The Nia Project accepts postdoctoral residents based within the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Emory University School of Medicine at Grady Health System. The residency prepares trainees for Health Service Psychology at an advanced level of competence. The competencies that are the focus of the residency include professionalism (professional values, attitudes and behaviors), communication and interpersonal skills, individual and cultural diversity, ethical and legal standards, integration of science and practice, assessment, intervention, consultation and interprofessional/interdisciplinary skills, research, supervision and advocacy.
Below is a summary of the role and responsibilities of psychology postdoctoral residents on the Nia Project. Typically, postdoctoral residents do a half-time placement with the Nia Project. However, a full-time placement may be an option. In addition, the postdoctoral resident based on the Psychiatry Consultation Liaison Service at Grady Health System spends approximately four hours per week with the Nia Project.
Responsibilities for the half- or full-time postdoctoral resident include the following, however, the specifics of each of these responsibilities depends on the resident’s interests and future career goals, as well as the needs of the team:
- Managing referrals and recruiting participants to the clinical and research programs associated with the Nia Project
- Providing crisis assessments and intervention services
- Providing individual and group therapy
- Individual and group therapy services are guided by a culturally-informed informed integrative theoretical model incorporating interpersonal, second and third wave cognitive-behavioral, existential/humanistic, attachment-oriented, strengths-based and systemic perspectives
- Group therapy opportunities are diverse and include co-facilitating support groups (e.g., healthy eating, intimate partner violence, spirituality, suicide), evidence-based therapy groups (e.g., Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Cognitively-Based Compassion Training, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Skills Training for Affect Regulation-Narrative Therapy) and process groups (e.g., relationships, Women of Color Exploration, Coping with Trauma Through Art, Expressive Arts)
- Participating in clinical research activities including data collection, data analysis, manuscript preparation, conference presentations and grant writing
- Supervising practicum (graduate-level) students providing individual and group therapy, as well as other trainees (e.g., medical students, public health students) associated with the clinical and clinical-research activities associated with the Nia Project
- Serving on an interdisciplinary clinical research team
- Attending weekly executive team meetings
- Attending weekly Nia Project team meetings
- Leading a new initiative
- Participating actively in multiple team initiatives
- Assisting with team responsibilities as they arise
- Receiving supervision
Responsibilities for the 4-6 hour per week postdoctoral resident typically include the following, but again the specifics differ based on the resident’s interests and career goals:
- Recruiting participants from the medical and surgical floors and intensive care units to the clinical and research programs associated with the Nia project
- Providing individual (1-2 patients) and group (1-2 groups) therapy
- Participating in clinical research activities including data collection, data analysis, manuscript preparation, conference presentations and grant writing - OPTIONAL
- Supervising a practicum (graduate-level) student providing individual and/or group therapy
- Serving on an interdisciplinary clinical research team