Located in Baltimore Maryland, and closely affiliated with the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Kennedy Krieger Institute (KKI) is an internationally recognized center that is dedicated to improving the lives of children and young adults with pediatric developmental disabilities and disorders of the brain, spinal cord and musculoskeletal system, through patient care, special education, research, and professional training. KKI serves patients from local areas, national, and international locations. Over 80 clinical programs address a variety of medical, behavioral, mental health, and educational needs of the patients served, including elementary through secondary school programs. Within KKI are outpatient mental health clinics in which doctoral interns in the Center for Child and Family Traumatic Stress/Psychiatric Mental Health Program (CCFTS/PMHP) receive training.
The aim of the doctoral internship at the Kennedy Krieger Institute/Johns Hopkins School of Medicine Center for Child and Family Traumatic Stress/Psychiatric Mental Health Program is to prepare interns in health services psychology with competencies for providing evaluation and treatment to children and families affected by psychological trauma and other developmental and psychiatric disorders. This training aim follows directly from our work with children and families affected by trauma and developmental disorders in the context of a large urban medical center serving a diverse, generally underserved population.
Interns obtain training and experience in providing diagnostic intake assessments that are used to match clients with specific evidence-based treatments. Under the supervision of licensed psychologists, they provide individual, family, and group psychotherapy as well as psychological assessments.
Center for Child and Family Traumatic Stress. Interns obtain training and experience in providing diagnostic intake evaluations that are used to match clients with specific evidence based treatments. Under the supervision of licensed psychologists, they provide individual, family, and group psychotherapy as well as psychological evaluations for the population served at KKI. CCFTS offers trauma-informed, evidence-supported and culturally sensitive mental health assessment and treatment services. Evidence-based approaches offered include: Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral, Parent-Child Interaction Therapy, and Child Parent Psychotherapy. CCFTS also offers specialty services for: sexual abuse survivors; adolescents with high-risk tension reduction behaviors; military families; children with intellectual and developmental disabilities; children birth to five years old; Spanish speaking families; deaf and hard of hearing families; and families with multigenerational trauma. CCFTS also provides community services including case-management and school-based mental health treatment.
Psychiatric Mental Health Program. The PMHP program provides clinical services through psychology, psychiatry, and social work disciplines to address complex mental health and developmental conditions in children and youth. Evidence-based approaches provided include: Exposure and Response Prevention for obsessive-compulsive disorder, Comprehensive Behavioral Intervention for Tics (C-BIT), as well as TF-CBT. Because of the variety of clinical presentations interns are paired with psychologists who have a range of specialties to address individual child and family needs. They also provide diagnostic intake interviews including training in the KSADS structured clinical interview and psychological assessments.