Adult Community Mental Health Services / 34 Park Street
Overview
Placement Options
Primary Placement
A full year, 50-hour (average) per week primary placement that combines outpatient and inpatient experiences, with no additional secondary placement.
Secondary Placement
A full year, 15 hour per week outpatient secondary placement, combined with a primary placement in one of the following:
The Setting
CMHC provides outpatient and inpatient mental health services to adults with SMI and co-occurring disorders who live in the greater New Haven area. CMHC’s treatment model is firmly grounded in the concept of recovery. This involves a focus on empowerment and individualized, person-centered services to help individuals achieve their highest potential. The recovery emphasis at CMHC is built on the principle that in order for a community mental health system to provide state-of-the -art care, it must include not only clinical services but also social support, assistance in finding housing, employment, and other interventions to promote community inclusion and citizenship.
The primary units of organization for the ACMH placement are interprofessional outpatient and inpatient teams that specialize in serving adults with a range of SMI and co-occurring disorders, including mood, anxiety, personality, substance use and psychotic disorders. Members of the teams include psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, psychiatric nurses, peer recovery specialists, community clinicians, supported employment specialists, and social rehabilitation staff. Most commonly, people receiving services within the ACMH placement are engaged in individual and/or group therapy and medication management, depending on their individualized recovery plans.
The Internship
The ACMH placement is designed to develop a broad set of core competencies related to the delivery of psychological services to individuals with SMI and co-occurring disorders within a community mental health center using a recovery framework. At the core of the training experience is the fellow’s role as primary clinician on interprofessional treatment teams.
Fellows with a primary placement in ACMH generally spend about 15 hours per week in face-to-face clinical contact: 8-10 in outpatient services and 4-6 in inpatient services. Fellows with a secondary placement within ACMH spend approximately 6 hours per week in face-to-face clinical contact in outpatient services only. The majority of clinical time involves providing psychological services individually and in groups, as well as case management and other supports. Caseloads are selected to provide a variety of treatment experiences, as well as focused experience in a diagnostic area of particular interest.
While many individuals engaged in services are seen in long-term therapy, there are some opportunities for briefer, more focused interventions. In addition, fellows may participate in the development and implementation of comprehensive Positive Behavioral Support Plans for clients in need of such intervention. Within the recovery model, a variety of treatment modalities and theoretical models can be used, all grounded in a strengths-based, person-centered approach.
ACMH fellows may also devote, depending on their level of interest and available opportunities, an average of two hours per week to activities within the Community Services Network (CSN). The CSN is a collaborative of 15 community-based, not-for-profit organizations providing a wide array of recovery-oriented supports (e.g., supported housing, employment, education, socialization) for which CMHC serves as lead agency. Common activities for fellows involve providing trainings to frontline staff of network agencies on topics related to SMI and recovery or consulting to the service agencies.
The remainder of the fellow's weekly time is spent engaged in recovery planning and documentation, participating in supervision, and attending seminars and other activities which promote individual learning and growth.
Evidence-based Practices
Psychological Assessment
Diversity
Scholarly Activity
Scholarly activity in ACMH can take many forms. In cooperation with the primary advisor, the fellow can choose to engage in an ongoing research project, often in conjunction with the Yale Program for Recovery and Community Health; evaluate a clinical service or program; or design and implement a consultation or performance improvement project. The advisors for ACMH are eager to engage fellows in a collaborative process to determine the scope and content of the scholarly project.
Faculty
- Thomas Styron, Ph.D., Primary Advisor
- Allison Ponce, Ph.D., Primary Advisor
- Erika Carr, Ph.D., Supervisor
- Elizabeth Flanagan, Ph.D., Supervisor
- Larry Davidson, Ph.D., Research Advisor
Supervision
Seminar
Applicant Qualifications
Strong applicants for this placement have substantive experience and demonstrated commitment to working with adults with SMI, often including research focusing on an aspect of SMI.
Applicants selected for this placement must be able to successfully pass background checks conducted by Yale University.
For Further Information
Dr. Thomas Styron