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192514 – University Health – Behavioral Health Acute Care Track
Internship positions available: 1
About this Rotation
University Health Behavioral Health Acute Care is an adult, inpatient psychiatric unit located in downtown Kansas City, and housed inside the building for the Center for Behavioral Medicine. The inpatient units provide short-term acute care and stabilization for adults by offering a multidisciplinary treatment team approach.
The patient population includes adults 18 years of age and older with a vast range of cultural and socio-economic backgrounds, and mental health diagnoses.
Core Inpatient Services:
-
- Brief individual therapy
- Assessment
- Group therapy
- Supervision of practicum students
- Interdisciplinary treatment team meetings
Interns also may have the opportunity to observe risk assessment, civil commitment proceedings, and guardianship hearings, when available.
Training Opportunities
Interns will be able to gain experience providing individual therapy, group therapy, testing, and collaboration with a multidisciplinary team. Additionally, interns will provide a range of clinical intervention services and will gain experience with treatment planning, crisis intervention, outcome measurement, and consultation with other professionals.
Inpatient evaluations typically involve a combination of a brief clinical interview and selection of measures that include the MMPI-3, MCMI-IV, WASI-II, BCSE, M-FAST, and TOMM. Outpatient clinics routinely utilize standardized outcome measures and some outpatient testing opportunities might be available at times.
Interns will also participate in group supervision through the interdisciplinary treatment teams on the inpatient units along with an additional hour with a third licensed psychologist at one of the outpatient settings.
Rotation Schedule
Interns typically work a Monday – Friday schedule from 8:00 to 4:30 pm. No weekend work, on-call, or holiday work is required. Typical inpatient workdays will include attending multidisciplinary treatment team meetings, gathering patient outcome data, providing group therapy, providing brief individual therapy, and completing psychological assessments. Each week will include multiple hours of group supervision in some form, a minimum of two hours of individual supervision, and a minimum of two hours of journal review.
Interns have a dedicated inpatient workstation which includes a shared phone-line, individual computer, and a large window with a view of one of the building’s many courtyards. The Psychology Department maintains various tests utilized in an acute mental health setting, which are generally maintained in the interns’ training office, where interns can read the manuals, practice with the instruments, and easily access them when needed.
Example Schedule
| Time of Day | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday |
| 8:00 am |
Outpatient Therapy
|
Outpatient Therapy
|
Chart Review/Outcome Measure
|
Chart Review/Outcome Measures
|
Didactics
|
| 9:00 am |
Outpatient Therapy
|
Outpatient Therapy
|
Treatment Team 2C and 2D
|
Treatment Team 2C and 2D
|
Didactics
|
| 10:00 am |
Outpatient Therapy
|
Outpatient Therapy
|
Treatment Team 2C and 2D
|
Treatment Team 2C and 2D
|
Didactics
|
| 11:00 am |
Outpatient Therapy
|
Outpatient Therapy
|
Individual Therapy/ Assessment
|
Individual Therapy/Assessment
|
Didactics
|
| 12:00 pm | Lunch | Lunch | Lunch | Lunch | Lunch |
| 1:00 pm |
Individual Supervision
|
Journal Review
|
Individual Therapy/ Assessment
|
Individual Therapy/ Assessment
|
Journal Review
|
| 2:00 pm |
Outpatient Group
|
Outpatient Therapy
|
Group on 2C
|
Group on 2C
|
Group on 2C
|
| 3:00 pm |
Outpatient Therapy
|
Outpatient Therapy
|
Individual Therapy/Assessment
|
Individual Therapy/Assessment
|
Individual Therapy/Assessment
|
| 4:00 pm |
Documentation
|
Group Supervision
|
Individual Supervision
|
Documentation
|
Documentation
|
Please note that not every experience is identical and site schedules are a general guideline. Interns may be required to make themselves available at other times as needed. What is provided above is an example of what the work week might look like for an intern at this site.
Placement Locations
- University Health Behavioral Health Acute Care: The inpatient unit is located downtown and housed inside the building for the Center for Behavioral Medicine, where UH operates two 25-bed inpatient units
It should be noted that the University Health office locations are approximately 2 – 2.5 hours away from quarterly in-person didactic training (including orientation) in Springfield, Columbia, and Jefferson City, Missouri. Due to the distance, interns at this location will be provided with some travel reimbursement considerations for any required training to these events.
APPIC Training Experiences
Treatment Modalities
Example treatment modalities (as listed by APPIC):
|
Assessment
|
Emphasis (31% to 49%) |
|
Individual Intervention
|
Emphasis (31% to 49%) |
|
Couples Intervention
|
N/A |
|
Family Intervention
|
N/A |
|
Group Intervention
|
Experience (21% to 30%) |
|
Community Intervention
|
N/A |
|
Consultation/Liaison
|
Exposure (1% to 20%) |
|
Crisis Intervention
|
Exposure (1% to 20%) |
|
Brief Intervention
|
Emphasis (31% to 49%) |
|
Long-Term Intervention
|
Exposure (1% to 20%) |
|
Cognitive Rehabilitation
|
N/A |
|
Primary Care
|
N/A |
|
Supervision of Prac. Students
|
Exposure (1% to 20%) |
|
Evidence-Based Practice
|
Major Area (50%+) |
|
Evidence-Based Research
|
Exposure (1% to 20%) |
Supervised Experiences
Example supervised experiences (as listed by APPIC):
| Health Psychology | Exposure (1% to 20%) |
Forensics / Corrections
|
Exposure (1% to 20%) |
| Women’s Health | Exposure (1% to 20%) |
Sexual Offenders
|
N/A |
|
HIV / AIDS
|
Exposure (1% to 20%) | Geropsychology | Exposure (1% to 20%) |
| Eating Disorders | N/A | Pediatrics | Experience (21% to 30%) |
| Sexual Disorders | N/A | School | N/A |
| Sports Psychology | N/A | Counseling | N/A |
| Rehabilitation Psychology | N/A |
Vocational / Career Development
|
N/A |
| Physical Disabilities | Experience (21% to 30%) |
Multicultural Therapy
|
Experience (21% to 30%) |
| Learning Disabilities | Exposure (1% to 20%) |
Feminist Therapy
|
N/A |
| Developmental Disabilities | Exposure (1% to 20%) |
Religion / Spirituality
|
Exposure (1% to 20%) |
| Assessment | Major Area (50%+) |
Empirically-Supported Treatment
|
Major Area (50%+) |
| Neuropsychology – Adult | Exposure (1% to 20%) |
Public Policy / Advocacy
|
N/A |
|
Neuropsychology – Child
|
N/A |
Program Development/Evaluation
|
Exposure (1% to 20%) |
| Serious Mental Illness | Major Area (50%+) | Supervision | Emphasis (31% to 49%) |
| Anxiety Disorders | Emphasis (31% to 49%) | Research | N/A |
| Trauma/PTSD | Emphasis (31% to 49%) | Administration | N/A |
|
Sexual Abuse
|
Experience (21% to 30%) |
Integrated Health Care–Primary
|
Exposure (1% to 20%) |
| Substance Use Disorders | Emphasis (31% to 49%) |
Integrated Health Care–Specialty
|
Exposure (1% to 20%) |
Patient Populations
University Health is the largest and most comprehensive health safety-net provider serving Jackson County and Kansas City, Missouri. The service area comprises the urban core of Kansas City, along with the suburban and rural communities that surround the Kansas City metro area.
University Health serves a number of special populations which include those with low socioeconomic status, individuals who are unhoused, incarcerated individuals, and overall populations at-risk due to social and economic disadvantage.
The racial composition of University Health Sciences District service area includes two primary categories: White and African American. These two categories comprise 90.06% of the customers within the Health Sciences District area. Racially, the University Health Sciences District service area reflects the greater Jackson County, Missouri racial mix, with 67.31% White, 22.75% African American, 8.95% Hispanic, 2.06 % Asian, 0.46% Native American/Alaskan Native, 0.29% Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, 4.0% reporting some other race, and 3.13% reporting multiple races. The socio-economic data reflects the University Health Sciences District service area has a large number of people in poverty status.
University Health strives to maintain a diverse workforce. University Health strives to set a community example through taking a leadership role in diversity and inclusion, which includes partnering with other organizations in supporting the Trans Health Inclusion conference and other educational and networking opportunities. UH has developed both a Leader’s Diversity and Inclusion Council as well as an Executive Diversity and Inclusion council. There is both a behavioral health and corporate diversity committee, and University Health hospitals account for two of the 14 Missouri locations that have obtained the LGBTQ Healthcare Equality Index Leader designation.
| Children | 15% |
| Adolescents | 10% |
| Adults | 75% |
| Family | 0% |
| Older Adults | 5% |
| Inpatients | 50% |
| Outpatients | 50% |
| LBGTQIA+ | 10% |
| Ethnic Minorities | 40% |
| Spanish Speaking | 5% |
| French Speaking | 0% |
| Deaf/Hearing Impaired | 1% |
| Students | 0% |
| International Students | 0% |
| Rural | 10% |
| Urban | 90% |
| Low Income | 75% |
| Homeless | 20% |
| Number of Counties Served | |
| Total Number of Clients Served | 9623 |
Our Supervisors
While we won’t know your exact supervisor assignments until the internship starts, these are examples of some of the individuals you may work with over the course of your year at the site.
Site Training Director
Ashlee Jones, Psy.D.
Dr. Jones works primarily with children, adolescents, and families as an outpatient psychologist at University Health, Crossroads Counseling in Kansas City, Missouri where she provides evidence-based treatments. She is a licensed psychologist and health service provider in the state of Missouri. She has extensive experience providing individual therapy, family therapy and psychological assessment. She provides psychological testing specifically with diagnostic clarification for Autism Spectrum Disorder. She has participated in ECHO Autism, ECHO Autism Center Engagement and ECHO Rubi. She has extensive experience providing didactic presentations on Autism, therapy with children, and psychological testing. Furthermore, Dr. Jones has provided supervision of masters-level and doctoral-level interns. She is a member of the American Psychological Association, APA Division 53 (Society of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology) and APA Division 12 (Society of Clinical Psychology).
Supervisors
Eric Shult, Ph.D.
Dr. Eric Shult received his doctorate in counseling psychology at the University of Memphis and his undergraduate degree from Humboldt State University. He is a licensed psychologist in the state of Missouri. After completing his postdoctoral residency at Truman Medical Centers in 2013, Dr. Shut became a psychologist at Truman Medical Centers Inpatient Units. He has extensive experience treating chronic mood, anxiety, and personality issues in both outpatient and inpatient settings. He has extensive experience providing didactic presentations on multiculturalism and suicide prevention and is an adjunct instructor at Avila University in Kansas City, Missouri. Furthermore, Dr. Shult has extensive experience training and providing supervision of masters-level and doctoral-level interns.
Life in Kansas City, MO
The Kansas City metropolitan area offers a wide range of activities and attractions to ensure there are plenty of ways to unwind during time away from training.
Sports
Kansas City offers multiple professional and semi-professional sporting events throughout the year, including baseball, ice hockey, football, soccer, college basketball, and auto racing. Be here to watch the 2015 World Series Champions in action.
Museums and the Arts
Kansas City has a variety of activities related to music, the performing arts, and visual art, including the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, the 18th and Vine Jazz District, Crossroads Art District, Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, WWI Museum at Liberty Memorial, Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, and multiple indoor and outdoor concert centers.
Shopping and Entertainment
The Kansas City area provides several excellent shopping locations, including the Country Club Plaza and Legends Outlets. It also offers a variety of nightlife options, including the Power & Light District, Westport District, and multiple casinos. There are also multiple locations for family fun, including amusement and water parks, the Kansas City Zoo, LEGOLAND Discovery Center, and the Kansas City Sea Life Aquarium.