Pediatric Behavioral Health Internship/Residency

Internship Admissions, Support, and Initial Placement Data

Internship Program Admissions

Date Program Tables are updated: October 2024

Briefly describe in narrative form important information to assist potential applicants in assessing their possible fit with your program. This description must be consistent with the program's policies on intern selection and practicum and academic preparation requirements:

All successful candidates for admission to the program should meet the following criteria:

• Current enrollment in an APA or CPA-accredited doctoral program in Clinical, Counseling, or School Psychology.
• Have earned a Master's degree in psychology or a related field, likely as part of their doctoral training.
• Have completed at least 500 hours of formal, supervised practicum training in assessment and treatment.
• Satisfactory completion of comprehensive examinations and adequate preparation for the internship as indicated by the applicant's graduate program director.
• Reliable transportation to participate in rotations across the Cleveland Clinic Health System (greater Cleveland area).

Individuals who do not meet the above admissions requirements will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Does the program require that applicants have received a minimum number of hours of the following at the time of application? If yes, indicate how many:

• Total Direct Contact Intervention Hours: 500 Combined intervention/assessment.
• Total Direct Contact Assessment Hours: 500 Combined intervention/assessment.

Describe any other required minimum criteria used to screen applicants:

In addition to the above, successful applicants will likely demonstrate the following characteristics:

• Extensive experience in the evaluation and treatment of children and adolescents.
• Research, clinical, and/or academic course experience within the field of pediatric psychology.
• Familiarity in the execution of evidence-based treatments.
• Experience administering, scoring, and interpreting standardized measures of intelligence and academic achievement as demonstrated by the completion of comprehensive psychological assessment reports.
• Evidence for passion and dedication to the field of pediatric and/or child-clinical psychology.

Financial and Other Benefit Support for Upcoming Training Year*

• Annual Stipend/Salary for Full-time Interns: $48,214
• Annual Stipend/Salary for Half-time Interns: N/A
• Does the program provide access to medical insurance for interns? Yes.
• Is trainee contribution to cost required? Yes.
• Is coverage of family member(s) available? Yes.
• Is coverage of legally married partners available? Yes.
• Is coverage of domestic partners available? Yes.
• Hours of Annual Paid Personal Time Off (PTO and/or Vacation): 15 vacation days; 5 personal days.
• If medical conditions and/or family needs require extended leave, does the program allow reasonable unpaid leave to interns/residents over personal time off and sick leave? Yes

Other benefits

• Six (6) recognized holidays (New Year's Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day).
• Time for professional development, including meeting attendance and interviews approved with departmental permission.
• Access to Cleveland Clinic Alumni Library, including extensive online databases.
• Access to on-campus fitness center with indoor pool, weight and cardio equipment, and various classes.

Note: Programs are not required by the Commission on Accreditation to provide all benefits listed above.

Initial Post-Internship Positions

Note: “PD” = Post-doctoral residency position; “EP” = Employed Position.
Each individual represented in this table should is counted only one time. For former trainees working in more than one setting, one setting representing their primary position is selected.

Aims & Competencies

Overview of the Pediatric Behavioral Health Residency (Internship in Health Service Psychology)

The twelve-month Health Service Psychology internship program in Pediatric Behavioral Health is designed to prepare advanced doctoral students for the practice of clinical psychology in integrated healthcare settings with child and adolescent populations. Particular attention is paid to training the intern to work with various child clinical and pediatric populations and utilizing multiple treatments and assessment modalities.

The program is housed within the Division of Pediatric Psychology a department in Cleveland Clinic Children's. However, the physical location of training is spread across multiple areas, including Cleveland Clinic Children's main campus, Cleveland Clinic Children's Hospital for Rehabilitation, and several regional Cleveland Clinic campuses serving families in convenient outpatient facilities.

Specific rotations include training in inpatient consultation/liaison, outpatient treatment for behavioral medicine and child clinical populations, group treatment, and evaluation of common childhood disorders.

Competencies

The internship program in pediatric behavioral health is designed to prepare advanced doctoral students for the practice of clinical psychology in integrated healthcare settings with child and adolescent populations. The program is designed to build upon trainee's competencies in each of these professional-wide competencies identified in the APA SoA, within the context of an integrated healthcare setting with child and adolescent populations:

A. Research.
B. Ethical and legal standards.
C. Individual and cultural diversity.
D. Professional values, attitudes and behaviors.
E. Communication and interpersonal skills.
F. Assessment.
G. Intervention.
H. Supervision.
I. Consultation and inter-professional/interdisciplinary skills.

Clinical Training Rotations

Cleveland Clinic Children's Pediatric Psychology Residency Program primarily aims to train future health psychologists by providing direct clinical experiences, associated clinical supervision and a supportive didactic and educational curriculum. The Residency is a full-time, 12-month position, and residents can expect an average of 15-20 direct clinical contact hours per week. At the program's completion, residents will have completed a minimum of 2,000 hours, including over 650 hours of direct clinical service.

Residents will complete numerous rotations around three areas of emphasis: pediatric psychology, pediatric pain, and integrated primary care. There is considerable overlap and cross-training between these focus areas, and applicants are strongly encouraged to consider and apply for all areas of potential interest. Specifying an area of emphasis in the application or interview process is unnecessary, as these distinctions are utilized primarily during the ranking process to ensure residents are matched with specific rotations they prefer.

The below experiences are typically offered as part of the residency program, with most rotations being six months in length, except for the Continuity Clinic, which is a year-long rotation and allows residents to establish a longer-term supervisory relationship.

• Pediatric Pain Rehabilitation Program – Primary Supervisor: Ethan Benore, PhD
• Acute Inpatient Consultation/Liaison (C/L) – Primary Supervisors: Emily Mudd, PhD and Katherine Corvi, PsyD
• Pediatric Rehabilitation C/L Program – Primary Supervisor: Pamela Senders, PhD
• Integrated Primary Care – Primary Supervisor: Samantha Bellinger, PsyD
• Continuity Clinic at Cleveland Clinic Main Campus – Primary Supervisor: Kate Eshleman, PsyD
• Continuity Clinic at a Family Health Center – Primary Supervisor: Gina Rhodes, PhD
• Anxiety Disorder Treatment Group – Primary Supervisor: Amy Lee, PhD
• Toileting Clinic Shared Medical Appointment – Primary Supervisor: Katherine Corvi, PsyD 
• Be Well Kids Clinic – Primary Supervisor: Taylor Stephens, PhD
• Neurodevelopmental Support Program – Primary Supervisor: Abby Demiancyzk, PhD
• Headache Clinic – Primary Supervisor: Ethan Benore, PhD
• Hematology/Oncology Program – Primary Supervisor: Kate Eshleman, PsyD
• High A1C Clinic – Primary Supervisor: Taylor Stephens, PhD
  
   

All residents receive a minimum of four (4) hours of supervision per week, with a minimum of three (3) hours of individual supervision with a licensed psychologist. Above this minimum standard, specific supervision time and type vary slightly between the specific rotations, with some rotations including additional individual supervision and other rotations including additional group supervision and/or umbrella supervision.

Didactic Seminar & Educational Opportunities

In addition to direct clinical work, residents will engage in an average of 2-3 hours of didactic educational opportunities per week. These opportunities are designed to support the residents' competencies in the practice of psychology within an integrated medical system. The following seminar series are scheduled throughout the year:

Assessment: The assessment didactic will cover a range of topics (e.g., interviews, questionnaires, checklists, monitoring measures) appropriate for pediatric psychologists in an academic medical center or outpatient pediatric setting. A primary focus will be real-world assessment using empirically-supported strategies, for both diagnostic and treatment-related purposes.

Research: This emphasis focuses on research in an academic medical center setting. Each session will include a presentation on a specific research topic and provide opportunities for active work on the tool presented and sharing of research progress. Topics covered will include tips and tools to conduct research, research mentoring, design and methods, research process in a career, analysis & statisticians, and publication.

Supervision: The supervision didactic will consist of learning models of supervision, ethics, and supervision processes within a hospital-based practice. With this knowledge in hand, there will be practical sessions for understanding and using the skills discussed. This will be done in a series of case conference sessions throughout the year where all the residents will work together in different roles (supervisor, supervisee, and observer) to conceptualize a resident-selected case, practice process-oriented and strategy-oriented supervision, and support one another with challenging cases. This dynamic didactic will work to enhance knowledge, self-awareness, and skills.

Professional Development covers a range of ethical, legal, professional, regulatory, career, and residency-related issues. This conference is intended to contribute to residents' professional development and increase awareness of issues related to professional practice in an interprofessional medical setting. This is an opportunity for residents to discuss process issues and other areas of interest.

Special topics include additional didactic topics relevant to the practice of pediatric psychology, including specific practice areas, therapeutic techniques, and health, equity, and social justice. Topics are presented by experts and may include visiting professors.

Various Grand Rounds and additional training opportunities are held throughout Cleveland Clinic regularly. Residents are encouraged to attend many talks relevant to their training and interest level. Most Grand Rounds are now screened live via the Cleveland Clinic intranet and thus more easily accommodated into residents' clinical schedules.

• Pediatric Grand Rounds 
• Psychiatry Grand Rounds
• Wellness Virtual Grand Rounds

Resident Research Training: Each resident will present their dissertation research at a Center for Pediatric Behavioral Health quarterly staff meeting at the end of the residency year. Each resident will also lead a journal club presentation for Residency Training Committee staff and fellow residents and attend a clinical research didactic series. Independent research is not required but can be scheduled as an add-on or elective experience. Before adding research, however, completion of dissertation research is encouraged. If additional research is elected, this research is also an option for the quarterly staff meeting presentation. 

Selection Process

Cleveland Clinic Children's will participate in the APPIC Match supported by the National Matching Service. The internship is designed to meet all requirements set forth by APA and abides by all Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers (APPIC) guidelines and requirements.

• Review APPIC's match policies here

You may contact APPIC at:
APPIC Central Office
17225 El Camino Real
Onyx One – Suite #170
Houston, TX 77058-2748
appic@appic.org

• Apply for a Psychology Internship (AAPI)

Our program utilizes the APPIC Application for Psychology Internships (AAPI) online. AAPI required materials include a cover letter/statement of interest, curriculum vitae, official graduate transcript(s), three reference letters, and a Summary of Doctoral Training to be verified by your program's Director of Clinical Training/Training Director. We do not require any supplemental materials.

For the 2024-2025 internship year, the program will be recruiting for three positions, which will each include a specific program code: Pediatric Psychology (237511), Pediatric Pain (237512), and, pending approval, Integrated Primary Care (237513). Providing individual program codes gives residents more control over the significant rotations they will participate in, although there will still be considerable overlap and cross-emphasis training. The program remains committed to training all residents in the practice of clinical psychology in pediatric healthcare settings. As such, residents are strongly encouraged to apply for and rank all the areas they are interested in. They do not need to specify an area of emphasis in the application or interview process. If you are only interested in the Integrated Primary Care emphasis, please contact Dr. Banez for updates on whether this specialty track will be available in 2025.

The application deadline for the 2024-2025 internship year is November 1, 2024. All interviews will be virtual and conducted on Thursday, January 9, 2025, and Friday, January 10, 2025. Invitations to interview will be given after carefully reviewing all application materials. Interviews will consist of an overview with the training director, meetings with the current residents, and individual interviews with 3-4 primary residency supervisors. Supervisors from each emphasis area will be represented at each interview session.

Accreditation Status

Effective November 15, 2021, the American Psychological Association Commission of Accreditation (CoA) voted to award our residency program "Full Accreditation." Consistent with Accreditation Operating Procedures, programs moving from contingent to full accreditation are eligible for up to three (3) years of full accreditation. Our next accreditation site visit will be scheduled in 2024.

If you have questions about training, please email our training director, Gerard Banez, PhD; however, if you have questions specifically related to the program's accreditation status, contact the Commission on Accreditation at:

Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation American Psychological Association
750 1st Street, NE
Washington, DC 20002
Phone: (202) 336-5979
Email: apaaccred@apa.org

The program was granted membership into the Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers (APPIC) in 2016 and follows all standards and rules set forth by APPIC.

Handbook

A copy of the current handbook can be found at the link below. The handbook includes detailed policies on residency, relevant institutional policies, Corrective Action Policy, Appeal and Grievance Policy and process. Note: Some details are likely to change from year to year.

• Download our 2024-2025 Handbook

Diversity, Inclusion & Culture

Cleveland Clinic values a culture where caregivers integrate diversity and inclusion throughout the enterprise. We respect and appreciate our similarities and differences; they enable us to serve our patients better, one another, and our global communities.

Prospective applicants are invited to visit the Office of Diversity and Inclusion to learn more about the efforts to create an inclusive organizational culture for patients, employees, business partners, and the communities served by Cleveland Clinic. Various members of the Residency Training Committee sit on the Diversity Counsel and Employee Resource Groups and would be happy to talk with you more about our experiences.

The Pediatric Behavioral Health Residency Program is committed to training residents with diverse backgrounds and all residents on diversity factors that affect the pediatric community. In addition to the program's direct faculty that represents a diverse make-up of ages, gender identities, sexual orientations, religious affiliations, and ethnic and cultural identities, residents also interact regularly with the larger Cleveland Clinic medical community, fostering cultural competence and inclusion across the full range of Cleveland Clinic departments. Clinical training includes work with ethnic and religious minorities, refugees, socioeconomically disadvantaged children and families, and a range of ages and genders. Residents also have the opportunity to work with children and adolescents who identify as gender-nonconforming or transgender through the GUIDE program (Gender Understanding, Identity, and Expression). The Pediatric Behavioral Health Residency Program strongly encourages candidates from various backgrounds to apply to our program.

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