Training at Access Institute

Welcome to Access Institute. Here you will find information about our mission, goals, and our rich and varied training opportunities. We welcome applications from psychology interns, post-doctoral fellows, as well as from post-masters interns in social work and marriage and family therapy. If you have additional questions, please don’t hesitate to contact our Director of Training, Dai To, Ph.D. at dai@accessinst.org

Applications for our training programs for the training year that begins in July 2008 are closed. Applications for the July 2009 training year can be submitted beginning in January, 2009. Please follow the application procedures below.

Our Mission
Access Institute is committed to making quality mental health care affordable to San Franciscans, particularly to those individuals and families who fall within the broad gap between those eligible for publicly-funded mental health programs and the more affluent who have adequate insurance or the financial means to afford treatment. Along with providing direct service, Access Institute is committed to providing psychoanalytically-oriented clinical training and supervision to clinicians seeking licensure in a mental health discipline.

Our Vision
We believe there are large numbers of people who can benefit from psychological treatment that is more intensive, focuses on the therapeutic process, and considers unconscious dynamics along with socio-cultural forces. We believe the main reason that many are not getting this kind of treatment is it has not been affordable.

We provide services which have no time limit, and in which a patient can see the same therapist for up to two years in a row. Services are designed to meet the patient’s needs, and if more intensive therapy is indicated, multiple visits per week can be arranged. To insure that treatment is affordable, services are offered on an income-based sliding scale.

We recognize that in order to increase access to care we must provide therapy at locations where those in need are already receiving other related services. To that end we not only provide psychological services at our Hayes Valley clinic, but also at a school, a primary care clinic, and an adult day health center. Access to therapy also means offering therapy in a patient’s native language when possible. Access Institute currently offers therapy in both English and Spanish.

Finally, it is our vision that Access Institute’s training programs, integrating psychoanalytic approaches, a community focus, and a dedication to working with the underserved, will graduate clinicians who will carry this commitment with them as a part of their enduring professional identity.

Training Programs

Access Institute offers two unique training programs: The Psychoanalytic Psychology Internship Program and the Elder Adult Psychotherapy Training Program.

Psychoanalytic Psychology Internship Program

At the core of Access Institute’s program is the two-year half-time internship in psychoanalytically-oriented psychological treatment. Two cohorts of eight interns participate in an intensive program where half of the 24 hour per week commitment is comprised of supervision and didactic training from some of the Bay Area’s top clinicians. This internship begins July 1, 2008 and ends June 30, 2010 and pays a yearly stipend of $6000.

Interns spend up to 12 hours per week providing direct clinical services. This can include individual therapy for adults, adolescents, children, couple therapy and family therapy. The psychodynamic approach considers the use of more frequent sessions, and many patients are seen at the clinic two and three times per week. Two interns spend up to 6 of their clinical hours at a local K-5 elementary school providing play therapy to child patients, and consulting with parents, teachers and school staff.

Psychology interns and post-doctoral fellows in the Psychoanalytic Psychology Internship Program also provide psychological assessment and testing including comprehensive psychological and neuropsychological assessments to children, adolescents, adults and seniors. All psychology interns attend a weekly didactic and group supervision seminar in assessment. (See below for more information about the testing training.)

All trainees receive at least two hours of individual supervision and attend four one and a half hour seminars per week. Seminars are progressive throughout the two year period and are designed to facilitate the building of clinical thinking and skills. Interns also attend the weekly staff meeting where, in addition to covering general clinic business, they have the opportunity to consult on cases with the clinic’s prescribing psychiatrist.

Classes for interns in the 2008-2010 training group will be held weekly on Wednesday and Friday from 10:30 – 12:00 and 1:00 - 2:30. Other seminars and meetings occur on Tuesdays.

First Year Courses
Diagnosis and Formulation
Psychological Impact of Trauma
Substance Abuse
Lifespan Development
Couples Treatment
Group Treatment
Group Supervision Case Conference
Psychoanalytic Theory I
Psychodynamic Technique
Faculty Presentation

Second Year Courses
Substance Abuse II
Psychological Impact of Trauma II
Sociocultural Processes in Treatment
Infant observation
Child Case Conference
Identity Formation
Psychoanalytic Theory II
Case Conference
Transference/Countertransference
Psychoanalysis and Culture
Ethics
Termination
Interdisciplinary Team Work

Psychological Testing
All Psychology Interns in the Psychoanalytic Psychology Internship provide psychological assessment and testing during the first training year. Interns receive focused training in assessment and testing and complete a minimum of four testing batteries over the course of the year. Four hours of the 12 clinical hours per week are devoted to assessment. Assessments include testing for differential psychiatric diagnosis, learning ability, ADHD, cognition and memory, and dementia. Interns are responsible for interviewing, test administration, scoring and report writing. Weekly supervision includes didactic instruction in assessment, and training in test administration and interpretation. Tests include: WAIS-III, WMS-III, MMPI-2, WISC-IV, Rorschach, T.A.T., Rey Complex Figure, Wisconsin Card Sorting, Conners Continuous Performance Test, Dementia Rating Scale, California Verbal Learning Test, and Woodcock Johnson among others.

Child Treatment
All interns in the Psychoanalytic Psychology Internship Program can receive training and experience in child treatment, including psychodynamic play therapy. In addition to working with patients at the Access Institute clinic, interns electing an emphasis in working with children have the opportunity to provide therapy on site at a public elementary school. Two interns are assigned each year to provide individual child therapy, group therapy, family therapy and staff consultation at Grattan School. These interns also receive additional individual supervision focusing on school based, psychodynamic treatment.

Bilingual Services
Access Institute provides therapy in both English and Spanish and strongly encourages applications from Spanish bilingual interns.

Elder Psychotherapy Internship Program

The Elder Psychotherapy Internship is open to psychology pre- and post-doc interns, and post-masters interns in social work and marriage and family therapy. It is a single-year full-time internship that runs from July 1, 2008 to June 30, 2009. There is a $6,000 yearly stipend for this position.

Interns are based at an adult day health center along with the program director where they offer individual, group and family psychotherapy, attend seminars and receive individual supervision. The staff of the adult health center is included in various aspects of the training program in order to create an atmosphere where the domains of psychotherapy, social work, nursing and physical therapy inform each other, enabling a truly integrated approach to the elders.

In addition to providing on-site service at the adult day center, interns are also trained to provide outpatient psychotherapy to seniors at Access Institute’s Hayes Valley clinic where issues such as late life development, grief, life review, loss, disability, caretaking and family dynamics will be taken up.

The training component of the internship includes intensive individual supervision (up to three hours per week), group supervision and case conference specific to elder issues. Training modules will encompass topics such as psychoanalytic therapy, life development, individual, group and family dynamics, cultural and generational competency, mourning and loss, the life review, medication and treatment, the psychology of the body and intergenerational transmission of trauma.

Elder Psychotherapy Classes
Process Group
Elder Case Conference
Grand Rounds
Geropsychology Team Meeting
Diagnosis, Formulation and Intake Conference
Basic Principles of Conducting Psychotherapy with the Elderly
Medical Issues/The Aging Body
Sociocultural Process
On Dying and Death
Adult Development Theory
Applying Psychoanalytic Technique in a Community Clinic
Ethics and Legal Issues
Interdiscplinary Team Work
Family Treatment
Loss and Termination with the Elderly


Access Institute for Psychological Services
Postdoctoral Internship Program

Postdoctoral interns at Access Institute have greater responsibility coordination of patient care, take on additional duties related to intake evaluation and assessment, provide liaison services between the intern training cohorts and the supervisory and administrative staff and receive additional supervision, training and mentoring in all these areas. The specific responsibilities and trainings offered to post-docs differ depending on the program in which they are participating.

Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy Program
Postdoctoral interns participate in all activities of the training program and take on the following additional responsibilities.

Intake Assessment: Postdoctoral interns in this program provide two hours per week of direct service providing intake and assessment. Responsibilities include: fielding calls from applicants for therapy and testing services, providing initial telephone assessment and screening, providing applicants who are not appropriate for services a referral to a suitable agency and consulting with the Director of Clinical Services on case assignments. All post-docs participate in a one-hour weekly intake conference with the Director of Clinical Services to receive group supervision on intake assessment.

Training Program Liaison: Postdoctoral interns facilitate communication within the clinic and promote an environment that insures a high quality of psychology training and service to Access Institute patients. Responsibilities include: Serve as a liaison between intern groups and staff, including identifying emerging training needs of the intern groups and communicating those to staff and consulting with staff regarding changes in policies and procedures. Assist with the implementation of clinic procedures. Represent Access Institute at public events. Post-docs participate in a one hour, bi-monthly meeting with the Executive Director and Director of Training to provide program feedback and receive supervision and mentoring.

Care Management Team: Postdoctoral interns work with the Director of Clinical Services to facilitate improved patient care. Responsibilities include: Providing additional oversight to the care provided to more difficult and at-risk patients, including providing links to additional resources, providing coverage during therapist vacations, and helping facilitate the transfer of difficult cases. Post-docs participate in a one hour bi-monthly Care Management conference with the Director of Clinical Services to discuss at-risk patients and coordination of care.

Elder Psychotherapy Program

Postdoctoral interns participate in all activities of the Elder Psychotherapy Program and take on the following additional responsibilities.

Training Program Liaison: Postdoctoral interns facilitate communication between the trainees in the Elder Program and the administrative staff at Access Institute. Responsibilities include: Serve as a liaison between elder intern group and staff, including identifying training needs of the intern group and communicating those to staff and consulting with staff regarding changes in policies and procedures. Assist with the implementation of clinic procedures. Facilitate co-ordination of training between the two programs. Post-docs participate in a one hour bi-monthly meeting with the Executive Director and Director of Training to provide program feedback and receive supervision and mentoring.

New Participant Evaluations: Postdoctoral interns in the Elder Program coordinate the psychosocial evaluations that Access Institute provides to new participants of the Bayview Hunter's Point Adult Day Health Center. Post-docs rotate responsibility as the point-person and contact to coordinate the initiation of psychological services. The Post-doc works with the Director of Clinical Services to assign the assessment case, and to assist in providing feedback to staff.

ADHC Staff Liaison: Postdoctoral interns in the Edler Program provide liaison services between the clinical staff at the Bayview ADHC and the interns and staff at Access Institute. Post-docs provide trainings to staff as needed on topics related to the psychosocial needs of elderly ADHC participants.

Lead Group Facilitator: Postdoctoral interns in the Elder Program are lead facilitators of the therapy groups provided at the Bayview ADHC. Lead facilitators are responsible for handing administrative matters related to the groups, including participation, scheduling and management. Lead facilitators provide mentoring and supervision to their co-facilitators.

Outreach to Caregivers: Postdoctoral interns co-ordinate staffing of the "caregiver café" a drop-in service to support caregivers of elders. Post-docs liaison with social workers at the Bayview ADHC to insure that caregivers receive appropriate referrals to mental health services.

Supervision: Post-docs receive an additional hour of weekly supervision from the Director of Clinical Services to review evaluations, group facilitation, staff trainings, caregiver outreach and patient care in general.

Application Procedures

Access Institute for Psychological Services is a CAPIC approved agency and follows the CAPIC application procedures and deadlines. The application deadline is Monday, March 3, 2008. All application materials including letters of recommendation must be received by the deadline for equal consideration.

To apply for the Psychoanalytic Psychology Internship Program please send a cover letter, resume/curriculum vitae, a recent sample test report (for Psychology intern applications only), and three letters of recommendation to:

Dai To, Ph.D., Director of Training
Access Institute for Psychological Services
110 Gough Street, Suite 301
San Francisco, CA 94102
dai@accessinst.org

Applicants to Elder Psychotherapy Internship must have had supervised training in psychodynamic psychotherapy and an interest in working with older adults. To apply for the Elder Psychotherapy Internship please send a cover letter, resume/curriculum vitae, and three letters of recommendation to:

Dai To, Ph.D., Director of Training
Access Institute for Psychological Services
110 Gough Street, Suite 301
San Francisco, CA 94102
dai@accessinst.org

Access Institute Teaching and Supervising Faculty
Eugene Alexander, Ph.D., Paul Alexander, Ph.D., Barbara Artson, Ph.D., Alvin Baum, LCSW, Steven Baum, Psy,D., Leora Benioff, Ph.D., Murray Bilmes, Ph.D., Barbara Blasdel, Ph.D., Joe Bobrow, Ph.D., Victor Bonfilio, Ph.D., Susan Boxer, Ph.D., Mary Brady, Ph.D., Jane Burka, Ph.D., Peter Carnochan, Ph.D., Robert Carrere, Ph.D., Laurie Case, Ph.D., Margo Chapin, LMFT, Thomas Cohen, DMH, Barbara Cohen, LMFT, Reyna Cowan, LCSW, Vivian Dent, Ph.D., Robin Deutsch, Ph.D., Lucca DiDonna, Ph.D., Michael Donner, Ph.D., Nancy Drooker, Ph.D., Dori Dubin, LCSW, Audrey Dunn, LCSW, Diane Ehrensaft, Ph.D., Esther Ehrensaft, Ph.D., Phil Erdberg, Ph.D., Katherine Fraser, DMH, Jess Ghannam, Ph.D., Kiana Ghannam, Ph.D., Jack Giuliani, Ph.D., R. Bonnie Glaser, Ph.D., William Glover, Ph.D., Francisco Gonzalez, M.D., Holly Gordon, DMH, Catherine Greenblatt, Ph.D., Gary Grossman, Ph.D., Michael Guy Thompson, Ph.D., Jeanne Harasemovitch, LCSW, Toni Heineman, DMH, Claudette Heisler, Ph.D., John Jemerin, M.D., Marian Joycechild, Ph.D., Eileen Keller, Ph.D., Phyllis Kempner, Ph.D., Jane Kenner, Ph.D., Anne Krantz, Ph.D., Scott Lines, Ph.D., Era Loewenstein, Ph.D., Lily Ly, Ph.D., Tamara McClintock Greenberg, Psy.D., Barbara McSwain, LCSW, Jan Messer, LMFT, Erin Mullin, Ph.D., Maureen Murphy, Ph.D., Shelly Nathans, Ph.D., Anne O’Crowley, Ph.D., Suzanne Pallak, Ph.D., Kristine Pfleiderer, DMH, Chaya Rivka Mayerson, Psy,D., Patty Rosbrow, Ph.D., Thomas Rosbrow, Ph.D., Sue Saperstein, LMFT, Joan Sarnat, Ph.D. Milton Schaefer, Ph.D., Emily Seidel, Psy,D., Regina Shields, Ph.D., Marsha Silverstein, Ph.D., Lee Slome, Ph.D., Angela Sowa, Psy.D., Cornelia St. John, LMFT, Neil Talkoff, Ph.D., Nadine Tang, Ph.D., Linda Tucker, Psy.D., Alla Volovich, Ph.D. Wendy Von Wiederhold, Ph.D., Michael Wagner, Ph.D., Andrea Walt, Ph.D., Erica Wandner, Ph.D., Susan Warshaw, Ph.D., Elizabeth Weisz, Ph.D., Michael Windholz, Ph.D., Susana Winkel, Ph.D., Ricardo Winkel, Ph.D., Harriet Wolfe, M.D., Jeanne Wolff Bernstein, Ph.D., Enid Young, Ph.D., Alexander Zinchenko, Ph.D., Norman Zukowsky, Ph.D.