Brown Clinical Psychology Training Consortium
Post-Doctoral Fellowship in Anxiety Disorders:
Longitudinal Course and Primary Care Treatment
Site:
Research Core, Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior
Supervisor(s):
Risa B. Weisberg, Ph.D.
Kristin Maki, Ph.D.
Martin B. Keller, M.D.
Fellowship Aims
- To provide the fellow with broad post-doctoral training in the area of anxiety disorders.
- To provide the fellow with a strong working knowledge of naturalistic longitudinal research, anxiety disorder research, recruitment and follow-up of minority samples, research design and project coordination.
- To provide the fellow with knowledge of research on mental health issues in primary care settings.
Fellowship Timeline
The duration of the fellowship is 2 years, contingent upon satisfactory progress. The fellowship will initiate August 1, 2007.
Research Activity Plan
The fellow will be exposed to various aspects of anxiety clinical and research work. Training will occur on three anxiety disorder studies: 1) the Primary Care Anxiety Project (PCAP), a naturalistic, longitudinal study of anxiety disorders in primary care patients; 2) the Harvard/ Brown Anxiety Research Project (HARP), a naturalistic, longitudinal study of anxiety disorders with a new aim of examining the course of anxiety in Latino/a and African American samples; and 3) Learning to Ease Anxiety in Primary care (LEAP), a treatment development study working to create and pilot a cognitive-behavioral therapy specifically for primary care patients with anxiety disorders. Training will be achieved via participation in the following activities:
- Study coordination: The fellow will collaborate with a co-investigator (Dr. Maki) to coordinate an ongoing, longitudinal, naturalistic study of anxiety disorders in primary care patients (the Primary Care Anxiety Project; PCAP). Duties will include oversight of continued follow-up of the study sample, administrative supervision of research assistants, reporting to institutional review boards and industry funding source (Pfizer, Inc). The fellow will also work with the primary investigator of LEAP (Dr. Weisberg) to assist in research administration tasks including modification of the treatment protocol, preparing reports to institutional review boards and the funding agency (NIH). Overall, study coordination will involve approximately 45% of the fellow’s time.
- Grant writing: The fellow will be encouraged to develop a grant idea and submit a grant proposal by the end of the fellowship term. The fellow will regularly attend weekly grant writing seminars to facilitate this goal. Up to 15% percent time will be allotted. If the fellow does not write a grant, this time can be allocated to manuscript preparation or involvement in other studies.
- Manuscript preparation and submission: The fellow will be encouraged to collaborate on manuscript preparation through projects in the department (HARP, PCAP, LEAP) and will also present poster and oral presentations at national conferences. Individually tailored goals will be established in this area. Approximate percent time spent on manuscript preparation will be 15%. Specific details to be negotiated with the post-doctoral fellow.
- Didactics: The fellow will attend a formal didactic program concentrating on advanced research methodology, statistical techniques, grant writing, ethical conduct of research, and selected clinical topics. Percent time spent on didactics will be 7.5%.
Clinical Activity Plan
The fellowship is also devised to ensure that the fellow receives a high level of clinical training in the area of anxiety disorders, and that sufficient time is devoted to these activities to permit the fellow to apply for the R.I. psychology licensure exam, at the termination of the fellowship (i.e., after 2 years). The following activities will be required during the fellowship:
- Cognitive behavioral treatment of primary care patients with anxiety disorders: The fellow will serve as a therapist on a randomized controlled study of CBT for primary care patients with anxiety disorders. Approximate percent time = 10%.
- Clinical assessment and supervision: The fellow will be involved in clinical assessment of anxiety and other disorders. This training will involve the direct conduct of structured clinical assessments of study subjects for departmental projects (i.e., PCAP, HARP, LEAP), and the clinical supervision of bachelors level research assistants, in diagnosis and assessment. 7.5% time will be involved in this activity.
- Other treatment services: If the fellow desires further clinical experiences (e.g., wishes to sit for the licensing examination after 1 year of fellowship) and time allows, the postdoctoral fellow will be assisted and supported in obtaining other placements to do treatment in anxiety and related disorders.
- Post-Doctoral Seminars: The fellow will participate in the required monthly core post-doctoral seminars through the Brown University Post Doctoral Training Program
Supervision and Evaluation
Dr. Weisberg will meet with the fellow(s) weekly and will supervise all of work on LEAP, grantsmanship, manuscript writing, and professional development. Dr. Maki will serve as the supervisor for administrative issues and project coordination of the PCAP study. The fellow will also participate in study group meetings with the PIs and Co-PIs on each study. Any additional, external, treatment services provided will be supervised by a qualified licensed psychologist at the clinical placement site.
At the conclusion and midpoint of the fellowship, the fellow and the supervisors are requested to provide formal evaluations, and evaluations of the program relative to the goals and learning objectives of the fellowship.
Resource Requirements
Fellow will be provided with the following resources:
- Office space in the Duncan Building at Butler Hospital:
- A personal desktop computer and project specific software
- Internet access
- Telephone