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Site Name: VA Palo Alto Health Care System

Department: Sierra Pacific MIRECC

Department : Sierra Pacific MIRECC

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Member Site Information
APPIC Member Number: 9121
Program Type: Post Doctoral
Membership Type: Full Membership
Site: VA Palo Alto Health Care System
Department: Sierra Pacific MIRECC
Address: VAPAHCS
MIRECC (151Y)
3801 Miranda Ave
Palo Alto, California 94304
Country: United States
Metro Area: Not Applicable
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA
Distance from Major City: 50 south of San Francisco
Phone: 650-493-5000x63432
Fax: 650-852-3297
Email: JKaci@stanford.edu
Web Address: http://www.mirecc.va.gov/visn21/
Brochure Website's Address:
Primary Agency Type: Veterans Affairs Medical Center
Additional Agency Types:
  • Veterans Affairs Medical Center
Member of APPIC since: 2014
Accreditation
APA Accreditation Accredited
CPA Accreditation Not Accredited
Postdoctoral Staff/Faculty Information
Training Director: Kaci Fairchild
Chief Psychologist: Jeanette Hsu
Number of Full-Time Licensed Doctoral Psychologists on Staff/Faculty 32
Number of Part-Time Licensed Doctoral Psychologists on Staff/Faculty 0
Number of Non-Psychologist Staff/Faculty who Supervise Post-docs 8
Position Information
Start Date: 09/01/2024
Funded
Number of Full Time Slots Expected Next Class: 1
Number of Part Time Slots Expected Next Class: 0
Stipend
Full Time Annual Stipend for Next Class: 63885
Part Time Annual Stipend for Next Class: 0
Fringe Benefits: Health Insurance, Licensing Exam Release Time, Life Insurance, Professional Development Time, Sick Leave, Vacation
Other Fringe Benefits (not indicated above):
Brief description of the typical work day for a postdoc at this training site
Does this site have practicum psychology students on site? Yes
Doctoral Psychology Practicum StudentsYes
Masters Psychology Practicum StudentsNo
Do Psychology Interns/Postdocs Have the Opportunity to Supervise Practicum Students?Yes
Is this program fully affiliated with one or more doctoral programs? No
Is this program partially affiliated with one or more doctoral programs? No
Postdoctoral Application Process
Application Due Date: 11/14/23
How to obtain application info: Email the Program
Preferred method of contacting the program: Email the Program
We have matched with interns from these programs:
The program uses the APPA Centralized Application Service: Yes
Interviews at this site are: Not Offered
A Virtual Interview is: Required
Interview notification date: 11/17/2023
Tentative interview date: 11/27/2023, 11/28/2023
Interview process description:

The VISN 21 MIRECC will only hold virtual interviews in 2023.  Interviews will be held on Monday, November 27 and Tuesday, November 28.  Interviews are scheduled for a full day and will include meetings with the Director and Co-Director of Training, Selection Committee members, research mentors, and current fellows. We will try to accommodate requests for meetings with specific staff, and interviewees are encouraged to contact faculty or current residents whom they were not able to meet.

 
Postdoctoral Applicant Requirements
US Citizenship Required: Yes
If NOT a U.S. Citizen, Authorization to Work in the US is Required No
Canadian Citizenship Required: No
If NOT a Canadian Citizen, Authorization to Work in Canada is Required: No
This institution, department, internship, or postdoctoral program requires trainees to sign a statement about personal behavior and/or religious beliefs as a condition of admission and/or retention in the program: No
How to obtain text of statement:
Program Description

The Sierra Pacific Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center (MIRECC) at VA Palo Alto is now accepting applications from Psychologists for its two-year Post-Doctoral Advanced Fellowship Program in Mental Illness Research and Treatment. The mission of the Sierra Pacific MIRECC is to build an integrated system of clinical, research, and educational efforts designed to improve the clinical care for aging veterans with dementias and with PTSD. Dementia and PTSD share common clinical symptoms including cognitive difficulties, sleep disorders, and agitation and the Sierra Pacific MIRECC aims to evaluate current approaches and develop new treatments for these clinical problems. As such, the Sierra Pacific MIRECC Fellowship provides specialized training in two emphasis areas: Geropsychology and PTSD

Fellows devote most of their time to patient-oriented research and education activities and 25% to direct patient clinical care. In collaboration with their mentors, Fellows will develop and implement a research project, publish, and present findings, participate in grant writing, and utilize the latest technology for educational activities and clinical service delivery. The Sierra Pacific MIRECC is formally affiliated with Stanford University School of Medicine. 

Applicants must have received a doctorate from an APA or CPA accredited graduate program in Clinical, Counseling, or Combined Psychology or PCSAS accredited Clinical Science program. Persons with a doctorate in another area of psychology who meet the APA or CPA criteria for respecialization training in Clinical, Counseling, or Combined Psychology are also eligible. Applicants must have also completed an APA or CPA accredited psychology internship program. Fellows must be U.S. citizens. The current annual postdoctoral fellowship stipend is $63,833.

To apply to our fellowship program, you must submit via email the required application elements listed below. The fellowship brochure is updated in the fall of each year and can be accessed through the Sierra Pacific MIRECC’s website (https://www.mirecc.va.gov/visn21/fellowship.asp). 

Sierra Pacific MIRECC Fellowship Faculty Interests

Sherry Beaudreau, PhD, ABPP: late life subsyndromal psychiatric symptoms and cognitive impairment; behavioral interventions with a strong interest in problem solving therapy; predictors of treatment response; male sexual dysfunction and sleep disorders

Tim Durazzo, PhD: Evaluation of repetitive transcranial magnet stimulation (rTMS) for treatment for alcohol use disorders; neurobiological and neurocognitive predictors of relapse in alcohol/substance use disorders; neurobiological and neurocognitive consequences of cigarette smoking

Andrea Goldstein-Piekarski, PhD: to identify novel sleep and neuroimaging related biomarkers of treatment response; use of machine learning; transdiagnostic subtypes of dysfunction; advanced neuroimaging and computational methods to examine the role of sleep physiology in psychopathology across lifespan

Kaci Fairchild, PhD, ABPP: effects of physical activity on cognitive function; psychosocial interventions for dementia and TBI caregivers; biological and neuropsychological mechanisms of physical exercise; cognitive training; neurological sequalae of Long COVID

Corey Keller, MD, PhD: neuroimaging; electrophysiological techniques; brain plasticity; transdiagnostic personalized brain stimulation

Michelle Madore, PhD: environmental and biological influences on brain function, mood regulation, and cognition; neurostimulation (e.g., rTMS); clinical neuropsychology

Claudia Padula, PhD: providing novel, innovative, and exciting science to improve treatment outcomes for Veterans with addiction; use of multimodal brain imaging techniques, cognitive and neuropsychological measures, socio-demographic and clinical information in personalized medicine 

Julie Weitlauf, PhD: women Veteran’s physical and mental health; impact of interpersonal violence and PTSD on psychosocial functioning; preventative women’s health care; factors associated with women’s peri- and post-menopausal health and mortality risks

Lea Williams, PhD: advanced imaging and computational approaches (e.g., MRI, EEG; genomics; tests of emotional and cognitive performance); neural mechanisms of mental illness; translational medicine; predictors of treatment response 

Jamie Zeitzer, PhD: effects of light on human health; artificial lighting and circadian system, alertness centers, and mood regulators; role of circadian and sleep systems in brain-based diseases including Alzheimer’s disease, breast cancer, SCI, PTSD, and TBI

 

Postdoctoral Training Opportunities

Populations
Infants:
Toddlers:
Children:
Adolescents:
Adults: Yes
Family:
Older Adults: Yes
Inpatients: Yes
Outpatients: Yes
Gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender:
Ethnic minorities: Yes
Spanish-speaking:
French-speaking:
Deaf/Hearing-impaired:
Students:
International Students:
Rural:
Urban:
Low income: Yes
Homelessness: Yes
Other:

(training opportunities continued)

Treatment Modalities
Assessment: Major Area of Study (50% or Greater)
Individual Therapy: Major Area of Study (50% or Greater)
Couples Therapy: Major Area of Study (50% or Greater)
Family Therapy: Major Area of Study (50% or Greater)
Group Therapy: Major Area of Study (50% or Greater)
Community Intervention:
Consultation/Liaison: Major Area of Study (50% or Greater)
Crisis Intervention: Major Area of Study (50% or Greater)
Brief Psychotherapy: Major Area of Study (50% or Greater)
Long-term Psychotherapy: Major Area of Study (50% or Greater)
Cognitive Rehabilitation: Major Area of Study (50% or Greater)
Primary Care: Major Area of Study (50% or Greater)
Evidenced Based Practice: Major Area of Study (50% or Greater)
Evidence Based Research: Major Area of Study (50% or Greater)
Supervision of Practicum students : Major Area of Study (50% or Greater)
Other:

(training opportunities continued)

Experience
Health Psychology: Major Area of Study (50% or Greater)
Women's Health: Major Area of Study (50% or Greater)
HIV/AIDS:
Eating Disorders:
Sexual Disorders:
Sports Psychology:
Rehabilitation Psychology: Experience (21% to 30%)
Physical Disabilities: Exposure (1% to 20%)
Learning Disabilities:
Developmental Disabilities:
Assessment: Major Area of Study (50% or Greater)
Neuropsychology-Adult: Major Area of Study (50% or Greater)
Neuropsychology-Child:
Serious Mental Illness: Major Area of Study (50% or Greater)
Anxiety Disorders: Major Area of Study (50% or Greater)
Trauma/PTSD: Major Area of Study (50% or Greater)
Sexual Abuse:
Substance Use Disorders: Experience (21% to 30%)
Forensics/Corrections:
Sexual Offenders:
Geropsychology: Major Area of Study (50% or Greater)
Pediatrics:
School:
Counseling:
Vocational/Career Development:
Multicultural Therapy:
Feminist Therapy:
Religion/Spirituality:
Empirically-Supported Treatments: Major Area of Study (50% or Greater)
Public Policy/Advocacy:
Program Development/Evaluation: Major Area of Study (50% or Greater)
Supervision: Major Area of Study (50% or Greater)
Research: Major Area of Study (50% or Greater)
Administration: Major Area of Study (50% or Greater)
Integrated health care - primary: Major Area of Study (50% or Greater)
Integrated health care - specialty: Major Area of Study (50% or Greater)
Other:

Additional information about training opportunities: Not all rotations or training experiences may be available as described in the APPIC Directory. Please consult the program's application materials or their website at: http://www.mirecc.va.gov/visn21/  for a complete description of the training opportunities available at this training site. IF the site has not updated their information by August 1, feel free to contact the Training Director for additional information.

Summary of the Characteristics of the Specified Postdoctoral Class
2017-2018 2018-2019 2019-2020 2020-2021 2021-2022 2022-2023 2023-2024
Number of Completed Applications: 9 8 10 4 4 9 5
Where did Former Postdoctoral Fellows Go (1st Placement)?
2022-2023
Total Number of post-docs: 4
Still a Postdoctoral Fellow: 3
Academic teaching:
Community mental health center: 0
Consortium: 0
University Counseling Center: 0
Hospital/Medical Center: 0
Veterans Affairs Health Care System: 0
Psychiatric facility: 0
Correctional facility: 0
Health Maintenance Organization: 0
School district/system: 0
Independent practice setting: 0
Other (Academic Psychology Department): 0
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