Psychology Externship

General Information about all Externships & Application process: 

Mt. Washington Pediatric Hospital (MWPH) is a specialty and rehabilitation hospital, and is co-owned and co-operated by the University of Maryland and Johns Hopkins. The externships at MWPH are 12-month placements, although opportunities to engage in a 9-month externship may be available if space permits. Externship training will begin in early July. Please apply by February 11, 2022. Interviews will be held in February and March. Please email your CV, two letters of recommendation, and a cover letter to Eli Getzoff at egetzoff@mwph.org and Erica Lee at elee@mwph.org. Sample of written work may be requested as part of the application process. Please no phone calls.  Strong preference will be given to applicants with experience working with children.

If you are applying to the Neuropsychology Externship, please email your CV, two letters of recommendation, and a cover letter to Danielle Raines, Psy.D. at draines@mwph.org.

Please note the application deadline for neuropsychology is February 11, 2022. 

Please indicate your track of interest in your cover letter, and if you are applying to more than one track (including the Neuropsychology Externship), please rank your preference of tracks.

General Outpatient Externship

The psychology externship program at MWPH is a 12-month training experience in clinical and pediatric psychology. The externship includes two major aspects – outpatient therapy and psychological testing. However, there may be the opportunity to focus solely on one aspect during your externship, and you may indicate interest in solely providing therapy or only doing psychological assessments. The number of placements allotted for each specialty area will depend on interest and space. Externs carry an outpatient therapy caseload consisting of children and adolescents ranging in age from 4 to 18 with diverse backgrounds and presenting problems. Externs are also involved in all aspects of testing, including intakes, administration, report-writing, and feedback sessions. Weekly individual supervision will be provided, as well as group supervision and didactics. Externs will need to be available on one required day (Friday), as well as a second day that will be determined based on extern preference/availability. The externship program at MWPH is a 20 hour per week commitment. You are expected to be on site for 16 hours per week. The additional 4 hours can be spent at your discretion to complete paperwork and can be completed off-site. Friday is a required day due to testing clinic and didactics.

 

Autism Program Externship

The Autism Spectrum Center (ASC) within the Division of Pediatric Psychology & Neuropsychology at MWPH offers externships focusing on consultation, assessment, and treatment of children and adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorders. Externs in this position will be expected to provide direct assessment services to patients; provide therapeutic services to children, adolescents and families; and potentially co-lead social skills groups. Weekly individual supervision will be provided, as well as opportunities for group supervision, didactics, and observation of ADOS-2 administrations (as well as opportunities to administer and code the ADOS-2 with faculty). Externs will need to be available on one required day to be determined based on extern/faculty availability, as well as a second day that can be determined based on extern preference/availability. The externship program at MWPH is a 20 hour per week commitment. You are expected to be on site for 16 hours per week. The additional 4 hours can be spent at your discretion to complete paperwork and can be completed off-site. 

 

Pediatric Feeding Disorders Externship

The Division of Pediatric Psychology and Neuropsychology at MWPH is seeking an extern to work with a multidisciplinary pediatric feeding team. The pediatric feeding team includes a gastroenterologist, nurse practitioners, dietitians, speech therapists, and occupational therapists, and treats primarily young children with failure to thrive and avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder. The extern will have the opportunity to participate in initial evaluations, behavioral consultation to speech therapists and occupational therapists, individual therapy cases, and feeding day treatment sessions. Typical co-morbid diagnoses include children with developmental delays, anxiety, and Autism Spectrum Disorders.  Primary presenting problems include food selectivity, g-tube dependence, food anxiety, and disruptive mealtime behaviors. Training in protocol development and implementation, behavioral management, and reinforcement contingencies will be provided. Weekly individual supervision will be provided, including opportunities for live supervision. If externs are scheduled to work on Thursdays, they will additionally have the opportunity to participate in weekly multidisciplinary feeing rounds, follow-up clinic, and family meetings. Trainees will be expected to be present for two days per week with a set schedule. The externship in the feeding program at MWPH is a 20 hour per week commitment. You are expected to be on site for at least 16 hours per week; the specific days are flexible. Opportunities for a split externship may also be available for trainees interested in splitting their commitment between feeding and another program, such as Autism or General Outpatient.
 

Neuropsychology Externship

The neuropsychology externship program at MWPH is a 12-month training experience in clinical pediatric neuropsychology. The externship includes two major aspects – outpatient and inpatient neuropsychological evaluations. Externs are involved in all aspects of the evaluation, including intakes, test administration, report-writing, and feedback sessions. Externs are also involved in consultation with other disciplines of the hospital, such as medicine, physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech and language, and social work. Additionally, interested externs will be trained in concussion management through our Concussion Assessment and Management Program. The externship includes weekly didactics, involvement in medical rounds, medical clinics, and brain cuttings at Johns Hopkins pathology lab. Students will participate in weekly individual and group supervision. Externs will need to be available on one required day to be determined based on extern/faculty availability, as well as a second day that can be determined based on extern preference/availability.

Behavioral Pediatric Pain Program

The Behavioral Pediatric Pain Psychology externship program at MWPH is a 12-month training experience in clinical pediatric psychology for intermediate and advanced externs, utilizing an integrative approach to best meet the needs of the patient (including but not limited cognitive behavioral therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy, mindfulness, hypnosis, and family systems). Externs will work with an outpatient therapy caseload consisting of children and adolescents ranging in age from 6 to early adulthood with diverse backgrounds and presenting problems. The extern would conduct diagnostic intakes as well and well as provide evidence based treatments. All cases will have been referred for psychological help with a medical condition such as pain, GI disorders, migraines, sickle cell disease, post concussion syndrome, and functional disorders. Weekly individual supervision will be provided, as well as pediatric based didactics. Students are expected to be on site (or telehealth) 2 days per week.


MWPH’s Trauma and Healing Program

MWPH’s new Trauma and Healing program offers a year-long externship for advanced students who have a strong interest in working with children and families impacted by trauma. The externs in this position will be expected to work with children ages 4-18 years old and maintain a caseload of 5-7 therapy cases on a weekly basis. Primary presentations include children and adolescents with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Developmental Trauma, Complex Trauma and other comorbid mental health conditions including anxiety, depression, disruptive/oppositional disorders, self-harm, suicidality and more. The extern will also be expected the conduct initial intakes/consultations and conduct trauma-informed evaluations (minimum of 1 case per month). During the year, students in the trauma externship program will gain exposure to several evidence-based treatments for traumatic stress, including Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT); Attachment, Regulation and Self-Competency (ARC); Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy (EMDR) and more. Externs will have the opportunity to complete the initial 2-3 day formal training in TF-CBT, which is needed for certification in TF-CBT, and will receive supervision in implementation of TF-CBT throughout the year. Students will also participate in monthly didactics with topics focused on trauma and child maltreatment. The externship position is unique and in addition to clinical work, will also involve community engagement and outreach (e.g., presentations/education to various community groups on topics related to childhood trauma). Experience/training/strong interest in working with children and families exposed to trauma is preferred. Students are expected to be on site (or telehealth) 2 days per week.


Integrated Diabetes Clinic and Integrated Primary Care

The Division of Pediatric Psychology and Neuropsychology at MWPH is seeking to fill a Psychology Externship position (12 months) within the Integrated Diabetes Clinic and Integrated Primary Care Clinic. The Integrated Diabetes Clinic is an interdisciplinary clinic where psychology works collaboratively with physicians, medical residents and fellows, dieticians, social workers, and nurses to improve/treat medication compliance, medical phobias, and psychosocial issues stemming from adjustment to chronic illness. The extern will be fully integrated in the interdisciplinary clinic as a resource for patients and physicians. In addition to treating patients in clinic, the extern will take on individual therapy patients struggling with diabetes compliance and related issues. The Integrated Primary Care Clinic (Pediatric Integrated Care for Complex Children [PICCK]) provides behavioral and primary care for children with complicated medical needs along with their siblings. Many of the children we care for have genetic conditions, orthopedic conditions, developmental delays, behavioral health problems, feeding issues, and/or other chronic medical conditions. In addition, the clinic treats infants born with complex medical conditions with the emphasis on achievement of developmental milestones. The goal is to keep patients healthy and minimize the need for emergency care and hospitalization. The program aims to enhance and streamline healthcare and improve each child and family’s quality of life. The extern in this position will be housed within the interdisciplinary PICCK Clinic and work closely with physicians, nurses, medical residents, psychiatry, social work, and parent advocates. The extern may take on patients with chronic and acute medical conditions for individual therapy. Weekly supervision will be provided as well as group supervision and didactics. The extern is also expected to conduct psychological assessments once a month and occasionally conduct psychological intakes. The externship program at MWPH is a 20 hour per week commitment. You are expected to be on site for 16 hours per week. The additional 4 hours can be spent at your discretion to complete paperwork and can be completed off-site. Wednesday and Friday are required days.