Child Psychology Track (155215)

This track offers an array of training opportunities for interns who are interested in the assessment and treatment of children, adolescents, and families. Opportunities include specialty clinics, educational settings, and more general outpatient settings. Services are delivered in traditional office-based, community-based, and telehealth delivery models. Several rotations (e.g., TOPS, DNCAC, COPE, PPC) provide opportunities to work with children and families who have been exposed to trauma and/or maltreatment, but others provide opportunities to work a wide variety of other youth populations.

• Community Outreach Program — Esperanza (COPE)
• Telehealth Outreach Program for Traumatic Stress (TOP-TS)
• Dee Norton Child Advocacy Center (DNCAC)
• Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics (Peds)
• Head Start Mental Health Consultation & Treatment Program (Head Start)
• Outpatient Youth & Adolescent Psychiatry Clinic (YOP)
• Pediatric Primary Care (PPC)

The Telemental Health Outreach Program for Traumatic Stress (TOP-TS) provides telehealth-based assessment and treatment services for children and adolescents who have experienced traumatic events (e.g. sexual abuse, physical abuse, witnessing domestic violence, natural disaster, etc.). Services are provided via HIPAA compliant videoconferencing software in the child’s community, including home, school, and primary care locations. The intern providing telehealth services will be located at the Institute of Psychiatry on the MUSC campus and the child will be located in his/her community location. TOP-TS provides evidence-based trauma-focused therapy for children and adolescents across South Carolina. The program is dedicated to improving access to trauma-focused treatment using telehealth for traditionally poorly served populations, especially rural populations. Interns function as an integral part of the treatment team and have the opportunity to be involved with all aspects of TOP-TS services. Specifically, interns provide evidence-based, trauma-focused assessment and treatment, including assessment and treatment PTSD and co-occurring disorders such as anxiety disorders, depression, and disruptive behavior disorders. In addition, interns will be involved in evaluation of services and expansion of services throughout South Carolina. Finally, interns are encouraged to become involved in ongoing telehealth research and program development.

After completing the rotation, interns will be able to:

• Completely provide assessment and psychotherapy via telehealth technology with trauma exposed children and adolescents.
• Develop evidence-based treatment plans for addressing trauma-related problems among child victims of trauma via telehealth.
• Develop and implement clinical procedures specific to a telehealth delivery modality (e.g. safety procedures, protocols for working with clinical staff at remote locations).
• Deliver, with fidelity, evidence-based treatments for PTSD and other trauma-related problems (specifically, TF-CBT) via telehealth.
• Tailor trauma-focused treatment to a telehealth delivery modality (e.g. utilizing interactive worksheets, PowerPoint games, screen sharing for real-time viewing of the trauma narrative development, etc.)
• Effectively coordinate with physicians who are providing medication evaluation and management via telehealth.

Location of Rotation

National Crime Victims Research and Treatment Center at the Medical University of South Carolina

Clinic Hours

Time of rotation can vary, but hours are typically 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Dee Norton Child Advocacy Center (DNCAC)

Dee Norton is a freestanding Children’s Advocacy Center, which is a national multidisciplinary model for responding when there is a concern for child abuse or neglect. Dee Norton has a multidisciplinary staff, including representatives from psychology, social work, case management, and forensic interviewing. We also have co-located physicians, nurses, and fellows from the MUSC Division of Child Abuse Pediatrics. Each year, Dee Norton provides direct services to over 1,200 child maltreatment victims, including both forensic and clinical (i.e., assessment and/or treatment) services. Children served at our program are quite heterogeneous. Over half have experienced child maltreatment, including physical abuse (43%), exposure to domestic violence (27%), and sexual abuse (25%).

Psychology interns receive didactic and experiential training in evidence-based assessments and treatments for children who have experienced child abuse or trauma. The treatments provided at Dee Norton include Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT), Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT), Risk Reduction through Family Therapy (RRFT) and Sexual Behavior Problem–Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (SBP-CBT). Psychology interns predominantly conduct mental health assessments and provide TF-CBT and PCIT. Interns have the opportunity to observe forensic interviews. Psychology interns on this rotation collaborate with many multidisciplinary partners, including pediatricians, social workers, child protective services, law enforcement, and prosecutors. There are also shared training activities with interns from social work and clinical counseling programs.

By the end of the rotation, interns will be able to:

• Accurately distinguish among forensic and clinical assessments of children.
• Accurately assess clinical symptoms commonly associated with trauma exposure in children and adolescents.
• Develop evidence-based treatment plans for addressing trauma-related problems among adult and child victims of abuse and trauma.
• Deliver, with fidelity, evidence-based treatments for PTSD and other trauma-related problems [specifically, Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) and Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT)].
• Document the delivery of services and patient response to services appropriately in each patient's electronic medical record.
• Effectively provide evidence-based treatments to poorly served populations, including families at economic disadvantage, and overcome barriers to the implementation of evidence-based treatments in community settings.
• Location of Rotation

Dee Norton Child Advocacy Center
677 Long Point Road
Mount Pleasant, SC

Personal transportation required to complete this rotation.

Clinic Hours

Clinic hours are Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday from 8:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m.
Wednesdays from 8:30 a.m.-6:30 p.m.

This rotation is housed the Division of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics at MUSC, a multidisciplinary service with representative faculty from several related disciplines, including school psychology, clinical psychology, developmental pediatrics, genetics, and pediatric psychiatry. Interns also frequently have the opportunity to consult with faculty from other disciplines on specific cases. Interns on this rotation participate in each of two specialty clinics: the Autism Spectrum Disorder Clinic, and the Tele-Parent Child Interaction Therapy Clinic. This rotation includes both live supervision and group supervision, and interns without a background in pediatric assessment are welcome. The first three weeks of the rotation include intensive training in interview and specialized assessment techniques and PCIT.

Autism Spectrum Disorder Clinic

This clinic provides diagnostic evaluations for children suspected of having autism spectrum disorder. Referred children may range in age from 15 months to 18 years, and may have a wide range of presenting concerns. Interns assigned to this clinic will receive training in the use of state-of-the-art assessment instruments for these disorders, including the ADOS-2.

Telehealth Parent Child Interaction Therapy (Tele-PCIT) Clinic

This clinic provides Parent Child Interaction Therapy via telehealth to young children from poorly served backgrounds. Referred children are ages 2-6 with neurodevelopmental disorders (e.g., autism, ADHD, developmental delays). Training in PCIT and considerations for delivering PCIT to children with neurodevelopmental disorders will be provided. Interns will conduct initial intakes from the division of Developmental Pediatrics for each case, deliver all therapy sessions virtually, and participate in weekly group supervision.

At the end of the rotation, interns will be able to:

• Reliably use evidence-based assessment methods for the diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder, including the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, Second Edition (ADOS-2).
• Provide accurate differential diagnoses for children referred for concerns for autism spectrum disorder.
• Provide evidence-based individualized treatment recommendations for children with neurodevelopmental disabilities.
• Provide sensitive, evidence-based feedback to families regarding their children’s development and proposed treatment plan.
• Conduct intake sessions with families to determine therapy goals and appropriateness for PCIT.
• Deliver PCIT via telehealth for young children with neurodevelopmental disorders with appropriate levels of fidelity.
• Administer and utilize weekly therapy measures to guide PCIT therapy goals.

Location of Rotation

Medical University of South Carolina, Rutledge Tower & telehealth remote delivery (remote delivery may be completed from home in some cases)

Clinic Hours

Clinic and therapy intake appointments typically take place between 7:45 a.m. and 1 p.m., with afternoons reserved for report preparation and therapy sessions.

Faculty

Laura Carpenter, Ph.D.
Professor

Catherine Cheely Bradley, Ph.D.
Professor

Rosmary Ros-DeMarize, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor

This rotation provides a multidisciplinary experience working with teachers, young children, and parents involved in the Early Head Start and Head Start programs (EHS and HS) across the Charleston County area. Charleston EHS/HS serves children through 15 classroom-based centers and an EHS home visiting program. The Charleston EHS/HS programs target high-risk, low socioeconomic status children/families, often characterized by developmental, social emotional, and/or behavioral difficulties. The EHS/HS Consult program provides a step-wise level of care — all children and classrooms are initially assessed, and then proceed through the following steps as needed:

• Teacher partnership and classroom-wide intervention
• Child-specific classroom intervention
• Parent consultation
• Provision of, or referral to, child and family therapy

Interns receive experience working directly with teachers, children, and parents, as well as other providers (e.g., school counselors, school nurse, administrators).

The intern functions as an integral part of the treatment team and is involved in every aspect of the program. Interns will participate in structured classroom observations and evaluations using a multi-dimensional assessment approach; work with classroom teachers to develop and implement classroom-wide interventions; provide parent consultation; determine appropriateness of additional child and family therapy (e.g., parent training, child maltreatment prevention), and provide such services as appropriate.

In addition to direct clinical services, interns will gain an understanding of systemic issues within Head Start and the public school mental health system, collaborate with Head Start staff regarding program development, develop expertise in interdisciplinary management of high-risk children and families, learn about child maltreatment prevention, and develop and collaborate in related clinical research.

At the end of the rotation, interns will be able to:

• Effectively complete structured classroom evaluations using a multi-dimensional approach.
• Complete official classroom evaluation reports for each classroom.
• Accurately identify developmental, social, and behavioral concerns among children ages 1 through 6.
• Collaborate with education professional in consultation, referral, and provision of services.
• Deliver child-specific classroom interventions, parent consultation, and child and family therapy (e.g., parent training, child maltreatment prevention).
• Accurately track child progress through the step-wise care system.
• Document the delivery of assessment, consultation, and intervention services and child, family, and teacher responses to services appropriately.

Location of Rotation

Community-based Head Start Centers & MUSC

Interns on the Head Start rotation are required to have their own transportation to commute between sites in the Tri-county area. The intern is reimbursed for gas and travel expenses.

Clinic Hours

Head Start hours are from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Faculty

Angela Moreland-Johnson, Ph.D.
Professor

Grace Hubel, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor (College of Charleston)

On this rotation, interns provide evidence-based mental health services in an outpatient setting to children, adolescents, and families. Patients present with a wide range of mental health symptoms and clinical concerns, including disruptive behavior disorders (e.g., ADHD, ODD), internalizing problems (e.g., depression, anxiety), and adjustment problems. The clinic has a high census, and we have some flexibility to match the type of cases assigned to the training needs and interests of the interns, who work alongside social workers, licensed professional counselors, and psychiatrists in providing multidisciplinary case management for their cases. Interns will receive some training in Parent-Child Interaction Therapy and other evidence-based interventions for youth and their families. The population served includes children and adolescent (ages 4 to 17 years) and their families struggling with a wide variety of mental and behavioral health problems. Some preference is given in the clinic to children with complex problems that include medical complications or have difficult-to-manage presentations.

At the conclusion of the rotation, interns will be able to:

• Assess and accurately identify behavioral and mental health problems in youth (ages 4 to 17) and their families.
• Accurately assess treatment progress and symptom reduction using multiple methods (i.e., self-report, parent report, collateral reports).
• Deliver family-based behavioral and cognitive-behavioral evidence-based treatments (e.g., Parent-Child Interaction Therapy, among others) for youth aged 4 through 17 years, with fidelity.
• Document the delivery of services and patient response to services appropriately in each patient's electronic medical record.
• Effectively provide evidence-based treatments to poorly served populations, including families at economic disadvantage.

Location of Rotation

Clinic services are provided in the Institute of Psychiatry, Outpatient Clinic at MUSC

Clinic Hours

The Youth Outpatient Clinic operates Monday-Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

THE PEDIATRIC PRIMARY CARE (PPC) PROGRAM OVERVIEW . The PPC Program involves a partnership between the National Crime Victims Research and Treatment Center (NCVC) and Division of General Pediatrics, both within the College of Medicine at the Medical University of South Carolina. PPC houses two programs, the Collaborative Care for Children and Caregivers (4C) and the Pediatric Primary Care Psychology Internship rotation (part of the Charleston Consortium Psychology Internship Program; Co-Directors, Dean Kilpatrick, Ph.D., Dan Smith, Ph.D.), which work closely together to meet the needs of youth and families within the pediatric primary care clinics. The 4C program was initiated in 2017 with grant funding from the South Carolina Office of the Attorney General, Department of Crime Victim Assistance Grants (Victims of Crime Act grant). 4C aims to expand access, availability and utilization of services for child and adult victims of crime by providing intensive case management, care coordination and direct mental health treatment services in the community and on-site in pediatric primary care clinics serving the Charleston tri-county area. While most services are provided in clinic, we also do offer remote service delivery (i.e., telehealth) to reduce barriers to accessing care.

The PPC psychology internship rotation was initiated to expand the reach of services for youth and families, since many children with behavioral health needs are not identified, nor do they seek specialty mental health services. The rotation operates within an integrated health care model to address the mental, behavioral and physical health needs of patients seen in Pediatric Primary Care. This also includes the Foster Care Support Clinic, which serves children who are currently in foster care placements in the tri-county Charleston area. On the PPC rotation, interns are actively involved in real-time consultation (’warm hand-off’s’), brief evaluations to identify behavioral health needs, and short-term interventions to address the needs of youth experiencing behavioral health concerns. An important aim of this rotation is to provide the intern with rich and varied experiences that meet individual needs, as well as training and career goals. Thus, Dr. Hanson (licensed clinical psychologist and rotation clinical supervisor) will work closely with the intern at the onset of the rotation to establish rotation goals and discuss the schedule and rotation opportunities. Over the course of the rotation, intern progress will be tracked, with ongoing discussions to ensure that these goals are being met.

For each 6-month rotation there are two half time psychology interns (they are each onsite approximately 2 days/week).

On this rotation, interns perform a variety of duties, including:

1. Consultation with pediatricians on behavioral health issues.
2. Brief, targeted psychological assessments that include semi-structured interviews with youth and caregivers, along with objective data using clinically indicated assessment measures.
3. Real-time, behavioral consultations (i.e., warm hand-offs), and scheduled consultations when requested by primary care providers.
4. Short-term crisis stabilization counseling (e.g., Psychological First Aid; Skills for Psychological Recovery).
5. Short-term/brief interventions (4-6 sessions) to target specific behavioral needs (e.g., sleep problems; minor depression, anxiety, behavioral problems) that do not warrant a longer-term therapeutic intervention.
6. Longer term therapy (6+ sessions) when indicated, using evidence-based interventions to address common behavioral health problems (e.g., trauma-related mental health problems, depression, anxiety, behavior problems).
7. Weekly participation in case staffings with the full PPC team (pediatrician, nurse-practitioner, social worker, case manager, and psychologist), which collaboratively determines the service plan for each child.
8. Intensive case management and collaboration with community and public agencies, such as community mental health, schools, child protection and foster care service systems.
        

At the end of the rotation, interns will be able to:

• Effectively screen and assess for mental health and disruptive behavior problems, parenting concerns, and trauma-related symptoms among a predominately poorly served population of youth and families.
• Deliver, with fidelity, evidence-based and best practice interventions to facilitate improvements in an array of behavioral and mental health problems including behavioral adjustment, anxiety, depression, and PTSD symptoms.
• Interact and consult effectively with a multidisciplinary (pediatrician, nurse practitioner, social worker) treatment team within a primary care setting.
• Educate multidisciplinary health care providers about behavioral health factors that affect health care delivery.

Location of Rotation

• Services are delivered in clinic or via telehealth.
• For telehealth, if services are delivered from home, interns will need a laptop/desktop, camera, reliable internet, a headset, and a private location in their homes. Telehealth can also be provided in clinic.

Clinic Hours

Official hours for the rotation are between 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. However, the rotation does involve flexibility in scheduling to address patient barriers to accessing care. Thus, interns may be asked to see patients outside of these standard hours (e.g., 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., with the last appointment scheduled at 5 p.m. to finish at 6 p.m.). Dr. Hanson will work closely with interns around patient scheduling.