiency in the assessment and treatment of children with acute and chronic illnesses. Clinically, fellows are exposed to patients from a wide variety of pediatric subspecialties on an in- and outpatient basis and rotate through four six-month clinics including headache, sleep, feeding, liver transplant, cochlear implant and consultation / liaison. Clinical training is available in individual, family, and group psychotherapy using behavioral and cognitive-behavioral approaches. Training is also available in computer-based biofeedback.
Approximately 50 percent of the fellow's time is spent on research in the area of nutrition and health. Current projects focus on behavioral interventions to address the special nutritional needs of those children with chronic conditions other issues of adherence, and interventions to address recurrent pain conditioning such fibromyalgia. Teaching / mentoring opportunities are available with research assistants and psychology and medical residents.
Professional Development opportunities are available though multidisciplinary teams and community speaking. For more information, please contact Scott Powers, PhD, scott.powers@cchmc.org, 513-636-7613, or Susmita Kashikar-Zuck, PhD, kasq6s@cchmc.org, 513-636-6337.
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Risk and Prevention
The fellow is based in the Psychology Division and Every Child Succeeds. Every Child Succeeds is a large-scale, community-based prevention program for first-time mothers. Every Child Succeeds provides home visitation to parents and children during the first three years of life. The program emphasizes health promotion, enhancing parenting skills, and optimizing child development. Families are assessed prior to and throughout participation in the program. Areas measured include child development, parental psychopathology, social support, caregiver-child attachment, and substance abuse, among others.
Every Child Succeeds offers numerous opportunities for training in methodological and design issues in prevention science. The fellow will spend 50 percent of his/her time devoted to research within Every Child Succeeds and/or ongoing clinical trials addressing anxiety disorder in children and adolescents. Clinical responsibilities will occur within the Psychology Division and the fellow will have the opportunity to chose from a number of rotations including headache clinic, feeding team, and outpatient services.
Teaching/mentoring opportunities are available with research assistants and psychology and medical residents. Professional Development opportunities are available though multidisciplinary teams and community speaking.
For more information, please contact Robert T. Ammerman, PhD, ammm9c@chmcc.org, 513-636-8209.
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