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The Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior (DPHB) has two types of postdoctoral fellowships, those with a primary research focus and those with a primary clinical focus. For administrative reasons, they are categorized based on source of funding, i.e. by hospital funding and by federal training grants. Hospital-based clinical research fellowships described on this page are funded by hospitals through either hospital operating budgets or individual faculty research grants. Those fellowships funded by hospitals are primarily clinical in nature while those funded by individual faculty research grants are primarly research funded.

Click here for a listing of Clinical research fellowships available for the 2008-2009 academic year.

NIH postdoctoral research fellowships are supported by individual and institutional training grants from NIH.

The clinical research fellowship program is listed as a member of the Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers (APPIC). Clinically focused fellowships are accredited by the American Psychological Association (APA). The Brown Clinical Psychology Training Consortium is a member of the Academy of Psychological Clinical Science (APCS).

Because many fellowships are tied directly to ongoing research grants, the number and types of research focused positions vary from year to year, reflecting changes in funding level and activity of the faculty.

Program Philosophy

The DPHB at Brown Medical School offers advanced training at the postdoctoral level for qualified individuals. The primary purpose of the fellowship is to provide a training program that assures the development of proficiency in a specific area of clinical psychology, with emphasis on clinical research and clinical service. Two years of postdoctoral training is considered optimal but a one-year commitment is available for some of the fellowship positions. Applicants must hold a doctoral degree from an APA-accredited program or the equivalent at the time the fellowship begins.  To be considered a postdoctoral fellow the trainee must have met all requirements for the PhD., including successful defense of the doctoral dissertation (which includes submission and final approval by the dissertation committee of any changes requested at the time of the dissertation defense).  In order to graduate from the program as a postdoctoral fellow and receive a certificate of completion, the fellow must complete at least twelve months in the fellowship with a Ph.D.

The exact nature of training (e.g., direct care, exposure to ongoing faculty research, direct research involvement of the fellow, etc.) is decided on an individual basis by each of the trainees and their faculty mentors. It is the philosophy of the Fellowship Program that all postdoctoral fellows in clinical psychology should have both clinical and research exposure during their training. However, the Fellowships vary across settings such that in one instance research goals can be primary and clinical goals secondary while in another, clinical goals can be primary and research goals secondary. Allocation of time between research and clinical activities is negotiated in advance of accepting the fellowship. The allocation should be in keeping with the goals of the individual fellow.

The Director of the Training Consortium and the Track Coordinator oversee the fellowships across all the hospitals. All fellows meet with the Director once per year and more often as necessary. The training committee sets general policy, but most training issues fall to the individual faculty mentors/supervisors and "track" (i.e., child clinical, adult clinical, neuropsychology, and behavioral medicine) committees to decide. Each faculty mentor has the role of overseeing the specific goals of the trainee.

Specific training objectives are formulated at the beginning of the fellowship with supervisors. Evaluation is based on a competency-based format which emphasizes acquisition of special clinical skills and/or research abilities. Training objectives are achieved through an apprenticeship model where the fellow works closely with a faculty member in the provision of clinical services and/or in conducting research. The faculty member serves as primary supervisor and role model, and the close supervisory relationship permits the fellow to develop clinical and/or research skills as well as role identity. The amount of individual and group supervision varies across fellowships. The minimum amount of individual supervision is two hours per week. General guidelines for the research and clinical options are described below.

The focus of the adult clinical track is on the application of basic experimental behavioral science to the understanding and treatment of adult behavior disorders. The general goals are to promote expertise in the assessment and treatment of adult psychiatric disorders, and to prepare fellows for careers that integrate clinical research with clinical practice. Adult clinical fellowships are typically offered at the Brown Medical School, Rhode Island Hospital, Butler Hospital and the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

The general goal of the child clinical track is to allow the fellow to gain greater depth of knowledge and clinical experience in specific areas of clinical or research interest within clinical child or pediatric psychology. Clinical child training, with an emphasis on developmental psychopathology is available at Bradley Hospital, a children's psychiatric hospital. Training in Pediatric Psychology at Rhode Island Hospital provides a broad exposure to clinical services across chronic and psychosomatic illness and focused research with a specific pediatric population. At Women & Infants Hospital training is provided with neonates and infants.

The primary purpose of the Health Psychology/Behavioral Medicine track is to enable fellows to gain a thorough understanding of the relationship between behavior and physical health/illness, the role of behavior change in chronic disease prevention and the biopsychosocial model of illness, and the application of this knowledge to clinical practice and research. These fellowships are typically available at Miriam Hospital, Rhode Island Hospital, Butler Hospital and the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

The neuropsychology track fellowship is designed to provide both didactic and experiential training in assessment, consultation, and treatment methods in neuropsychology. Specialization in a specific area, such as rehabilitation, gerontology, child, general medicine or neuropsychiatry, is available at the various training sites. Fellows are exposed to both quantitative and qualitative approaches to neuropsychological assessment and undertake a specific research project during training. Consistent with INS/APA Division 40 guidelines for neuropsychology training, fellows are also required to participate in didactic training. These fellowships are usually available at all of the consortium hospitals.