Education & Training

Pre-doctoral psychology interns and PGY-3’s and 4’s may complete a six-month rotation with the Sleep, Mood, Anxiety Research & Treatment Division (SMART). Therapeutic treatment approaches typically include exposure based behavioral, cognitive-behavioral, and acceptance and mindful based interventions. Psychiatry residents may complete up to one year of training at SMART. Individual and group supervision is provided weekly by SMART faculty, which includes psychiatrists and licensed clinical psychologists.

As part of the Charleston Consortium, interns rotating at SMART develop expertise in cognitive behavioral approaches to the treatment of anxiety and sleep within a multidisciplinary environment alongside social workers, psychiatrists, and psychiatry residents. Interns use semi-structured assessment batteries to assist with diagnoses. Treatment approaches typically include exposure-based behavioral, cognitive-behavioral, and acceptance and mindfulness-based interventions. Individual and group therapy training are provided. Interns participate in weekly individual and group supervision with psychiatry residents and the supervising psychologist.

Further, interns are invited to engage in ongoing collaborative anxiety research projects with psychiatry and psychology faculty. Current projects include the relationship between sleep disorders and anxiety and optimizing existing anxiety interventions.

Post SMART Rotation

After completion of the SMART rotation, interns will be able to:

• Accurately assess and diagnose anxiety disorders using semi-structured assessment batteries.
• Accurately assess and diagnose sleep related problems using semi-structured assessment batteries.
• Effectively deliver evidence-based cognitive behavioral protocols for anxiety disorders (including but not limited to exposure treatments (EX), exposure and response prevention (EX/RP), and acceptance and mindfulness ACT).
• Effectively deliver evidence-based cognitive behavioral protocols for sleep problems such as insomnia, parasomnia, narcolepsy, and hypersomnia.
• Document the delivery of services and patient response to services appropriately in each patient's electronic medical record.
• Integrate appropriate modifications to assessment and intervention of sleep and anxiety difficulties based upon unique needs of patients with culturally diverse backgrounds (e.g., race/ethnicity, gender, SES, sexual orientation, etc.).
• Collaborate effectively with a multidisciplinary team of clinicians, psychologist, and psychiatrists.