> ![](media/image1.png){width="1.125in"
> height="1.4166666666666667in"}**Psychology Internship Program**

**Alaska VA Healthcare System & Regional Office**\
Chief Psychologist, Director of Training

3001 C Street

Anchorage, AK  99503

\(907\) 273-4078***\
**<http://www.visn20.med.va.gov/Alaska/>*

**Application deadline: December 1, 2008**

**MATCH Number: 2067**

## Accreditation Status

The predoctoral internship at the **Alaska VA Healthcare System &
Regional Office** is not yet accredited by the Commission on
Accreditation of the American Psychological Association.

An application for accreditation is in process, and a site visit is
expected by 2010.

## Application & Selection Procedures 

Our internship seeks applicants who are graduate students in good
standing in a Ph.D. or Psy.D. in clinical or counseling psychology
program approved by APA or its equivalent, and are seeking a generalist
training with an emphasis on cultural diversity and service delivery in
rural and frontier healthcare environments.

***To apply, submit the following materials:***

-   [Application for Associated Health Occupations
    (10-2850C)](http://www.va.gov/vaforms/medical/pdf/vha-10-2850c-fill.pdf).

-   [Federal Employment Application
    (OF-612)](http://www.prc.gov/employment/of0612.pdfhttp:/www1.va.gov/minneapolis/education/psychology/Fed_Employment.doc).

-   Detailed vita describing background training, experience, and
    scholarly activity and research.

-   Three letters of recommendation, one of which is from your
    university\'s director of clinical training.

-   Official transcripts of your graduate work sent directly by your
    university.

-   Work Sample. Please send a psychological testing report and an
    example of research or other scholarly work.

Deadline for completed applications is **December 1, 2008 for the Fall
of 2009.**

Note: A CERTIFICATION OF REGISTRATION STATUS, CERTIFICATION OF U.S.
CITIZENSHIP, and DRUG SCREENING are required to become a VA intern. The
Federal Government requires that male applicants to VA positions who
were born after 12/31/59 must sign a Pre-appointment Certification
Statement for Selective Service Registration before they are employed.
It is not necessary to submit this form with the application, but if you
are selected for this internship and fit the above criteria, you will
have to sign it. All interns will have to complete a Certification of
Citizenship in the United States prior to beginning the internship. We
will not consider applications from anyone who is not currently a U.S.
citizen. The VA conducts drug screening exams on randomly selected
personnel as well as new employees. Interns are not required to be
tested prior to beginning work, but once on staff they are subject to
random selection as are other staff.

***For more information, please contact: ***

> ***James M. Fitterling, Ph.D.*** <James.Fitterling2@va.gov>
>
> Chief Psychologist, Director of Training
>
> Alaska VA Healthcare System and Regional Office
>
> 3001 C Street
>
> Anchorage, AK  99503
>
> Office:  (907) 273-4078
>
> Fax:     (907) 273-4085

***Psychology Setting***

Psychologist positions are found in diverse settings and capacities
throughout the Alaska VA Healthcare System. Alaska VA psychologists
provide a broad array of clinical services including specialty services
in military sexual trauma, PTSD, addictions, health psychology /
behavioral medicine, and psychosocial rehabilitation. Several
psychologists serve in leadership positions including the facility\'s
Local Recovery Coordinator, and the Chief of a Comprehensive Homeless
Veterans Center. Most of the psychologists also serve as clinical
supervisors for masters and Ph.D. level psychology practicum students
from two affiliate local universities (University of Alaska Anchorage,
and Alaska Pacific University). A growing number of the Alaska VA
psychologists are receiving faculty appointments at the University of
Alaska Anchorage. The Alaska VA also provides training programs for
baccalaureate-level human services students, and baccalaureate and
masters-level nursing and social work students.

## Training Model and Program Philosophy

Our training program is committed to the scholar-practitioner model of
clinical education and practice. It is our philosophy that clinical
methods and procedures should be derived from empirically established
principles of animal and human behavior and that those procedures should
be experimentally evaluated as to their efficacy. Accordingly, we expect
interns to be able to critically evaluate research in published studies
and papers and apply research findings in their clinical practices.
There are four foundations or strategies to our training. First, a
strong emphasis is placed on developing the intern\'s ability to
approach clinical phenomena from the perspective of a
scholar-practitioner. Second, an equally important foundational
component of our training program is a strong emphasis on the
psychosocial model of recovery that focuses upon actively involving
clients in determining the goals and processes of their own recovery and
(re)discovering their strengths. Interns will have an excellent
opportunity to establish this perceptual set toward the recovery model
at the beginning of their careers as professional psychologists. Third,
while motivational interviewing (MI) is considered an evidence-based
practice (EBP), we include the theoretical underpinnings of MI as a
foundational approach for all clients. This conceptual approach to
understanding and working with client ambivalence is one of the
hallmarks of our training program. Fourth, we emphasize the development
of skills in implementing specific EBPs including: Motivational
Interviewing, Integrated Treatment of Co-Occurring Substance Abuse and
Mental Health Disorders, Seeking Safety, Exposure therapy and Cognitive
Processing Therapy for PTSD. Of particular focus is the application of
these EBPs in different cultural contexts.

## Program Goals & Objectives

Our internship is a generalist program that focuses upon preparing
interns on broadening and extending their clinical and professional
skills to become competent and effective professional psychologists
working in culturally diverse, rural and frontier healthcare
environments. While many of the objectives are specific to each
rotation, all training experiences focus on developing the following
competencies:

***Clinical:***

-   Assessment: Interview skills, level of sophistication, case
    conceptualization, link to theory & research, selection / use /
    interpretation of psychometrics, behavioral observation, etc.

-   Treatment: Link to assessment data, skill in implementation,
    comprehensiveness

-   Style: Rapport, feedback to patients, flexibility, speaking on
    patient\'s level, sensitivity to patient\'s needs

-   Reports: Accuracy, level of sophistication, comprehensiveness,
    clarity of communication, conciseness

***Professional:***

-   Initiative: Independence, self-starter, problem-solving

-   Ethical Behavior: Confidentiality, accountability

-   Professionalism: Responsibility, timeliness, self-confidence,
    interactions with other disciplines

-   Interpersonal: Peers, supervisors, support staff; shows sensitivity
    to issues of cultural and individual diversity

-   Presentation /Teaching Style: Flow, focus, handling questions

-   Response to Supervision: Ability to accept critical feedback, and
    then incorporate into ongoing treatment

## Program Structure

Each intern will complete three rotations -- Residential Psychosocial
Rehabilitation Treatment; Outpatient Primary Care; and Trauma Recovery
and Substance Abuse Treatment. Other training experiences include: (a)
multi-session focused trainings to develop specific therapy skills (e.g.
motivational interviewing), (b) topic-specific symposia (e.g., cultural
sensitivity from an indigenous perspective, psychopharmacology, public
health and psychology, neuropsychology, etc), (c) long term therapy case
supervision, (d) resident case presentations, and (e) special projects
(e.g., telemental health service system development; clinical research
and public health projects arranged through our affiliation with the
University of Alaska Anchorage).

## Rotations & Other Training Experiences 

**RESIDENTIAL PSYCHOSOCIAL REHABILITATION TREATMENT ROTATION:**

**ROTATION PHILOSOPHY:**

**The Residential Psychosocial Rehabilitation Treatment Program (RRTP)**
is based on the Recovery Model -- a strengths-based, client-centered
approach that emphasizes and supports the client's potential and active
involvement is his or her own recovery. The intern will be trained in
this model, learning how to function as a psychologist member of an
interdisciplinary team that actively engages and empowers clients in
developing and implementing their own individualized treatment plans
during a comprehensive residential treatment program that provides
mental health and substance abuse treatment, primary care, health
promotion, vocational rehabilitation, and interventions to address
multiple psychosocial problems related to homelessness.

**ROTATION OBJECTIVES:**

**1. Assessment, Case Conceptualization, and Treatment Planning**.
During this rotation, psychology interns will obtain closely supervised
experience in the biopsychosocial evaluation of new admissions to the
RRTP. Such evaluations will utilize assessment information from other
treatment team members and, assist the intern to develop her/his
clinical skills to further evaluate and clarify the often complex needs
of the veteran. Upon completion of this evaluation process, which will
include a clinical interview, mental status examination, potential
psychological testing, and consultations with other team members, the
intern will critically evaluate, integrate, and conceptualize the
multidimensional needs of the resident so as to formulate comprehensive
treatment strategies that will guide the recovery process.

**2. Individual Psychotherapy**. The intern will be given individual
psychotherapy cases over the course of this rotation under the close
supervision of her/his supervising psychologist. This will afford the
opportunity to integrate psychological theory with evidenced-based
clinical practice and to further develop diagnostic, case
conceptualization, and psychotherapy skills with clients. Prior to this
assignment, intern skills and clinical interests will be assessed so as
to best meet the needs of the client and the intern.

**3. Health Psychology.** Given that the RRTP has a robust health
promotion component to its program, this rotation will also include
training and close supervision in health psychology and behavioral
medicine so as to develop skills in utilizing psychological and
behavioral approaches to illness, chronic medical symptoms, health, and
well-being. The intern will become more knowledgeable about health
conditions and mind-body relationships that have been shown by research
to benefit from relaxation strategies such as imagery techniques,
meditation, autogenic training, diaphragmatic deep breathing, and
progressive muscle relaxation, and possibly biofeedback training. The
intern will be better versed in research findings and the models of
behavioral activation and gate theory of pain management which involve
biopsychosocial functioning and have implications in health psychology.
The intern will learn how to treat psychological factors in medical
disorders, including chronic pain, hypertension, headaches, insomnia,
gastrointestinal disorders, tobacco dependence, panic/anxiety, etc.
There will also be training in the role of cognitions associated with
stress reactions and medical symptoms, and the application of
nutritional and dietary considerations, physical exercise activities,
and potential benefits of other behavioral approaches to easing
distress.

**OUTPATIENT PRIMARY CARE ROTATION:**

**ROTATION PHILOSOPHY:**

Psychological assessment (e.g., clinical interviewing, psychological
testing, and applied behavior analysis), and therapy driven and guided
by assessment are core competencies of the doctorally trained clinical
or counseling psychologist. This rotation provides training in those
essential core competencies by closely supervising the intern's
assessment and therapy of patients representing a broad range of
clinical presentations, including those with military sexual trauma.

With the advent of integration of mental health and primary care,
psychologists have an increasing role in the primary care setting,
providing consultation and liaison to primary care providers and brief
interventions with their patients. Correspondingly, this rotation's
second focus is on training the intern how to provide psychological
services in the primary care setting. This includes emphasis training on
developing strong differential diagnostic skills when working with
primary care referrals and learning to communicate effectively with
physicians and other healthcare providers.

Interns will evaluate adults with a combination of medical and
psychological problems, and plan and implement interventions to prevent
and/or alleviate psychosocial and medical disability in these
individuals. Opportunities for practice may be available in one or more
of the following areas: sexual dysfunction, chronic disease risk factor
evaluation and management, and evaluation and brief interventions for
patients referred from primary care clinics for a variety of mental
health and substance abuse problems as well as behavioral aspects
related to medical conditions. Administrative opportunities will include
learning about the use of performance measures to evaluate the
effectiveness and efficiency of health care teams and systems and their
impact on health outcomes of patient populations. By the end of the
rotation, the intern should have increased appreciation for the many
levels of assessment and interventions that may be used to improve the
mental and physical health of populations at risk as well as individual
patients. Awareness of the skills and responsibilities of those various
professionals in outpatient mental health, substance abuse, and primary
care settings, and skillfulness facilitating the activities of smoothly
functioning treatment teams are important components to master for the
successful completion of this rotation.

**ROTATION OBJECTIVES**

***By the end of the rotation, the trainee should be able to:***

-   Use clinical and diagnostic interviewing, psychological testing, and
    behavioral assessment techniques to assess a broad range of patients
    in Social and Behavioral Health Service and referred by the Primary
    Care Clinic, including patients with military sexual trauma and a
    variety of other referral issues and presenting problems.

-   Provide individual and group therapy, and consultation to other
    providers based on assessment data and their clinical
    interpretation.

-   Provide assessment data to other clinicians and to patients in an
    understandable, sensitive and therapeutic manner, assisting patients
    (including those suffering from military sexual trauma) to increase
    their understanding of the problem(s) and to make informed choices
    about treatment options which are available.

-   Describe methods of performance evaluation for health care teams and
    systems which are relevant to the practice of psychology in those
    teams and systems.

**TRAUMA RECOVERY AND SUBSTANCE ABUSE TREATMENT ROTATION:**

**ROTATION PHILOSOPHY:**

**The Trauma Recovery Program and Substance Abuse Treatment** rotation
focuses on the development, refinement, and delivery of
empirically-validated assessments and interventions for two of the most
prevalent, serious, and often coexisting set of Axis I disorders -- (a)
posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other reactions to emotionally
traumatic events; and (b) psychoactive substance use disorders. In
addition to training in evidence-based practices, a third focus will be
on developing the intern's group therapy skills that are applicable to
specific group interventions as well as those general skills common to
all group therapy interventions and foci.

***Trauma Recovery:*** One of the rotation's goals is to train interns
on how to maximize psychological recovery and functioning of trauma
survivors, including those with recent trauma exposure including acute
stress disorder and recently diagnosed PTSD, as well as those with
chronic PTSD. The primary treatment setting is in the Mental Health
Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Program. Interns will gain
competencies in providing evidence-based therapy modalities, including
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Cognitive Processing Therapy , Seeking
Safety (emotion regulation and skills training), as well as
exposure-based interventions such as systematic desensitization,
therapeutic cue exposure with avoidance response prevention, and Foa's
model of Emotional Processing. To prepare the intern for this rotation
element, there will be an initial review of learning, conditioning, and
cognitive processing theories upon which these evidence-based
interventions are grounded.

***Substance Abuse Treatment:*** Developing an understanding of
substance use theory, the role of psychological / behavioral risk
factors in the development and maintenance of substance use disorders
and developing competence in empirically-based methods of assessment and
intervention are necessary to achieving this second primary objective of
this rotation. Interns will become experienced in providing group-based
cognitive behavioral interventions and skills training (e.g., problem
solving, relapse prevention, communication and assertion skills
training, cognitive processing, and motivational enhancement.)

***Group Therapy Training:*** Training and supervision in group
treatment of aspects of trauma, substance abuse, and recovery will be an
active part of this rotation. In addition to the competencies specific
to the abovementioned evidence-based group therapies associated with
trauma recovery and substance abuse treatment, interns will also receive
additional group therapy skills training to enhance their competency in
areas such as: assessment of patient readiness, guiding and redirecting
the therapeutic discussion, process, and dynamics; dealing with
resistance and ambivalence; flexibility; group evaluation, etc.

(Other): Interns interested in minor rotations may elect training and
mentoring in empathy training, issues related to sexual health,
strengths-based approaches in psychotherapy, and special issues related
to attachment and parenting.

**ROTATION OBJECTIVES:**

***By completion of the rotation, an intern should be able to:***

-   Differentiate PTSD from other forms of psychopathology.

-   Conceptualize and implement specific evidence-based PTSD and
    substance abuse treatments.

-   Use motivational enhancement training and motivational interviewing
    to help ambivalent and resistant clients.

-   Utilize and adapt intervention specific and general group therapy
    skills in diverse applications, patients, etc.

## Requirements for Completion

It is expected that each intern will attend all scheduled didactic
presentations and actively engage in the training rotations for the full
duration of the assignment unless there is prior approval for the
absence. The intern will be responsible for assuring attendance at a
minimum of 80% of all scheduled presentations including, but not limited
to Training Seminars, Psychology Clinical Case Conferences, and
Professional Development Seminars. Where feasible, attendance will be
monitored via sign-in sheets. Where applicable, the attendance criteria
include the completion of any evaluation forms.

Program completion requires 2080 hours of internship training activities
under clinical supervision (four hours weekly). Performance evaluation
of and feedback to interns by clinical supervisors and other internship
faculty is continuous; however, more formal evaluations are completed at
the midpoint and end of each rotation, as well as at the mid-point and
end of the internship year. Maintaining good standing and completing the
internship requires receiving satisfactory ratings in:

***Clinical Activities:***

-   Assessment (Case conceptualization, interview skills, link to theory
    and research, level of sophistication, selection and implementation
    of psychometrics, behavioral observation, etc.)

-   Treatment (link to assessment data, overall skill in implementation,
    comprehensiveness, fidelity to evidence-based protocols.)

-   Style (rapport, feedback to patients, flexibility, speaking on
    patient's level, sensitivity to patient's strengths, needs,
    abilities, and preferences.)

-   Reports (level of sophistication, conciseness, comprehensiveness,
    clarity of communication.

***Professional Attributes:***

-   Initiative (independence, self-starter, problem-solving)

-   Ethical Behavior (confidentiality, accountability)

-   Professionalism (responsibility, timeliness, interactions with other
    disciplines)

-   Interpersonal (peers, supervisors, support staff)

-   Presentation / Teaching Style (flow, focus, handling questions)

-   Response to Supervision (accept critical feedback, incorporate
    feedback into treatment)

## Facility and Training Resources

Each intern will have a dedicated office with computers and phones; cell
phones and digital recording equipment will be available to support
clinical supervision and training activities. In addition to the support
from psychology internship faculty and clinical staff, each resident
will have administrative and program support for training and
consultation with electronic medical record management, telemental
health, and other clinical applications; and data management related to
clinical workload, program and facility performance improvement
programs. Video-teleconferencing and \"Smart Board\" technologies are
available to support continuing education seminars, clinical case
conferences, and other trainings as well as clinical applications. The
AVAHSRO also has made a considerable investment in telehealth
technology, which will support intern experiences in telemental health
applications.

University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) Consortium Library offers excellent
facilities and receives all major psychology, medicine, and public
health journals. The capacity for database searches of the card catalog,
Medline, ERIC, CINAHL, HEALTH, New England Journal of Medicine, PsychLit
(Psychological Abstracts), and many others is available on-site and
remotely. The library also has an excellent electronic inter-library
loan system for periodicals that are not available at UAA.

The Ph.D. program in Community/Clinical Psychology, and the Masters of
Public Health degree programs at UAA include internship faculty and
interns in seminar and other educational offerings, including options to
participate in NIH-funded clinical research.

## Administrative Policies & Porcedures

NOTE: Our privacy policy is clear: we will collect no personal
information about you when you visit our Website.

Our fully developed internship policy and procedure manual covers all
domains applicable to our trainees, including, but not limited to (a)
Administrative (e.g., training committee structure and function,
intern\'s involvement in faculty meetings, intern selection, evaluations
of interns, faculty, rotation, etc.); (b) Training (e.g., compliance
with training and ethical requirements, outside placements,
moonlighting, supervisor qualifications, rotation placement changes,
etc.); and (c) other (e.g., impaired intern -- definition and
remediation, grievance procedures, disciplinary procedures.)

***Of particular note:***

-   Leave Policy: Our authorized leave policy is the same that applies
    to all VA Psychology Training Programs.

-   Due Process: A specific policy is established to ensure and guide
    due process for all interns. Grievances covered by this policy
    include, but are not limited to (a) challenging a performance
    rating, (b) grievance against clinical, teaching, supervision, or
    other professional behavior of faculty member(s); or (c) challenging
    a program policy or procedure. (This policy does not deny the
    intern\'s right to grieve directly to the Chief of Staff or the
    Human Resources Management Service.

-   Our internship program does not require self-disclosure.

## Training Staff

Five doctoral psychologists representing diverse theoretical
orientations, clinical specialties, and interests, typically having
academic appointments at the University of Alaska Anchorage. The staff
is experienced and highly committed to clinical service and professional
training.

**Training Director:**

Name: James M. Fitterling

Degree: Ph.D., Clinical Psychology with specialization in behavior
therapy

Date of Degree: 1986

University: Georgia State University

Primary Clinical and Research Interests and Expertise: Substance abuse
(clinical, administrative, research); motivational factors in mental
health, substance abuse, and recovery (clinical and research); Alcohol
and drug cue reactivity (research); HIV (research).

University appointment: Affiliate Associate Professor, Behavioral Health
Research and Services, Department of Psychology, University of Alaska
Anchorage.

Faculty:

Name: Marie K. Bateman

Degree: Ph.D., Clinical Psychology

Date of Degree: 1994

University: Illinois Institute of Technology

Primary Clinical and Research Interests and Expertise: Interpersonal
Violence (victims of violence, threat assessment, substance abuse, anger
management, domestic violence) and Human Reliability (psychology and
law, assessment for public safety employees).

University appointment: (pending)

Name: Catherine K. Rutherford

Degree: Ph.D., Clinical Psychology

Date of Degree: 1997

University: Western Michigan University

Primary Clinical and Research Interests and Expertise: Cultural
diversity, antisocial personality disorder, corrections, Application of
Recovery Model in Serious Mental Illness population, eating disorders..

University appointments: (none)

Name: Jennifer Beathe

Degree: Psy.D., Clinical Psychology

Date of Degree: 2005

University: The Wright Institute

Primary Clinical and Research Interests and Expertise: Assessment and
treatment of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder; Cognitive Behavior Therapy;
Cognitive Processing Therapy; Dialectical Behavior Therapy; Emotional
regulation and skills training.

University appointments: (none)

Name: Gerald Alatalo

Degree: Psy.D., Clinical Psychology

Date of Degree: 1994

University: Spalding University

Primary Clinical and Research Interests and Expertise: Post Traumatic
Stress Disorder, panic/anxiety disorders, Eye Movement Desensitization
and Reprocessing, health/medical psychology & behavioral medicine,
clinical nutrition, chemical dependency/addictions/recovery.

University appointments: (none)

## Trainees

***Graduate Programs of Current Interns:***

-   The University of Montana; Ph.D., Clinical Psychology

-   Alliant International University, California Professional School of
    Psychology; Psy.D., Clinical Psychology     

## Local Information

Anchorage is a young and thriving metropolis -- a four-time All-American
City, rich in culture and the arts. Locals are quick to point out that
perhaps its greatest virtue is that it is \"only minutes away from
Alaska!\" Beyond the foothills at Anchorage\'s edge lies the third
largest state park in America -- a half-million acres of some of the
most accessible hiking, skiing, camping, wildlife viewing,
snowmachining, rafting, and climbing in Alaska. The mountainous backdrop
to Anchorage reminds us that, although we live in an urban setting, we
really reside in the middle of a vast wilderness.

***For additional information about our locale:***

[http://www.bigwildlife.net/brand.html.](http://www.bigwildlife.net/brand.html)