Post-Doctoral Fellowship in Health Psychology

Henry Ford Health offers Postdoctoral Fellowships in Health Psychology, which prepare psychologists to practice independently in the assessment and treatment of medical patients with behavioral manifestations or etiology.

Fellows develop expertise in differential diagnosis, behavioral problems associated with common medical conditions, consultation with referring physicians, and working with multidisciplinary groups.

Fellows perform consultations including chart review, patient assessment, and feedback to staff. They develop liaison relationships with one or more medical/surgical divisions and participate in the programs of that specialty area, including collaborative rounding, and multidisciplinary team meetings, representing the Department of Behavioral Health.

Fellows have the opportunity to develop one or more research projects independently and/or in collaboration with senior staff. Fellows can take advantage of a wide variety of medical education opportunities. On Thursdays, fellows will attend Behavioral Health Grand Rounds. On Fridays, fellows attend weekly teaching conferences and team meetings.

Our fellows are prepared for jobs in health psychology and have gone on to work in a variety of clinical, academic, and research settings.

Fellows have a flexible start date, likely beginning in August or September. A PhD or PsyD and strong interest in health psychology are required.

We typically recruit for 2-3 positions each academic year. The fellow will complete rotations based on interest and fit. Please see our listing on the Universal Psychology Postdoctoral Directory, as that description may be more up to date that this page. In case of discrepancy, please refer to that posting. Rotation options include:

Internal Medicine/Primary Care

Supervisors: Erin Tobin, PhD and Michael Evitts, PhD

The Internal Medicine rotation will provide exposure to a number of experiences for psychology interns working from the primary care behavioral health model. The Academic Internal Medicine clinic has a large multidisciplinary team, including physicians, over 100 internal medicine residents, a clinical pharmacist, nurses, medical assistants, social workers, and community health workers, to assist in the care of our patients.

Clinical care:

• The intern will complete initial consultations, ideally via ‘warm handoff’ from providers in clinic, and brief goal-directed therapy where appropriate. Reasons for consultation requests include depression, anxiety, pain management, weight management, ADHD screening, adjustment to life stressors, non-adherence, substance concerns, psychosis and somatoform disorders. Most of these patients also have co-occurring chronic illnesses impacting their presentation and management.
• The fellow may have the opportunity to co-lead a 6 week behavioral weight management psychotherapy group.
• Fellows will also have the option to learn more about providing biofeedback in appropriate patient populations.

Educational opportunities:

• Fellows will gain knowledge in assessment and diagnosis, pharmacology, general medicine, brief evidenced based therapies, and learn to work with the primary care team.
• Fellows may get the option to help develop and provide content for the multidisciplinary team and Internal Medicine resident didactics.
• Fellows will also have the opportunity to join the Internal Medicine residency didactics to broaden their knowledge base of general internal medicine.
• Supervision occurs regularly throughout the day.

Transplant Surgery

Supervisors: Kelly Bryce, PhD, Antu Segal, PhD, ABPP, and Megan Ramthun, PsyD

Transplant Surgery consists of performing inpatient and outpatient evaluations for suitability for transplants including liver, lung, heart, kidney, and intestinal transplants. Henry Ford Hospital is a high-volume provider of such transplants and requires a psychological evaluation to assure adherence with the rigorous self-care and follow-up needed for patients to survive and thrive following transplant. Fellows assess cognitive functioning, behavioral processes relevant to adherence including psychiatric status and stability, quality of social support, motivation for transplant and other factors relevant to decision making. They collaborate with the surgery staff to ensure optimal outcomes and participate in interdisciplinary team listing meetings. Fellows will also conduct consultations and brief interventions for both inpatients and outpatients who may be struggling with various psychosocial concerns either prior to or after transplant. In addition, fellows will have the opportunity to co-lead a group to improve coping skills and a group for relapse prevention. Supervision occurs regularly throughout the day. Fellows also have the opportunity to supervise psychology interns on the service as well as participate in ongoing research projects.

Psycho-oncology

Supervisors: Marwa Ahmed, PsyD, Taisel Losada, PsyD, Kellie Martens, PhD, & Olga Slavin-Spenny, PhD

Our Psycho-Oncology rotation is designed to provide comprehensive training in the assessment and management of a diverse and complex medical population with cancer. Each trainee will have the opportunity to care for, and engage with, patients and their families through all phases of the cancer journey, including diagnosis, active stages of treatment, post-treatment survivorship, recurrence, advanced illness, and end of life. Trainees will learn how to assess and manage common psychiatric concerns in the oncology population, help mediate complex psychosocial issues, gain knowledge regarding psychopharmacological interventions, evaluate medical decision making capacity, and work within interdisciplinary teams. Training experience occurs in both ambulatory clinic (including telemedicine) and inpatient consultation-liaison settings. Each trainee will work closely with a variety of complimentary and integrated disciplines, including Palliative Care and Hospice, Medical Oncology, Radiation Oncology, and Surgical Oncology. Opportunities to train in a multidisciplinary specialty clinic are available based on interest. Opportunities for research and program development are also available.

Clinical Research

Supervisor: Will be matched based on interests

On this rotation, the fellow will be matched with a research mentor in the Center for Health Policy and Health Services Research to assist with ongoing research projects. Ongoing areas of research include psychological interventions for patients with medical illness in medical settings (i.e., chronic pain, bariatric surgery, neonatal intensive care unit, primary care, women’s health), examination of medical risk factors for suicide, investigation of substance use for patients with medical conditions, technology-based interventions, and evaluation of healthcare utilization for patients with mental health and medical comorbidities. The fellow may also have the opportunity to develop their own small project. Didactic training in human subjects research, research methods, manuscript writing, and grant writing may be possible. A list of our potential mentors can be found here.

Salary and Benefits

• $53,000 Stipend
• $1,000 Professional Development Allowance
• Malpractice Insurance
• Options for Medical, Vision, Dental Insurance for self and dependents
• 22 days vacation/personal time
• Up to 5 conference and/or interview days

Application Process

To apply, please email a cover letter, curriculum vitae, and 3 letters of recommendation to the training director Erin Tobin, PhD, (etobin1@hfhs.org). Your letters of recommendation can be emailed directly to Dr. Tobin from your references. Please have them include your name in the subject line.

The deadline for applications is December 15.

For any questions regarding our health psychology fellowship opportunities, please contact:

Erin Tobin, PhD
Health Psychology Fellowship Director

Henry Ford Hospital is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer and educator.