The VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System
Clinical Psychology Internship Program
2009-2009

V. 23 October 2008 -

APPIC Program Code numbers:

135912 Mental Health Rotations (3 positions)
135913 Neuropsychology/Geropsychology/Health Psychology Rotations (4 positions)

This internship site agrees to abide by the APPIC policy that no person at this training facility will solicit, accept or use any ranking-related information from any intern applicant.

This internship is accredited by the American Psychological Association. Questions about the accreditation and the accreditation process can be addressed to the Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation, American Psychological Association, 750 First Street N.E., Washington DC, 20002 (202-336-5979)

Contents:

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The VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System offers an intensive Clinical Psychology internship program in a hospital setting with inpatient, outpatient and rehabilitation services. Our internship program is APA-approved. The program provides a unique opportunity to work with male and female veterans experiencing a wide range of physical, emotional and interpersonal problems, while receiving careful supervision from a highly-skilled staff. The internship begins on September 1 and ends on August 31.

This internship is accredited by the American Psychological Association. Questions about the accreditation and the accreditation process can be addressed to the Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation, American Psychological Association, 750 First Street N.E., Washington DC, 20002 (202-336-5979)

Our internship is designed to contribute to the development of competent clinical psychologists skilled in diagnosis, psychological treatments, and behavioral consultation with adults and families. Special emphasis is given to neuropsychology, geriatric psychology and health psychology training. Further, the internship includes extensive training in a variety of psychotherapeutic approaches.

Because we strongly believe that clinicians require extensive knowledge of psychological theory and thought, a thorough didactic program is offered which complements the intern's clinical work and includes training in understanding the importance of research in clinical problems.

The Ann Arbor VA Medical Center is located immediately adjacent to the University of Michigan campus and medical center. Most of our staff have substantive joint faculty appointments at the University of Michigan. Close ties with the University of Michigan's Medical School and Department of Psychology allow interns an unusually broad range of learning experiences and opportunities to consult with widely-respected mental health practitioners and personnel.

Psychology Service's Role in the Ann Arbor VA Medical Center

The Psychology Service of the Ann Arbor VA Medical Center has offered high-quality Clinical Psychology internship training for over thirty years. Our hospital is a 178-bed general medical and surgical hospital, which includes an inpatient psychiatric unit, outpatient partial hospital psychiatric program, outpatient mental health clinic, substance abuse treatment and extensive medical and other psychiatric outpatient services. The Extended Care Center (ECC), specializing in short term geriatric work, is attached to the Medical Center. Psychology has active assessment and treatment services in all these areas.

Psychological Assessment

We offer diagnostic psychological testing and consultation to all areas of the hospital, including medical wards and Psychiatry Service. Interns sharpen their diagnostic skills by testing patients with many physical, neurological and emotional complaints. Supervision is available for personality, vocational and neuropsychological testing, as well as for mapping out rehabilitation programs for patients. We use a modified Halstead-Reitan battery primarily in neuropsychological testing.

Medical Treatment Units

In addition to general surgery and medicine wards, our medical center has an active Cardiology Service, Neurology Service, an Oncology Service all of which utilize psychological services. The Medical Center is proud of its Linear Accelerator, CT, MRI and PET scanners and other state- of-the-art diagnostic devices.

Primary Care [6-month rotation]

The primary care rotation is part of the "prime" program within the VA medical training system. The program is designed to train health care professionals in primary care, that is, care which is rendered to the patient on presentation with a medical problem rather than specialized care which is provided on a referral basis. The intern thus learns to function as part of a health care "team" which seeks to address all the needs of the presenting patient in the most efficient manner. As such, the psychologist on the team will be called on to attend to the behavioral correlates of medical illness, such as issues with compliance, understanding of medical procedures, comforting of grief response, and stress/family/social exacerbation of medical symptoms. The intern will learn rapid evaluation techniques and interventions as he or she participates in Ambulatory Care Clinics on a regular basis as a member of the treatment team. In addition, the intern will participate as a team member in the Pain Clinic, dealing with the acute presentation of pain symptoms from a behavioral perspective, and learning evaluation and intervention techniques to minimize the need for more extensive medical procedures. At the end of this rotation, the intern will be expected to be familiar with the behavioral concomitants of a wide variety of presenting medical and pain problems and to function as part of an integrated health care provider team.

Psychiatric Wards [no rotations at present]

Inpatient psychiatric services include one treatment unit housing approximately 18 veterans. Average length of stay for patients on this ward is approximately nine days. Because of the current trends toward partial hospitalization and out-patient treatment, the interns interact with the inpatient psychiatry service primarily through provision of assessment services and through screening of referrals for admission into the HIOT program. There is no primary rotation on the inpatient unit at this time, although the intern on the Neuropsychology/Consult-Liaison rotation occasionally does assessments of patients on the ward.

Outpatient Psychiatry [various rotations - see below]

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) [6-month rotation]

The Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Clinical Team (PCT) is a sub-specialty outpatient clinic providing evaluation and treatment, with a current caseload of approximately 250. Interns in the Mental Health Clinic rotation will spend about 2 days per week in the PCT. Interns will maintain 3-5 ongoing treatment cases in PCT, as well as conducting evaluations every other week. PCT provides individual, couples, and group therapy for patients with PTSD.

In addition to weekly individual supervision, interns will participate in peer supervision with other PCT staff, and will participate in weekly PCT staff meetings. This includes clinical case presentations, evaluation presentations, and didactic presentations on topics related to PTSD presented by interns and PCT staff. Recent topics have included brief psychotherapy, current research in anxiety disorders, group process, uses of countertransference in psychotherapy of PTSD, and MMPI findings in PTSD.

Mental Health Clinic (MHC) [6-month rotation]

The MHC provides an array of outpatient mental health services, including screening and assessment, crisis management, individual, couples and group psychotherapy, as well as medication management/psychiatric interventions. Specifically, the clinic offers short-term evidence-based psychotherapies (e.g., Solution-Focused Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, CBT) under the supervision of clinic psychologists. These therapies also include treatment groups focusing on anger-management, depression, coping with pain, and promotion of wellness (enhancing healthy lifestyles).

Substance Abuse Clinic (SAC) [6-month rotation]

Substance Abuse Clinic provides several services for veterans with substance misuse and/or substance use disorders. Specifically, SAC performs triage evaluations, comprehensive assessments, and outpatient treatment services (addiction pharmacology, individual, couples and group treatment). Substance Abuse Clinic also performs inpatient and outpatient consultations for all hospital services and provides. Primary treatment modalities include the Motivational Interviewing and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Interventions.

Extended Care Center (ECC) [6-month rotation]

This 60 bed unit attends to the needs of the aging veteran, often with chronic or degenerative illness, as well as those veterans who are engaged in rehabilitation programs for acute injury. The primary services delivered are neuropsychological assessment and consultation, though brief interventions and planning for post-discharge treatment are provided as well.

Medical Ethics

A key responsibility for the Psychology Service involves leadership and service to the Ann Arbor VA Healthcare System in areas of bioethics. Psychologists facilitate consultations to the entire hospital in matters concerning patients rights, autonomy, competency, end- of-life issues, and societal need. Interns may participate in these panels as they become operational and may get in-depth training in providing such services.

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The Internship Program

Our internship program allows the opportunity for students to participate in two six-month clinical rotations. The MENTAL HEALTH rotations include outpatient Mental Health Clinic (MHC), Substance Abuse Clinic (SAC) and Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Clinical Team (PCT). The NEUROPSYCHOLOGY/ GEROPSYCHOLOGY/ HEALTH PSYCHOLOGY rotations include Neuropsychology & Consult/Liaison, Geriatric Psychology in the Extended Care Center, and Primary Care Clinic (Health Psychology) placements as described below. Selection of rotations is based on interns' background and interests.

Any rotation site is considered a homebase for the six month period, since students continue to participate in all facets of the program. For example, while based in the Primary Care rotation, an intern would still carry outpatient psychotherapy cases, do psychological/neuropsychological testing and evaluate geriatric cases, although the majority of time would be devoted to the psychiatric unit.

The Primary Care Rotation [6-month rotation]

The primary health care rotation emphasizes psychological assessment and brief treatment interventions in patients presenting with acute medical illness. The intern will spend considerable time in the Pain Clinic, learning to provide psychological assessment and consultation to other health professionals in an ambulatory care, acute presentation setting. The intern will also learn treatment techniques for management of chronic pain, including behavioral interventions, recommendations for physical interventions, and more traditional counseling approaches when appropriate. The intern will also participate in other medical settings such as coverage of the General Medicine Clinics, where the intern will learn to provide psychological consultation to health care providers and provide assessment and brief intervention services to presenting patients, and the general medicine service, where the intern will participate in bed rounds, grand rounds, consultation-liaison activities. This rotation will concentrate on providing the intern with experience in working as part of the medical teams in different parts of the hospital setting, and emphasize the team integration approach which increasingly characterizes the interface between psychology and other services in managed health care settings. The interns also participate in patient education, with recent lectures to patient groups on behavioral/stress aspects of managing diabetes, and smoking cessation.

The Geriatric Rotation in the Extended Care Center (ECC) [6-month rotation]

The ECC rotation, also six months, exposes interns to the varieties of illness and injury which affect the neuropsychological and emotional functioning of the elderly and traumatically injured. Aging veterans with chronic or degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, vascular dementia or cancer are among the patients assessed and treated. The Center, run in conjunction with the VA's Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center (GRECC) is also affiliated with the Institute of Gerontology at the University of Michigan. Interns here learn the appropriate use of neuropsychological tests in this aging group by administering both a brief cognitive functions screening battery given all patients and full neuropsychological batteries for patients requiring further work-ups. Such testing is used in determining patients' competency, functional independence and ability to return to independent living, as well as identifying patterns of cognitive deficit for differential diagnosis and treatment prescriptions.

Many ECC patients profit from specific behavioral programs, supportive psychological counseling and lifestyle adjustments. Psychology plays a major role in devising and carrying out these treatments, giving interns the opportunity to learn and evaluate brief interventions and their effectiveness. Weekly interdisciplinary staff conferences create cooperative patient treatment plans for the team (physicians, nurses, speech pathologists, physical and occupational therapists, etc.) to carry out. Interns sharpen their consultative skills in these meetings.

The Neuropsychology/Consult/Liaison Rotation [6-month rotation]

The Neuropsychology Program and Health Psychology rotation, which lasts six months, has several components designed to help the intern learn skills for the diagnosis and treatment of patients with physical and neurological problems, understand adjustment to chronic disease, and promote maintenance of positive health behavior.

During the Neuropsychology part of the rotation, interns will see both inpatients and outpatients with known and suspected organic brain problems. The interns will learn neuropsychological test procedures, interpretation of test data, and the application of test results to patient treatment plans. In addition, students have an opportunity to attend Neurology rounds and seminars to enhance their knowledge of brain functioning. Special seminars in diagnosis are regularly offered. Students in this rotation are assigned a minimum of two neuropsychological cases for diagnosis each month.

During the Consult/Liaison part of the rotation, interns learn to evaluate and treat the psychological sequelae suffered by patients with chronic illnesses. Cases include people with cancer, AIDS, chronic pain and headaches, as examples. Under the direction of a staff psychologist and psychiatrist within the consultation/liaison psychiatry team, interns assess and treat psychological needs in medical floor patients. Interns also learn acute medical- psychological crisis management techniques.

Outpatient Psychiatry Rotations [6-month rotations]

MHC [6-month rotation]: Training in the Mental Health Clinic includes thorough and careful diagnostic testing work and psychotherapy training with a wide variety of outpatient clients. Interns learn risk assessment and crisis intervention techniques, interviewing/assessment skills, and other screening techniques. Conjoint therapy cases and group therapy (anger-management, depression, pain management, wellness/lifestyle change) also are available. The Clinic offers an opportunity to work closely with a variety of mental health professionals: psychiatrists, social workers, nurse practitioners and substance abuse counselors. Supervision is provided exclusively by highly trained and experienced outpatient psychologists.

Treatment approaches include empirically supported strategies, such as CBT, Motivational Interviewing/Enhancement, and Solution-Focused/Strategic Therapies. There are opportunities for interns to work with individuals with a wide range of psychopathology from diverse backgrounds in terms of age, ethnicity and socioeconomic status. Further, there is flexibility to accommodate individual intern interests in terms of caseload, therapeutic orientation, the development/implementation of treatment groups, and program assessment/evaluation activities.

PCT [6-month rotation]: Interns on this rotation are part of the Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Clinical Team (PCT). The PCT functions as an outpatient specialty clinic within the medical center. This multi-disciplinary team provides comprehensive assessment, treatment, and research-based protocols to patients with post-traumatic stress disorder. The intern will attend teaching rounds, perform assessments, and follow cases within this specialty clinic.

Substance Abuse Clinic (SAC) [6-month rotation] The SAC rotation includes training in assessment and diagnosis, treatment planning, participating in multidisciplinary treatment, and training in empirically supported intervention approaches for individuals with substance use disorders with and without comorbidities. Psychological treatment approaches include Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Motivational Interviewing/ Enhancement Therapy, Behavioral Couples Therapy and Dialectical Behavioral Therapy. The clinic provides core therapy groups using CBT, as well as a number of specialty groups (e.g., anger-management/violence prevention, behavioral pain management, groups targeting psychiatric comorbidities). There are opportunities for interns to work with individuals with a wide range of psychopathology from diverse backgrounds in terms of age, ethnicity and socioeconomic status. Further, there is flexibility to accommodate individual intern interests in terms of caseload, the development/implementation of treatment groups, and program assessment/evaluation activities. The SAC rotation provides clinical supervision and training by licensed psychologists, as well as exposure to psychologists in administrative, leadership, clinical and research positions in a multidisciplinary setting. Finally, there are a variety of research opportunities available.

The psychologist's part in this process incorporates basic role components found generally in clinical psychologists' work: producing clear diagnostic appraisals of patient problems (by interviews, observation and formal testing); planning and carrying out treatment strategies (group therapy, individual psychotherapy, conjoint therapy, behavioral and cognitive approaches), and gauging the success of these efforts.

Interns learn these skills through their close association with a supervising staff psychologist and psychiatrist. The staff members functions as a role model, formal advisor, and colleague advisor. We strongly believe that this apprentice/colleagual model provides the intern with careful, consistent supervision while itself following the milieu principles the intern is learning to apply to patients.

Supervision

Diagnostic and Neuropsychological Testing

Interns practice and learn our battery of neuropsychological tests at the start of the year in addition to reviewing standard objective and personality test procedures. Generally, interns complete a minimum of four diagnostic and/or neuropsychological testings each month.

Psychological testing experience includes not only interpretation of tests, but also organization and integration of interview and history data. Special effort is directed to advanced interpretation of the TAT and Rorschach.

Supervision of testing is most often done on a one-to-one basis with a staff psychologist. Unusually interesting protocols are often presented to the whole intern group. Report writing that is pithy, terse and useful is emphasized.

Psychotherapy

Over the course of the year, interns are expected to master basic principles of short-term individual psychotherapy, utilizing techniques relevant to our population. Training emphasizes empirically supported specific and non-specific therapy approaches/strategies delivered in individual, conjoint or group formats. These techniques include cognitive-behavioral treatment, psychodynamic therapy, solution-focused/strategic treatment, and motivational interviewing/enhancement.

In addition to cases drawn from their rotation area, interns carry five ongoing outpatient cases plus one treatment group. Some of these cases may be seen throughout the whole year, allowing an opportunity for long-term therapy experience. Cases are drawn from a wide variety of complaints and types of psychological problems.

Cases are supervised by a licensed staff psychologist with individual and small group sessions. Approximately one hour of supervision is provided for every three hours of therapy. Supervision of group therapy and other group work is given by trained specialists in the rotation/content area.

Education

Didactic offerings for interns grow naturally out of interns' involvement in patient contacts. Since students already have basic courses in psychological theory, personality and psychopathology in their clinical programs, our didactic teaching concentrates on translating theory to applied work, offering technical information about specific diagnostic and treatment modalities, addressing ethical issues in the clinical setting, and survey literature bearing on understanding the low income veterans treated in this medical center. Lectures, seminars and group discussion using extensive case material are led by the staff and consultants to meet these goals. These learning experiences are enriched by lectures at the University of Michigan's Departments of Psychiatry, Psychology, Neurology and other relevant departments and services. Here is a partial listing of specific offerings:

Psychology Seminars

A seminar, running weekly throughout the year, staffed by medical center psychologists. Topics addressed include behavioral assessment techniques; behavioral medicine disorders; therapeutic work with blue-collar patients; issues in neuropsychology; family therapy; advanced Rorschach interpretation, and ethics in psychotherapy.

Clinical Case Conferences

A regularly scheduled conference of all psychology staff and interns presenting current diagnostic, neuropsychological, behavioral medicine or psychotherapy material of unusual interest.

Psychotherapy Seminar

This seminar meets weekly and gives the interns an opportunity to receive peer and staff supervision. Case materials are presented by interns and staff.

Elective Seminars

An unusually rich selection of special lectures and seminars in psychology and related fields is available at the University of Michigan. Interns may attend relevant offerings as they occur including the Psychobiology Colloquia, Neurology Grand Rounds, Department of Psychiatry Invited Speaker Series, etc.

Research Training

We believe that progress in understanding human behavior can come from testing hypotheses generated in clinical observations. Research involvement is therefore a necessary component of the modern health-oriented clinical psychologist. For these reasons, an understanding of the value of research is an important facet of our internship. Interns who have completed their doctoral dissertation and whose clinical case load and didactic activities allow it, are encouraged to team up with a staff member's current research work or produce a small original study (this could be in connection with a dissertation) that is relevant to hospital programs and that matches the interest of a faculty psychologist who could serve as a mentor and supervisor for the project. However, the first priority for interns is to complete their own doctoral research.

Staff at the VA are involved in many kinds of clinical research efforts, including VA and NIH funded projects (often in conjunction with other University of Michigan faculty). These activities provide students with knowledge of psychology's interface with related health disciplines. Staff are involved with projects in a variety of departments, such as Surgery, Psychiatry, Neurology, Internal Medicine, Neuroscience, the VA Serious Mental Health Treatment Research and Evaluation Center (SMITREC), the University of Michigan Addiction Research Center (UMARC), and the Mental Health Research Institute. As well as having our own computer hardware, the VA has access to the resources of the University of Michigan Computing Center, including design and statistical seminars and project consultation.

The academic commitment of our staff is reflected in its involvement in a variety of currently funded research activities. During a recent year, members of Psychology staff published twenty-one articles.

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Following is a partial list of recent publications of staff from research work done at the VA:

The academic commitment of our staff is reflected in its involvement in a variety of currently funded research activities.

Adams, K. M. (2000). Practical and ethical issues pertaining to test revisions. Psychological Assessment, 12, 281-286.

Hong, M., Shah, G.V., Adams, K.M., & Foster, N.L. (2002) Spontaneous intracranrial hypotension causing reversible frontotemporal dementia. Neurology, 58, 1285-1287.

Adams, K.M., Marks, K., Glass, J. M., Nigg, J. T., Puttler, L. I., Wong, M. M., Fitzgerald, H. E., Jester, J. M., & Zucker, R. A. (submitted). Neuropsychological performance among community dwelling men and women at varied risk for the development of chronic alcoholism. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research.

Albers JW, Wald JJ, Garabrant DH, Trask CL, Berent S. Neurologic evaluation of workers previously diagnosed with solvent-induced toxic encephalopathy. J Occup Environ Med. 2000 Apr;42(4):410-23.

Amdur, R. L., Larsen, R., & Liberzon, I. (2000). Emotional processing in combat-related PTSD: A comparison with traumatized and normal controls. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 14:219-238.

Amdur, R. L., & Liberzon, I. (2001). The structure of post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms: A confirmatory factor analysis of the Impact of Event Scale. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 15:345-357.

Blow, F.C., Barry, K.L., Walton, M.A., Maio, R.F., Chermack, S. T., Bingham, C.R., Ignacio, R.V., Strecher, V.J. (2006). The Efficacy of Brief Tailored Alcohol Messages Among Injured At-Risk Drinkers in the Emergency Department. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 67(4), 568-578.

Buchtel, H.A. (2001). Left and right hemisphere contributions to physiognomic and verbal discrimination. Neuropsychology, 15:597-606. Abstract.

Buchtel, H.A., Passaro, E., Selwa, L.M., Deveikis, J. and Gomez-Hassan, D. (2002) Sodium methohexital (Brevital) as anesthetic in the Wada Test. Epilepsia, 43(9):1056-1061. Abstract.

Cahill, S.P, Rauch, S.A.M., Hembree, E.A., & Foa, E.B. (2003). Effect of cognitive-behavioral treatments for PTSD on anger. Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy, 17, 113-131.

Chermack, S.T. & Blow, F.C. (2002). Violence among individuals in substance abuse treatment: the role of alcohol and cocaine consumption. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 66(1), 29-37.

Chermack, S.T., Booth, B.M., Curran, G.M. (2006). Gender Differences in Correlates of Recent Physical Assault among Untreated Rural and Urban At-Risk Drinkers: Role of Depression. Violence and Victims, 21, 67-80.

Chermack, S.T., Wryobeck, J.M., Walton, M.A., Blow, F.C. (2006). Distal And Proximal Factors Related To Aggression Severity Among Patients In Substance Abuse Treatment: Family History, Alcohol Use And Expectancies. Addictive Behaviors, 31, 845-858.

Foa, E.B., & Rauch, S.A.M. (2004). Cognitive changes during prolonged exposure versus prolonged exposure plus cognitive restructuring in female assault survivors with posttraumatic stress disorder. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 72(5), 879-884.

Hembree, E., Rauch, S.A.M, & Foa, E.B. (2003). Beyond the Manual: PE for PTSD. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice, 10(1), 22-30.

Johnson-Greene, D., Adams, K.M., Gilman, S., & Junck, L. (2002). Relationship between neuropsychological function and emotional distress in severe chronic alcoholism. The Clinical Neuropsychologist, 16, 300-309.

Kostoff, R.L., Buchtel, H.A., Andrews, J. and Pfeil, K.M. (2005) The hidden structure of neuropsychology: Text Mining of the Journal Cortex: 1991-2001. Cortex, 41:103-115.

Nigg, J.T., Glass, J.M., Zucker, R.A., Wong, M.M., Poon, E., Jester, J.M, Fitzgerald, H.E., Puttler, L. I, & Adams, K.M. (In Press). Neuropsychological executive functioning in children at elevated risk for alcoholism: findings in early adolescence. Journal of Abnormal Psychology.

Perlman, L. (2000) Treatment of serious mental disorders: Opportunities for practicing psychologists. Register Report, 26, 21-24.

Perlman, L. (2001) Nonspecific, unintended and serendipitous effects in psychotherapy. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 32, 283-288.

Perlman, L. & Hubbard, B (2000) A self-control skills group for persistent auditory hallucinations. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice, 7, 17-21.

Perlman, L. (2000) Adults with Asperger's disorder misdiagnosed as schizophrenic. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 31, 221-225.

Rauch, S.A.M. & Foa, E.B. (2006). Emotional processing theory and exposure therapy for PTSD. Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy, 36, 61-65.

Rauch, S.A.M., Morales, K., Zubritsky, C. & Oslin, D. (2006). Examination of PTSD in older adults in primary care. American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 14, 316-324.

Rauch, S.A.M., Foa, E.B., Furr, J.M., & Filip, J.C. (2004). Imagery Vividness and Perceived Anxious Arousal in Prolonged Exposure Treatment for PTSD. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 17, 461-465.

Ross, S. R., Putnam, S. H., Gass, C. S., Bailey, D. E., & Adams K.M. (2003) MMPI-2 indices of psychological disturbance and attention and memory test performance in head injury. Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology, 18, 905-6.

Walton, M.A., Blow, F.C., Bingham, C.R., Chermack, S.T (2003). Individual and Social/Environmental predictors of alcohol and drug use two years following substance abuse treatment. Addictive Behaviors, 28, 627-642.

Walton, M.A., Cunningham, R.M., Chermack, S.T., Maio, R., Blow, F.C., Weber, J. (2007). Gender differences in violence history among injured patients in an Urban Emergency Department. Journal of Addictive Diseases, 26(3), 57-71.

Wryobeck, J.W., Chermack, S.T., Closser, M.H., Blow, F.C. (2006). Using the Addiction Severity Index to Predict Mental and Medical Health Service Utilization. Journal of Addictive Diseases, 25, 1-14.

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Internship Faculty

VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System Psychology Service


Kenneth M. Adams, PhD, ABPP
Associate Chief for Education, Mental Health Service, VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System
Director of Training, Clinical Psychology Internship and Postdoctoral Programs
Chair, Medical Ethics Committee, VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System
Professor of Psychology
Departments of Psychiatry and Psychology, University of Michigan
Diplomate, ABPP, Clinical Psychology and Clinical Neuropsychology
Ph.D., 1974, Wayne State University
Editorial Board:
The Clinical Neuropsychologist (Editor)
Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology
Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology
Psychology and Aging
Neuropsychology
Specialty: Neuropsychology

Winnetha S. Benn, PhD
Staff Psychologist, VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System
Recovery Coordinator, Mental Health Service
Ph.D., 1989, Wayne State University
Specialties: Neuropsychology, individual psychotherapy

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Linas A. Bieliauskas, PhD, ABPP
Clinical Neuropsychologist, VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System
Associate Professor of Psychology,
Departments of Psychiatry and Psychology, University of Michigan
Diplomate, ABPP, Clinical Psychology and Clinical Neuropsychology
Ph.D., 1976, Ohio University
Editorial Board:
Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology
The Clinical Neuropsychologist (Associate Editor)
Specialty: Neuropsychology

Henry "Gus" Buchtel, PhD
Chief, Neuropsychology Section, VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System
Mental Health Service
Associate Professor of Psychology
Departments of Psychiatry and Psychology, University of Michigan
Ph.D., 1969, McGill University
Editorial Board: Cortex
Specialties: Neuropsychology, Epilepsy
surgery, functional brain imaging (PET & fMRI)

Steve Chermack, Ph.D.
Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychology
Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan
Chief, Substance Abuse Clinic
V.A. Ann Arbor Healthcare System
Ph.D. 1994, Kent State University
Specialties: Substance abuse and mental health,
including treatment engagement and outcome, violence and victimization,
health care utilization and severe mental illness.

Todd Favorite, Ph.D.
Staff Psychologist, PTSD Section
Mental Health Service
VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System
Ph.D. 2006, Fielding Graduate University
Specialties: Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, co-morbid PTSD and Major
Depressive Disorder, insomnia and trauma nightmares, psychotherapy
integration, psychotherapeutic alliance, and group psychotherapy.

Nicholas Giardino, Ph.D.
Staff Psychologist, Chief of the PTSD Clinic
VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System
and Assistant Professor of Psychology
Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan
Ph.D. 2001, Rutgers University
Specialties: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Anxiety in
chronic medical illness.

Lawrence Perlman. PhD
Staff Psychologist, Mental Health Clinic
VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System
and Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychology
Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan
and Adjunct Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology
Ph.D., 1972 New York University
Specialties: Common factors and integration of psychotherapy approaches;
health psychology groups for wellness, insomnia treatment,
and pain management; therapy outcome research; treatment of depression, anxiety,
eating, and oppositional disorders; autism and Asperger's disorder.

Sheila Rauch, Ph.D.
Staff Psychologist, PTSD Section
VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System
Ph.D. 2000, University of North Dakota
Specialties: Trauma, influence of media on sexually impositional behavior,
influence of alcohol on sexually impositional behavior.

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Jamie Winters, Ph.D.
Staff Psychologist, Mental Health Service
Ph.D. 2005, University of Maryland Baltimore County

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Sara Wright, Ph.D.
Clinical Lecturer, U-M Department of Psychiatry
VA Staff Psychologist
VA Career Development Awardee
Ph.D. 2005, Colorado State University
Specialties: Geropsychology and Neuropsychology
Research Interests: Late life depression, functional and structural neuroimaging, HPA-axis dysfunction

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Cathleen (McDonald) Zepelin
Chief Psychometrician, Neuropsychology Section, VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System
B.A., 1977, Oakland University
Past President, National Association of Psychometrists
Specialties: Neuropsychological testing, sleep research

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In Coordination with the University of Michigan

Stanley Berent, PhD, ABPP
Professor Emeritus of Psychology, University of
Michigan, Departments of Psychiatry,
Neurology, and Psychology
Diplomate, ABPP, Clinical Psychology and
Clinical Neuropsychology
Ph.D., 1972, Rutgers State University
Editorial Board:
The Clinical Neuropsychologist;
Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology
Specialties: Neuropsychology

Bruno Giordani, PhD
Associate Professor in Psychiatry and
Psychology, University of Michigan
Director of Neuropsychology Division of the
Department of Psychiatry
Ph.D., 1982, University of Virginia
Specialties: Child Neuropsychology

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Scott Langenecker, Ph.D.
Clinical Assistant Professor
Ph.D., 2001, Marquette University
Specialties: Clinical Neuropsychology, Treatment-Resistant Depression
fMRI in normal and depressed individuals.

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Carol Persad, Ph.D.
Clinical Assistant Professor
Ph.D., 2000, Michigan State University
Specialties: Aging and Executive Functions

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Application Information and Procedures

Eligibility

Clinical Psychology internships are available for advanced students in APA-approved Clinical or Counseling Psychology programs. Applicants must have completed practica. Internships are full-time, one-year placements (2000 or more hours). Only US citizens may apply for VA stipends.

As a member of the Association of Psychology Internship Centers, our program follows all Association guidelines.

Our internship program is fully accredited by the American Psychological Association.

Support and Health Coverage

Standard VA stipend support is available for interns (stipend for 2007-2008 is $24,624 per year). In addition, education funds are occasionally available for interns to attend conferences and conventions relating to their internship work. Such activities are encouraged. Starting in 2002, the interns at the Ann Arbor VA Internship have been eligible for health insurance programs available to the regular employees. This includes a variety of traditional health insurance plans and HMOs.

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Application Procedures

APPIC now has an online application process (AAPI Online). Click HERE for information on submitting your application online.

For the 2010-2011 internship year, applications received by November 15 are guaranteed to receive full consideration. This allows sufficient time to review the applications before the two Open Houses in January of 2010 [dates to be determined].

You will receive an email message as soon as your application has been reviewed for completeness. If you have not heard from us by January 15, please contact our office to find out what is missing. Please be patient; we receive a large number of applications each year.

Open Houses

Open Houses are held instead of individual interviews since all requests cannot be fairly and equally granted. Applicants are invited to attend one of the Open Houses in January of 2010 [dates to be determined] for the internship year 2010-2011. Typically, the open house starts at around 9 AM and lasts until about 1 PM - There is a lunch (pizza) hosted by us at around Noon at which internship applicants can meet and talk to staff and our current interns. See the OPEN HOUSE Web page for details. If you would like to come to one of the Open Houses, Please send us an e-mail message using the dialogue page. It should be noted that Open House attendance is not a requirement for selection.


Any questions not answered here can be submitted electronically or addressed to:

Kenneth M. Adams, Ph.D., ABPP
Training Director
Psychology Service (116B)
VA Medical Center
2215 Fuller Road
Ann Arbor, MI 48105.

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recent updates:
15 July 2007 - some modifications relevant to the 2008-2009 training year
05 September 2007 - update Open House dates
03 October 2007 - improve start date designation
15 October 2007 - clarify that separate letter from DCT is indeed needed despite AAPI Part II section for similar comments.
23 October 2008 - update Open House Dates
04 November 2008 - CV required - reference to email contact
since 19 August 2000

http://www.umich.edu/~gusb/internship.html