Medical College of Wisconsin Clinical Psychology Fellowship

Clinically, the fellowship will provide inpatient and outpatient psychological treatment to patients requiring emergency surgery due to injury (e.g., from motor vehicle collision, firearm injury) or critical illness. The most common patient populations served include those with internal and orthopedic injuries, traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, limb amputations, and polytrauma, in addition to acute care surgery patients with emergent non-injury medical conditions. Inpatient work involves brief assessment and intervention and draws upon core clinical health psychology skills. Outpatient work focuses on evidence-based treatments for psychological sequelae of trauma or acute illness, particularly depression, anxiety, grief, and adjustment difficulties following injury (e.g., amputation).

The fellow will be an integral member of a dynamic and passionate multidisciplinary team that includes surgeons, advanced practice providers, nurses, pharmacists, social workers, and physical and occupational therapists. The integrated trauma psychology service is well-regarded by our interdisciplinary colleagues, making this an especially fulfilling department in which to gain postdoctoral experience. The program includes four supervising faculty psychologists, an intern (as a part of an APA-accredited health psychology internship across Froedtert Hospital/MCW), and graduate students acquiring external training for their doctoral programs. As a result, the fellow will gain valuable experience in supervising trainees under the supervision of licensed faculty.

In addition to this robust clinical training, the fellow will have research time dedicated to our DOD-funded clinical trial examining modified prolonged exposure therapy. This critical training opportunity will foster development in clinical trials research and delivery of treatment within a research capacity. Further, the fellowship involves participation in the Milwaukee Trauma Outcomes Project, a research collaborative that includes researchers in health psychology, trauma, clinical and translational neuroscience, trauma surgery, and emergency medicine. As part of this research group, the fellow will have the opportunity to design and implement their own research project(s) and contribute to ongoing federally funded research studies. Beyond these opportunities, the fellow will be expected to contribute to manuscript development with ongoing and completed research projects and to present research findings at local and national conferences. The fellow will receive financial support for research dissemination and professional development activities.

Learn more about the Milwaukee Trauma Outcomes Project