Postdoctoral Fellow

This 10-month Post-Doctoral Residency is designed to meet the licensure requirements in Psychology for supervised Post-Doctoral professional experience as defined by the California Code of Regulations, including a minimum of 1500 hours of supervised professional experience.

Student Psychological Services (SPS) at Loyola Marymount University is a collegial, supportive environment in which Residents refine clinical, administrative, and consultative skills. The staff works closely as a team, and Residents are regarded as important members of our SPS team.

The treatment philosophy at SPS is to provide psychotherapeutic and consultation support services for students to enhance their academic functioning and maximize their total learning and growth experience at LMU. This emphasis is consistent with the mission of the University, the resources available to Student Psychological Services, the population being served, and the availability of mental health services in the community.

Our training approach to treatment is integrative and promotes the use of interventions that are based on empirically supported treatments. We encourage Residents to think broadly about their clinical work and to draw from knowledge in developmental psychology, psychopathology, neuropsychology, multi-cultural psychology, learning theory, family systems, cognitive-behavioral, psychodynamic, group psychotherapy and humanistic approaches.

Position Specific Responsibilities/Accountabilities

Clinical training involves the evaluation, treatment and referral of our undergraduate and graduate students. There are extensive opportunities to work with both male and female late adolescents and young adults, and, to a lesser extent, with adults of other ages.

There are rich opportunities to treat a very diverse clientele in terms of ethnicity, gender, culture, and socioeconomic background. The clientele presents with a wide range of problems including adjustment difficulties, relationship concerns, major affective disorders, eating disorders, anxiety disorders, and often present in psychological crisis. Learning disabilities, substance abuse problems, and other disorders are also present.

The clinical caseload is generally 16-20 hours per week and includes intake/assessment, crisis management, individual and group psychotherapy. It is expected that Residents take advantage of the many opportunities to participate in campus outreach and education. The remaining hours are spent in supervision, outreach, case consultation, seminars, and chart documentation.