Rutgers University Behavioral Health Care in conjunction with Robert Wood Johnson Medical School Department of Psychiatry
Our APA accredited Doctoral Psychology Internship Program offers six distinct major tracks (major rotations) in addition to many minor rotations, research opportunities, and a robust didactics program to fully round out our Psychology Residents’ training. Psychology Residents spend three days per week at their major rotation and one day per week at a minor rotation. The remaining day is spent in didactic activities and working on research.
Below is an introductory message from the program’s training director, Dr. Marc Steinberg followed by messages from the supervisors of the six major tracks.
Dr. Pamela Kawano is the primary supervisor for the Adolescent Forensic / Juvenile Justice track. Please see below for a brief description of the major rotation at University Correctional HealthCare- New Jersey Training School for Boys.
Psychology Residents interested in Forensic and Correctional psychology, and training to work with the adolescent and young adult population may wish to apply to the Juvenile/Adolescent Forensic Track of the Rutgers University-Piscataway Psychology Internship Program. Psychology Residents who match for this track will be spending their major rotation primarily within the Mental Health Department at the New Jersey Training School for Boys (NJTS). The NJTS is a secure care correctional facility located in Monroe Township, NJ. It is located approximately 16 miles from the main Rutgers-Piscataway campus. The NJTS is operated by the Juvenile Justice Commission (JJC) of New Jersey and is one of two secure care locations in New Jersey for incarcerated males between the ages of 14 and 24. Psychology Residents will be supervised by clinical supervisor, Dr. Pamela Kawano, and will participate on a multidisciplinary team. Psychology Residents should expect to engage weekly in individual therapy, family therapy, group therapy, crisis intervention and management, treatment planning and evaluation, psychological assessment/testing, completion of psychological evaluations for various purposes, and daily clinical rounds for residents on special statuses. Psychology Residents should also expect to provide mental health consultation to fellow clinicians as well as to non-mental health professionals who are serving the resident population in other capacities (social work, custody, education/vocational, administrative, recreational, etc). As the Juvenile/Adolescent Forensic Track rotation is a major rotation for the Rutgers University-Piscataway Psychology Internship Program, the Psychology Resident is expected to train at the Mental Health Department at the NJTS for three days a week and for the duration of the internship year.
Please see below for a brief introduction to the Adult Outpatient Track.
Dr. Joye Anestis provides clinical supervision to the Psychology Resident in Adult-Outpatient track. The New Brunswick Outpatient office provides services to the underserved population of New Brunswick (a small city in central New Jersey) and its surrounding area. Patients with a wide variety of diagnoses seek services at the New Brunswick Outpatient program, including many with serious and persistent mental illness and very low socioeconomic status.
There are, on average, about 1000 active patients at this site, at any point in time. Approximately 44% of the population is Latino, many presenting with immigration related issues, often trauma involved.
Psychology Resident activities include assessment and evaluation; individual, family, and group therapy; multidisciplinary team participation; and consultation with other mental health staff and paraprofessionals. In addition to general outpatient treatment, the intern at this site has the opportunity to see patients in the Intensive Outpatient Treatment Specialized Services (IOTSS) program.
Intensive Outpatient Treatment Specialized Services (IOTSS) serves individuals with frequent acute crisis episodes or those just released from partial hospitalization. Clients receive individual and group therapy before moving to traditional outpatient services after being in the program for approximately 3 months.
Please see below for a brief introduction to the Adult - Substance Use Disorders Treatment Track.
This track is housed primarily in the New Brunswick Outpatient office which provides services to the underserved population of New Brunswick (a small city in central New Jersey) and its surrounding area. There are, on average, about 1000 active patients at this site, at any point in time. Approximately 44% of the population is Latino, many presenting with immigration-related issues, often trauma involved. Therefore, the Psychology Resident has the opportunity to provide services in Spanish and in English.
The Adult – Substance Use Disorders Treatment Track is part of the Specialized Addiction Treatment Services (SATS) program, which provides multidisciplinary treatment for individuals with substance and alcohol use concerns. Clients with opioid use disorders may participate in the Acute Withdrawal Management program for buprenorphine induction before returning to SATS. In addition to traditional outpatient, there is an intensive outpatient program within SATS so clients can get 3 hours of treatment per day 3x/week. Finally, there is a SATS program at the Middlesex County jail where male and female inmates receive IOP services.
Dr. Suzi Millar is the primary supervisor for the Child / Adolescent - School-Based Track. Below, Dr. Millar provides a brief introduction to the work happening at the Edison School-Based Program.
This program is a unique collaboration between Rutgers UBHC and the Edison School District, a large, suburban, culturally diverse school district in central New Jersey. The program is funded through the school district, which allows for the students to receive mental health services within the school at no cost to them. This allows individuals who would otherwise not seek services to receive quality mental health therapy and psychiatry.
This opportunity allows the Psychology Resident to see students in the setting where they spend the majority of their day and provides them access to a number of individuals that play a significant role in the child’s life - teachers, counselors and child study team. This position is not a typical school counseling internship in that the Psychology Resident is not on the child study team. It is a highly clinical role where the intern will work with the most at-risk students within the school, providing individual, group and family counseling, as well as participating in crisis assessments for individuals presenting as suicidal, homicidal or actively psychotic. Additional Services provided by Psychology Residents include evaluation and assessment; multidisciplinary team participation; faculty and parent training, consultation with other mental health staff; and participation in school and community advocacy groups. The primary location for the Psychology Resident is the Edison High School, although there are opportunities for assessment, group work and training at the Middle and Elementary schools depending on interest. A typical caseload would consist of 7-10 individual/family therapy cases as well as 1-2 groups. Every effort is made to provide the intern with a culturally, clinically and socioeconomically diverse caseload. The program is located approximately 5 miles from the main Rutgers campus.
Dr. Suzi Millar is the primary supervisor for the Child Therapeutic Day School Track. Please see below for Dr. Millar's description of the Rutgers Day School - Child Program.
This unit serves students that are classified by their school district and require out-of-district, therapeutically based treatment. The students range in age from 3 to 13 and are of diverse cultural backgrounds. Interns provide services such as assessment, treatment planning, individual therapy, family therapy, group therapy, and milieu therapy. The Psychology Resident functions as part of a multidisciplinary team and provides consultation to other mental health and non-mental health staff, including teachers and specialists. Due to the high need of this population, Psychology Residents rotating at Rutgers Day School will carry an individual caseload of up to 4 students, and additional clients will be acquired through group therapy provided by the intern.
Dr. Holly Lister is the primary supervisor for the Integrated Primary Care track. See her introductory message below:
This positions within this track are funded by a Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) grant. Trainees interested in working with a multidisciplinary team of healthcare providers in primary care medical settings, who also have interest in substance use disorder treatment, will be a good match for this track. The Psychology. Residents on the Integrated Primary Care track will provide behavioral medicine interventions for patients in primary care settings. Consults will include care for depression, anxiety, trauma, sleep disorders, substance use, chronic health conditions such as diabetes, and lifestyle management (e.g., changes to health behaviors such as nutrition and physical exercise). Psychology Residents on this track will train in settings with other disciplines including physicians, nurses and advance practice nurses, physician assistants, and social workers.
All Psychology Residents on this track will complete their minor rotation in Substance Use Disorder Treatment, with a choice of rotation locations that includes but is not limited to: Specialized Addiction Treatment Services (SATS), Rutgers New Jersey Medical School Addiction Medicine Clinic, and the Rutgers Health Addictions Center (see SUD Treatment minor rotation below for more details).
We encourage applicants from underrepresented and diverse groups, including applicants who are Spanish speaking. One of this track’s supervisors, Dr. Kristen Riley, can conduct supervision and clinical services in Spanish. Because this track is federally funded, interns of this track must be a citizen, national, or permanent resident of the United States. Individuals on temporary or student visas are not eligible. Please note that we accept applications from international trainees for the other five tracks.
In addition to their core rotation, each Psychology Resident spends one day per week within a secondary rotation. Like the core rotations, the secondary rotations have been positioned strategically by the Training Committee. Consonant with the core rotations, the secondary rotations have sufficient variability within the treatment population to allow for adequate experiential exposure toward meeting internship goals. These placements are mostly at Rutgers UBHC. However, given our collaboration with Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, there are also opportunities to work with licensed psychologists who are Rutgers RWJMS faculty on clinically-based research projects and on service units affiliated with Rutgers RWJMS. As is the case with the major rotations, intern participation is typically limited to one Psychology Resident per minor rotation. Below is a list of currently available secondary rotations, including a description of each. Please note that availability is subject to change, in particular, in response to unforeseen COVID-19 policies.
Acute Psychiatric Services.
This emergency service department provides crisis assessment and intervention, both on site and through outreach programs. It services all ages. These services are provided to an average of 325 patients per month from the surrounding urban and suburban community. Activities include crisis assessment of patients and families, interdisciplinary consultation, case disposition, and referral to varying levels of care.
Edison School-Based Program.
This program is a unique collaboration between Rutgers UBHC and the Edison School District, a large, suburban, culturally diverse school district in central New Jersey. The program is funded through the school district, which allows for the students to receive mental health services within the school at no cost to them. This allows individuals who would otherwise not seek services to receive quality mental health therapy and psychiatry. This opportunity allows the Psychology Resident to see students in the setting where they spend the majority of their day and provides them access to a number of individuals that play a significant role in the child’s life - teachers, counselors, and child study team. This position is not a typical school counseling internship in that the Psychology Resident is not on the child study team. It is a highly clinical role where the Psychology Resident will work with the most at-risk students within the school, providing individual, group, and family counseling, as well as participating in crisis assessments for individuals presenting as suicidal, homicidal or actively psychotic. The program is located approximately 5 miles from the main Rutgers campus. Dr. Suzi Millar is the primary clinical supervisor for this rotation.
Employee Wellness Program.
Services are provided to clients from companies, organizations, and municipalities with whom UBHC has contracted to provide services. Clients span the age range from early childhood through later adulthood and represent the cultural diversity of the surrounding area. Services provided by the Psychology Resident include evaluation and treatment planning, individual brief therapy, family therapy, and referral for longer term treatment when indicated. The Psychology Resident functions as part of, and consults with, a multidisciplinary team. The Psychology Resident also has the opportunity to be involved in trainings provided to organizations which have contracted services with the Employee Wellness (previously called Employee Assistance Program (EAP) unit. This track is located in Piscataway, a few miles from the main Rutgers campus.
Integrated Pediatric Primary Care.
This minor rotation is in the Department of Pediatrics, with locations at Pediatrics in Somerset, and the Child Health Institute of New Jersey (CHI) in New Brunswick. As part of a multidisciplinary team of healthcare providers, the Psychology Resident will provide brief assessments and interventions for patients who have behavioral health needs in primary care medical settings. The range of consults will include care for depression, anxiety, sleep disorders, substance use, diabetes management, and lifestyle management around nutrition and physical exercise. Dr. Holly Lister is the clinical supervisor for this rotation.
Family Medicine.
This minor track is located in a medical clinic in New Brunswick in affiliation with RWJMS. Adolescent and adult medical patients who are deemed by medical personnel to be at potential psychological risk are referred to a psychologist/Psychology Resident/student team. Services provided by the Psychology Resident include evaluation and treatment planning; crisis screening; individual, and family therapy. The Psychology Resident consults with medical staff as well as psychology graduate students.
Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey (CINJ) - Bright IDEAS-Young Adults, a problem-solving skills training intervention (NCI funded research study). Principal Investigator / Clinical supervisor: Katie Devine, Ph.D.
Psychology Resident would be trained in the “Bright IDEAS” problem-solving skills training and serving as a trainer for young adults recently diagnosed with cancer. Rutgers Cancer Institute is leading a 3-site randomized trial evaluating the efficacy of Bright IDEAS in reducing distress and improving quality of life for young adults ages 18-39. Bright IDEAS is an evidence-based manualized 6-session intervention that has been adapted for this population. Training can be conducted in about 3-4 hours, with some additional time required for practice and role-play prior to taking on a case. Cases are scheduled on an individual basis by the trainer and patient – must be flexible to find a time convenient for both (often outside of typical working hours, like evening or weekend). Sessions are typically 45 minutes long and scheduled weekly or biweekly for a total of 6 sessions. All sessions are conducted remotely (via doxy.me or Rutgers Zoom).
Suicide prevention interventions in inpatient psychiatry
Residents who choose this rotation will be involved in (1) delivering a brief cognitive-behavioral intervention based on the Unified Protocol and (2) a research study that tests the effect of augmenting this in-person psychotherapy with a smartphone app that allows patients to practice the skills learned in therapy in the real world. There are opportunities to deliver this intervention in both adult and adolescent populations, to patients presenting with suicide risk as well as a broad range of other transdiagnostic complaints. In addition to the clinical training opportunities, Dr. Kleiman will serve as a research mentor to residents who choose this minor rotation.
Dr. Kleiman’s lab (www.kleimanlab.org) focuses on using technology to predict and prevent suicidal thoughts and behaviors. Residents will be able to learn about how to use technology like smartphones and wearable devices in their research, as well as how to work with the data that come from these technologies.
Tobacco Research and Intervention Lab.
Rutgers RWJMS Department of Psychiatry faculty member Marc Steinberg, Ph.D. is the director of the Tobacco Research and Intervention (TRI) Lab. The TRI lab focuses on tobacco use and dependence, including tobacco dependence treatment development, tobacco use in smokers with psychiatric comorbidity, the relationship between smoking and task persistence/distress tolerance, and motivational interviewing as an approach to encourage smokers to make a quit attempt. We have used human laboratory designs to study predictors of initiation of quit attempts (i.e., task persistence / distress tolerance) and clinical trials to develop treatments to encourage and facilitate quit attempts (i.e., variations of cognitive behavioral therapy, motivational interviewing, and reduction-to-quit strategies). A minor rotation in the TRI lab is dependent upon funding for a clinical trial grant application submitted to the National Cancer Institute. Dr. Steinberg will serve as a research mentor to a Psychology Resident interested in doing their required research on issues related to tobacco or cannabis use disorder regardless of grant funding.
Children’s Specialized Hospital.
In affiliation with Rutgers RWJMS, this minor rotation offers Psychology Residents an opportunity to work in an inpatient rehabilitation pediatric hospital for patients in need of intensive and comprehensive therapy as a result of brain injury, chronic illness, spinal cord injury, prematurity of infancy, and chronic pain syndromes. In addition to individual therapy, Psychology Residents are able to facilitate groups, conduct psychological testing, work with family members, and consult with other disciplines.
Consultation / Liaison (C/L).
A Psychology Resident will have the opportunity to work on the C/L service in Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick working on a multidisciplinary treatment team.
Children's Center for Resilience and Trauma Recovery.
The Rutgers Children’s Center for Resilience and Trauma Recovery (CCRTR) is a SAMHSA-funded Category III Trauma Services Training Center. A Psychology Resident on this rotation is provided with training in evidence-informed approaches to trauma, including Attachment, Self-Regulation, and Competency (ARC), ARC Grow- A Caregiver Skill Building Intervention, and Youth Mental Health First Aid. In addition, the Psychology Resident has opportunities to provide education and consultation and to assist in ongoing trainings. Psychology Residents also develop important science communication skills by writing a monthly article for the CCRTR website and posting to the CCRTR social media accounts. Additional information may be found on their website at: https://rukidsrresilient.org/program/
Substance Use Disorder (SUD) Treatment.
The SUD Treatment minor rotation will offer Psychology Residents the opportunity for training and service delivery in behavioral addictions and SUD, including OUD treatment. Rotation locations include:
Adult SUD Treatment at New Brunswick Outpatient at Rutgers Health Specialized Addiction Treatment Services (SATS). SATS provides interdisciplinary treatment for people with SUD, in addition to an Acute Withdrawal Management (AWM) program for people who have OUD, which specifically offers buprenorphine induction. SATS also offers intensive outpatient programming (IOP) and a separate IOP at the Middlesex County jail. Interns would work alongside other psychology students and interns, RNs and APNs, MD/DOs, and social workers.
Rutgers New Jersey Medical School (NJMS) Addiction Medicine Clinic. NJMS operates a large clinic that offers buprenorphine services to underserved Newark residents who have OUD. Interns will have the unique opportunity to train alongside medical residents, nurses, APNs, and social workers in the evaluation and treatment of patients who have OUD, other SUD, and behavioral addictions.
RWJBarnabas Behavioral Health (RWJBBH). RWJBBH offers a full continuum of behavioral health services, SUD treatment, and comprehensive medical care, including inpatient and outpatient SUD programming for children/adolescents, adults, and older adults. Here, interns will train alongside APNs, MDs, social workers and medical and social work students.
Rutgers Health Addictions Center (RHAC). Located 20-minutes from New Brunswick, research and training in evidence-based practice is a central part of this center’s mission. The Center has several SUD treatment components and levels of care including inpatient, inpatient withdrawal management, partial hospitalization, outpatient/intensive outpatient, and medication treatment services including for OUD.
