Fenway Health
SUPERVISED TRAINING INTERNSHIPS/PLACEMENTS FOR GRADUATE STUDENTS IN SOCIAL WORK, COUNSELING, AND PSYCHOLOGY
Overview
For the past 20+ yrs the Behavioral Health Department has trained graduate and post-doctoral students in the field of mental health. Most students have completed at least one prior clinical practicum and are placed at Fenway Health (FH)for the academic year. [Occasionally we accept one student for a summer block placement in our Substance Abuse Treatment Program. We also at times accept a first year student for the academic year with our Medical Case Management team; however this placement involves just case management, not any other clinical opportunities.]
We have 3 locations: a) our main site at 1340 Boylston St., Boston, MA 02215, b) our South End site at 142 Berkley St. Boston, MA 02116 and c) The Sidney Borum Jr. Health Center at 75 Kneeland St. Boston, MA 02111
We utilize an interdisciplinary approach with our staff, which is comprised of social workers, mental health counselors, psychologists, psychiatrists, victim advocates, substance abuse counselors, case managers and acupuncturists. Our therapeutic orientationsinclude psychodynamic, CBT, DBT, and psychoeducational models.
Clinical students are affiliated with one of the following programs, with the VRP, BHSP and the SATP being split between those programs and the psychotherapy services:
1) Psychotherapy services (evaluations, individual, group, and couples therapies, long and short term treatment),
2) Violence Recovery Program (VRP)(advocacy and therapy for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) victims of anti-lgbt violence/harassment, sexual assault and domestic violence),
3) Behavioral Health Specialist in Primary Care Program (BHSP) (short term, skill-based interventions and interventions which address the behavioral health issues of our medical patients as they relate to health, compliance with medical recommendations, crisis intervention, screening patients for depression, etc)
4) Substance Abuse Treatment Program (SATP) (using acupuncture and group counseling for substance abusers)
5) Sidney Borum Jr. Health Center (SBHC) ( which targets service provision for high risk youth ages 12-29, including homeless youth, LGBTQ, HIV+ youth, and young people of color, who otherwise experience difficulty in accessing medical and behavioral health services in more traditional healthcare settings.)
Students conduct diagnostic evaluations and carry a clinical caseload and have other activities, depending on their program affiliation. FH serves a large population of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender clients and many HIV infected people. We also provide treatment for our medical patients who are diverse in terms of sexual orientation, gender identity, age race, ethnicity and socioeconomic status.
Students may be able to co-lead the following groups with a staff member: CBT for Anxiety Group, CBT for Depression Group, LGBT Cancer Support Group, LGBT Mood Disorders Group, General Mood Disorders Group, HIV & Depression Group, and a Gay Men’s Mood Disorders group. The intern in the BHSP program may co-lead a Stress Management Group or a group focused on a particular medical condition. The intern in the Substance Abuse Treatment Program may co-lead a Sobriety Skills & Support Group and/or a Relapse Prevention Group. The intern in the VRP program may co-lead the Trauma Recovery Group, a Male Sexual Assault Group and/or the Mindfulness & Movement Group. 2 interns may be able to together co-lead the Exploring Sexual Orientation Group.
Training schedule and expectations
The training program begins the Monday after Labor Day and ends the Friday before Memorial Day. Students are expected to be on site 24 hours per week, including 2 evenings. Interns placed solely in the psychotherapy program will carry 7-9 individual cases, do a diagnostic evaluation/week and co-lead one or two groups. Interns affiliated with one of the other programs located at our main location, spend ½ time in that program and have a reduced caseload in the psychotherapy program. The intern at the SBHC will carry 9-12 clinical hours that include individual therapy and evaluations and group work mostly at SBHC but also at our main location. The interns affiliated with the Behavioral Health Specialist Team might split their time between our main location and out South End location.
All interns receive 1 hr of individual supervision for their individual therapy/behavioral health specialist cases, 2 hours of supervision in a group for some of their diagnostic evaluations and certain groups, and additional supervision from the staff member with whom they are paired for diagnostic evaluations and groups.
On Monday or Tuesday there is a didactic seminar usually from 8:45-9:45 am. On Mondays there is also an experiential/support group from 10-11 and group supervision, usually from 11-1.
On Tuesdays there are regular department meetings from 10-1:30
These include weekly intake, crisis management and treatment planning meetings, monthly in-services, monthly department meetings and monthly all Fenway staff meetings.
In addition, each program has meetings that the intern placed in that program should attend:
Violence Recovery Program: every Wed. from 11-1
Substance Abuse: Every Thursday from 1-2
Behavioral Health Specialist Team: Wednesdays from 10-11
Sidney Borum HC: Wednesdays 10:00 for Behavioral Health. Some joint meetings with the Medical Dept last until 12:30. (For students not in field placement on Wednesdays, SBHC will make individual plans to ensure when applicable, that the intern’s cases are presented and reviewed as required.)
Application Process
We have a maximum of 5training slots available. These slots are open to graduate school trainees of all disciplines (psychology, social work and counseling) and to post-degree/post-doctoral candidates. There is strong competition for the slots.
We would like our interns to have had prior experience as individual therapists; therefore, we prefer students to be in at least their second year of training. We look for students who are able to be sensitive to the life circumstances of our client population, and who can function independently while handling the stress of a fast-paced, demanding environment.
Interested students should submit a resume, cover letter and 2 letters of recommendation electronically to Rhonda Linde, Ph.D., Coordinator of Behavioral Health Training at
If the student appears to be a suitable candidate they may be asked to come in for an interview with the Training Coordinator and another supervising clinician from the FH staff. References will be checked.
We require applicants to submit completed applications by January 1 as we try to make a decision by the beginning of February. We try to create a cohesive group of interns who are at approximately the same level of training and experience.
Fenway Forum Behavioral Health Seminar Series For Graduate Interns & Fenway Staff 2013-14
Date / Title / Presenter(s)Sept. 16 / Suicide Assessment and Emergency Procedures / Jennifer McLain
Sept. 17 / Understanding Domestic Violence / Greta Spoering
Oct. 4 / Mental Status Exam & Symptom Checklist / Jennifer McLain
Oct. 7 / Supervision Soup: The Recipe for Navigating Supervision / Tfawa Haynes
Oct 8 / Writing Treatment Plans & Progress Notes / Ben Kudler
Oct. 15 / Serious Illness & Psychopharmacology / Kevin Kapila
Oct. 21 / LGBT Issues / Melissa Savage & Thomas Lewis
Oct. 28 / Negotiating Boundaries Living & Practicing in a Small Community / Rich Cook & Rhonda Linde
Oct. 29 / Working with Trans & Gender Non-conforming Clients / Ruben Hopwood
Nov. 4 / HIV Medical Issues / Jerry Feuer
Nov. 5 / HIV Risk Assessment/Testing/Safer Sex / Doug Hein
Nov. 12 / HIV Case Management / Caroline Warren
Nov 19 / Substance Abuse and the LGBT Community / Frank Busconi & Melissa Savage
Nov. 25 / Hate Crimes & Sexual Assault / Cara Presley-Kimball
Nov. 26 / Counseling Issues for Persons Recently Diagnosed with HIV / Doug Hein
Dec. 2 / Working with LGBQT immigrants, refugees, and asylees / CarmenLeah Ascencio
Dec. 3 / Inside the Mind of an Addict and how 12 Step Programs Work / George McAvoy
Dec. 10 / Including the Body in Psychotherapy / Andrew Fieleke
Jan. 13 / Trauma Assessment / Guy Croteau
Jan. 21 / Crystal Meth / Will Halpin
Jan. 27 / DBT Toolbox: the Basics of Mindfulness and Distress / Janet Lantry
Jan. 28 / Emotion Regulation and Interpersonal Effectiveness Skills / Janet Lantry
Feb. 3 / Eating Disorders / Jennifer McLain
Feb 4 / Bisexuality / Jessica Newman
Feb. 10 / Trauma – Treatment Options / Guy Croteau
Feb. 18 / BDSM / Thomas Lewis
Feb. 24 / LGBT Youth / Rachel Oppenheimer
Mar. 17 / Working with LGBTQ Couples / Sixto Munoz
Mar. 18 / LGBT Elders / Don Farr
Mar. 24 / Mental Health and Wellness – Beyond Pathology / Jennifer McLain
Apr. 1 / Spiritual Assessments and Implications in Treatment / Ruben Hopwood
Apr. 7 / Being with Dying: Sitting With; Sitting Still / Claire Willis
Apr. 14 / ADHD / Rich Cook
Apr. 28 / Sexual Compulsivity / David Todisco
Apr. 29 / LGBT Family Formation / Liz Coolidge
May 5 / Boundaries and Events in the Therapist’s Life / Joyce Collier and Rhonda Linde
May 12 / Mindful Self-Compassion / Andrew Fieleke
FENWAY HEALTH
BEHAVIORAL HEALTH
STAFF DEVELOPMENT
2013-14
All trainings will take place in room 9A
For any questions or concerns about these programs, contact Rhonda Linde, Ph.D. at 617-927-6206 Email:
DATE /TITLE
/ PRESENTER / TIME / LEARNING OBJECTIVES9/10/13 / Gender Transition and Family Dynamics: The Clinical Approach to Complex Situations / Scott Leibowitz, MD / 11:30-12:30 /
- Identify rejecting, ambivalent, accepting, and supportive behaviors towards a gender-transitioning adolescent in families.
- Use targeted therapy techniques to approach challenging clinical situations in families struggling with gender transitioning adolescents.
- Identify resources to use with parents and siblings of adolescents who are transitioning to an opposite or alternative gender.
10/8/13 / Surgical Gender Affirmation: Options and Assessments / Ruben Hopwood / 12-1 /
- Participants will be able to name and broadly define at least two surgical options available both
- Participants will be able to define what information is needed in a surgical referral letter
- Participants will be able to name what surgical options are available within the state of MA and
11/12/13 / Essentials of Motivational Interviewing / Tracey Rogers, Ph.D. / 12-1 /
- Identify core features of motivational interviewing as it is applied to short term clinical work.
- Explain differences between the Motivational Interviewing approach and other short and longer-term approaches to therapy.
- Utilize Motivational Interviewing skills in helping clients articulate and move beyond ambivalence toward change.
12/10/13 / Motivational Interviewing and Treatment Planning / Tracey Rogers, Ph.D. / 12-1 /
- Apply basic Motivational Interviewing skills and techniques in engaging clients in discussions of short term therapy treatment goals.
- Create clear and concise goals and objectives for short-term therapy.
- Utilize Motivational Interviewing skills to help with the decision making about termination of treatment.
2/11/14 / How do we Think About Normal Development? / Cynthia Telingator, MD / 12-1 /
- Identify the developmental stages that are relevant for each member of the family and the impact of this on the family system.
- Identify the practical applications of assessing normal development and developmental arrest in therapy.
- Identify the relevant issues that arise for each member of the family based on Erik Erikson at each developmental state across the life cycle.
3/11/14 / Strategies for Addressing Traumatic or Stressful Life Experiences / Conall O’Cleirigh, PhD / 12-1 /
- Obtain knowledge of recent scientific support for cognitive behavioral strategies in the treatment of gay and bisexual men with histories of childhood sexual abuse
- Learn about the application of a guided written essay to support treatment of people managing stressful or traumatic life events.
- Learn strategies for identifying problematic thinking patterns in written interpretations of stressful/traumatic life events
4/8/14 / Overview of CBT for ADHD in Adults / Steve Safren, PhD / 12-1 /
- Understand some of the empirical support for CBT treatment for adult ADHD
- Understand some of the quality of life and functional impairments associated with ADHD in adulthood