Psychology Fellowship Rotations

The following provides information about the services and programs the psychology fellow will rotate through:

The PIU is a 20-bed, adult, co-ed inpatient psychiatric/medical unit. The PIU is the only psychiatric unit in the greater Houston area capable of providing care for indigent patients needing psychiatric hospitalization, who also have medical conditions that frequently render them ineligible for services at other local psychiatric inpatient facilities. The unit is divided into two multidisciplinary treatment teams, each responsible for the care of 10 patients. Psychology fellows are expected to become active members of each treatment team which include an attending psychiatrist, psychiatry residents, medical students, occupational therapists, a social worker, a chaplain, a dietician, a substance abuse counselor, mental health workers and nurses. With an average length of stay of eight days, the inpatient psychiatric service admits patients during acute disturbances or crises including mania, depression, psychoses and characterological disturbances, as well as a variety of neurologic illnesses presenting with psychiatric symptoms.

During the inpatient rotation, the fellow will attend inpatient rounds four mornings per week. The function of these teaching rounds is to help formulate a diagnosis and treatment plan for each patient and to discuss each patient's treatment, progress and discharge plans. The fellow is encouraged to be an active participant by interviewing patients and providing feedback to the team regarding observations during intake interviews, interaction with patients on the unit, observations during group or individual therapy, and results of psychological testing. A primary goal for each fellow is to learn the team member role and consultation role of a psychologist in a hospital setting.

Psychology is part of a multidisciplinary Consultation and Liaison Psychiatry Service providing consultations to patients throughout Ben Taub Hospital. During the C & L rotation, the fellow attends morning rounds. The fellow then works in conjunction with the C & L staff psychologist in the C & L service providing bedside psychotherapy, brief psychological assessments such as suicide, depression, anxiety and cognitive screeners. The fellow also provides brief psychological interventions at the bedside. Patients referred to C & L services are referred to psychological services by either the psychiatric team and/or by the medical teams. Such medical patients referred for psychological services present with primary or secondary psychiatric/psychological issues. The fellow provides consultation services to inform diagnoses, treatment decisions and discharge planning as part of a multidisciplinary team by working in direct contact with a team of medical students, medical residents, social workers, spirituality as well as nursing staff. The psychology fellow serves as an independent consultant to services within the hospital.

The fellow will serve the role of program clinician in the Adult Intensive Outpatient Program. The IOP is a time-limited, intensive, group and individual therapy program for adults (18+) who acutely require a higher level of care than standard outpatient visits but do not require inpatient hospitalization. The IOP is jointly run by Harris Health at the Ben Taub Hospital and Baylor College of Medicine Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. The program is designed for individuals with complex mood disorders, anxiety disorders and personality disorders. The treatment is six weeks in duration and includes individual and group psychotherapy, medication management and case management. The program utilizes a Dialectical Behavioral Therapy informed framework but also provides additional supportive groups designed to rehabilitate patients for outpatient care. The fellow is responsible for conducting groups as well as individual therapy session.

During the outpatient rotation, the fellow provides psychological and cognitive assessment services to outpatients through the Psychiatry Outpatient Clinic to help with diagnostic clarification. Referrals primarily come from psychiatry and may include assessments for determination of ADHD, learning disability, intellectual and memory functioning, and dementia. The fellow may conduct between two to three outpatient assessments a month. The fellow will continue to gain experience expanding their knowledge using various assessment measures and with interpretation of results.