Christ Community Health Services (CCHS) is a faith-based community of medical, dental, pharmacy and behavioral healthcare providers committed to providing a Primary Care Based Medical Home (PCMH) integrated care ministry to the low-income communities of Memphis, TN.  Our Clinical Internship exists to train the next generation of clinical psychologists in the culturally competant, evidence-based skills of population based primary care clinical services and general clinical skill proficiency. Our aim is to cultivate psychologists who are clinically mature, ethically aware of diversity and religious integration, and trauma informed for the provision of excellent psychological care for those who live low-income communities. The goal of the CCHS Primary Care Health Psychology Internship is to produce doctoral trained psychologists with competencies in general behavioral health and primary care psychology who are uniquely aware of the biopsychosocial needs of the low-income communities in Memphis TN and the midsouth region. 

CCHS is committed to the holistic health of the communities where we serve. Many of our patients have experienced inter-generational poverty and live at or below the Federal Poverty level. As a Federal Health Qualified Center (FHQC) CCHS has established our clinics in communities that have been depleted of services and resources. We work to build centers of health and healing that uplift and empower people and communities. Our outreach ministries work to deliver service and give hope and healing from a place of love and respect, serving all community members of diverse faith and socioeconomic circumstances in the name of Jesus.

CCHS integrated behavioral health department is an important component of services embedded within our primary care teams. Our Behavioral health consultant (BHC) team members are trained as psychologists, clinical social workers or clinical mental health counselors and are committed to the training of future psychologists to work with underserved populations and communities in a primary care setting incorporating a faith-integrative perspective. Working alongside our BHC team, interns will learn how to diagnose and screen for health behavior concerns and psychological disorders, design problem and strength-based behavior change plans, coordinate treatment planning with medical providers, and increase knowledge of pharmacological treatments.

The behavioral health department has been recognized annually as a PCMH Behavioral Health provider of Distinction for Western TN since 2019. The BHC department serves patients across the lifespan, from birth to geriatric care.

Common concerns include screening for and intervention for mental health concerns (e.g. depression, anxiety, post-partum adjustment, relational issues, medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorder); coping with chronic illness; managing life stressors (e.g. poverty, immigration status, community violence, trauma); behavioral change (e.g. weight loss, smoking cessation, medication compliance), and lifestyle change (e.g. physical activity, alcohol use). Consistent with the Primary Care Behavioral Health Consultation Model interns will serve on multidisciplinary health care teams and conduct same-day consults with patients referred by their providers, as well as scheduled brief interventions and group based interventions.

Interns completing their primary rotation at CCHS will be trained in the Behavioral Health Consultant model (BHC), a psychological approach to population-based clinical health care that is simultaneously co-located, collaborative, and integrated within the primary care clinic. The training year will be divided into 25-week major rotations at Raliegh Clinic and Frayser Clinic, and four 12-week minor rotations focused on specific clinical learning goals co-chosen by the Intern and clinical training committee. Potential minor rotations include Community primary care (Orange Mound), PREP/HIV/AIDS Care, Metabolic Disorders, Pediatric Primary Care, Women’s Health, Refugee/Immigrant Care, Family/Parenting Support at our Family Solutions Program, Homeless Care Services and Medication Assisted Therapy for Opiates. Minor rotation options may vary based on supervision availability and clinic space. All interns will also learn telehealth services to our rural and school-based clinics. Interns will also have opportunity for Autism/ADHD and Cognitive Assessment. They will complete a minimum of two batteries each rotation. 

Christ Community hosts practicum students through our collaboration with the University of Memphis, and Interns will have opprortunity to learn supervision.