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Job
and Postdoctoral Opportunities
Thank you for your
interest in the Saint Louis Behavioral Medicine Institute
Postdoctoral Fellowship. In order for us to consider
applicants, we need to receive the completed materials by
March 1, 1999. Please be sure you have completed the full
application. In addition, please arrange for the following
information to be mailed directly to us: three letters of
recommendation from three clinical supervisors, a letter
from your Director of Training verifying your status in
fulfilling your clinical training experience, and
transcripts of your graduate credits. If you have not yet
completed your Doctorate, please send us a letter from the
Director of your Dissertation addressing whether you will
have completed your Doctorate prior to the start date of the
Postdoctoral Fellowship, September 1, 1999.
If you have any questions
regarding the Fellowship, please feel free to contact our
two current Postdoctoral Fellows, Dr. Sandra Carusa and Dr.
Joseph Mosher, who are helping coordinate the 1999
Fellowship applications and selection process.
POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIPS
Depending on funding, 1 -
3 fellowships are available in specialized behavioral
programs, treating inpatient and outpatient adult medical
and psychiatric populations. Fellows may select one or two
primary areas of concentration, but may be asked to see
additional types of patients or problems, as needed. These
fellowships are scheduled to begin each year in late August.
Program areas are:
1. Anxiety Disorders
Center (ADC)
The anxiety Disorders
Center (ADC) is a multi-disciplinary program for the
evaluation, treatment, and study of phobias, panic disorder,
obsessive - compulsive disorder, generalized anxiety, social
anxiety, post-traumatic stress, and related problems that
involve anxiety. The ADC offers state-of-the-art,
comprehensive treatment including medication, cognitive and
behavioral therapies, and other adjunctive interventions. A
full spectrum of care is offered, including intensive
outpatient, day treatment, inpatient, home-based, and
telehealth services. Individual, group, and family therapies
are available. As a regional and national resource for
consumers and professionals, the Center also offers one-day,
comprehensive evaluations for patients from outside the St.
Louis area, case consultations to professionals in other
parts of the country, and specialized, intensive treatment
for individuals with anxiety disorders that may not have
benefited from prior treatment. Outpatients and their
families from outside St. Louis may stay in one of several
hotels at a discounted rate or in reasonably priced,
furnished apartments available to Institute patients and
visitors.
2. Child and
Adolescent Services
We provide
empirically-based behavioral health care for children,
adolescents, and their families. We believe effective care
requires respect of the individual in all aspects --
biological, behavioral, intellectual, emotional and
spiritual -- and an appreciation for the familial, social,
and cultural contexts in which the individual lives. Child
disorders treated include: Attention Deficit / Hyperactivity
Disorder, anxiety disorders, eating disorders, pediatric
obesity, pediatric stress-related conditions, Oppositional
Defiant Disorder (ODD), and childhood mood disorders. Ages
treated range from two to young adult.
3. Couples and Family
Program
Many partners who work
together in Couples Therapy develop more effective
problem-solving abilities. Partners may grow in terms of
self-identity, self-esteem, and life satisfaction. The
Institute's program assists couples in addressing many
issues. Some of these include marriage planning, marital
dissatisfaction, depression, sexual dysfunction, parenting
issues, a death or illness in the family, alcohol or drug
abuse, and divorce. The values and spiritual perspectives of
each set of partners are also explored by the therapist and
incorporated into individualized treatment plans.
4. Depression and
Self-Injury Program
The Mood Disorders
Program provides treatment for people with clinical
depression, dysthymia (e.g., milder, chronic depression), or
other mood disorders. Treatment includes both
pharmacotherapy and cognitive / behavioral psychotherapy.
Both individual and group therapy is available. After an
initial assessment, an individualized treatment plan is
developed to address the patient's specific needs.
The Self-Injury Program
provides intensive outpatient treatment for patients who
repeatedly and deliberately injure themselves and/or attempt
suicide. Along with depression, these patients often have
other psychiatric disorders, including personality
disorders. The goal of treatment is to stop self-harmful
behavior and to promote better problem-solving
abilities.
5. Eating Disorders
Program (EDP)
This Program treats
people with very low weights or who engage in unhealthy
weight control practices, such as self-induced vomiting,
abuse of laxatives and diuretics, and excessively
restrictive diets.
Treatment begins with a
comprehensive evaluation and continues by meeting the
medical, nutritional, and psychological needs of the
individual. Treatment is multi-disciplinary and includes
individual, group and family therapy, nutritional
counseling, psychiatric consultation, medical management,
and intensive out-patient program.
6. Headache
Program
This program is designed
to help people who have frequent and severe headaches, which
are not responding to medication alone and are interfering
with their quality of life. Our multi-disciplinary approach
to treatment of this problem includes medical management,
biofeedback, physical therapy, and psychological
support.
7. Pain Management
Program
The Pain Management
Program provides multi-disciplinary treatment for patients
who have prolonged pain. Such conditions include
musculoskeletal pain, chronic headaches, sympathetically
mediated pain, neuropathies, fibromyalgia, temporomandibular
joint dysfunction, and abdominal and pelvic pain. Treatment
includes biofeedback, psychotherapy, physical therapy, and
medications. Referrals to appropriate specialists are made
when necessary.
8. Psychology and
Religion
The program is a
nationally recognized service of St. Louis Behavioral
Medicine Institute. It is a collection of multi-disciplinary
evaluation and treatment options for clergy and religious
persons. Its primary client base is Roman Catholic, but the
program is open to all faith traditions and denominations.
There is a conscious effort to integrate psychological,
spiritual, and medical approaches to healing.
The evaluation service
assists clients and their religious leadership in
understanding mental health problems and selecting
appropriate treatment. A wide range of outpatient treatment
options are also available, with specialties in all the
areas of expertise represented in the Institute. Group
programs include short-term, focussed therapy or an extended
six-month program of individual and group therapy.
The program is unique in
its ability to deliver highly individualized plans of
treatment, with attention to the needs of both the client
and his or her religious leadership. It is difficult to
describe this program in a few words. Please contact us for
relevant brochures. A bibliography of works produced by the
faculty and staff of the program is also available.
Telephone consultations are available any time.
9. Weight Management
Program
The Weight Management
Program provides empirically-based behavioral and medical
treatment for individuals wanting to lose weight and keep it
off through learning healthy long-term lifestyle changes. A
focus of the program is to assist clients, through cognitive
/ behavioral strategies, to determine obstacles to change
which have sabotaged their previous efforts. Treatment
begins with a comprehensive medical and behavioral
evaluation to develop individualized treatment options,
which can include individual or group sessions. A registered
dietitian provides nutritional consultation and an exercise
physiologist provides fitness guidance. Another option
includes the use of medically supervised Very Low Calorie
Diets (VLCD) for individuals with weight related medical
conditions.
10. Florissant
Office
Florissant Psychological
Services is an alternate location of St. Louis Behavioral
Medicine Institute and offers a wide array of outpatient
mental health services for adults, adolescents, and
children. The Florissant office offers postdoctoral fellows
an intensive experience working with the Student Assistance
Program, a school system. The staff consists of licensed
psychologists, social workers, and a psychiatrist. Specialty
services in the area of biofeedback, medication management,
and psychological assessment are available.
SUPERVISED CLINICAL EXPERIENCE
Each fellow receives a
minimum of one hour per week of face-to-face supervision.
Supervision is provided by one or more of the five faculty
supervisors. In addition, fellows may also receive peer
supervision from other licensed staff clinicians.
Supervision may include the use of audio and video tapes,
case notes and other supporting materials. Faculty
supervisors are responsible for providing fellows with
written and verbal feedback regarding their performance and
progress. These evaluations are performed twice per year.
Informal verbal feedback is provided on an ongoing basis.
Fellows have access to due process procedures, as described
in the Institute Employee Handbook (under "Problem Solving
Procedure"), in the event of a grievance.
TRAINING MEETINGS AND SEMINARS
Throughout the year,
fellows attend a weekly, one-hour seminar series with topics
covering theoretical and therapeutic issues related to the
fellow's clinical experience. The seminar sessions are
taught by Institute staff including those with teaching
appointments at St. Louis University. In addition, fellows
attend a quarterly continuing education meeting, which is
designed to meet the continuing education needs of the
Institute's staff. Fellows also have access to other
resources available at the Institute (e.g., library,
educational videotapes).
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