Welcome Letter from the UCM Director of Clinical Psychology Training

December 1, 2024
Thank you for your interest in the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Neuroscience (PBN) at the University of Chicago! Our Department hosts several externship programs directed by our psychologist faculty. Every year, we train between 45 and 55 externs selected from Chicago-area doctoral programs in health service psychology. We occasionally also have externs from other graduate training programs who have relocated to the Chicago area. As you will learn, our training programs are housed in both Adult and Child Psychiatry across many different clinical services within the Department and the larger medical center. Although our externship programs share a common core, each faculty member’s programs, requirements, policies, and regulations are distinct. 
The University of Chicago’s Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience offers comprehensive practicum training programs for advanced psychology graduate students. These externships provide training in the delivery of mental health care to patients presenting to a large academic medical center for evaluation, consultation, and intervention. Training occurs in the Adult and Child Sections of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience at the University of Chicago Medicine (UCM) located in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago. All externs receive at least one hour of individual supervision by a licensed clinical psychologist. Additional individual and/or group supervision may also be available. Further, externs are an integral part of the Education Mission of our Department and attend numerous required and optional didactic experiences along with our other trainees including psychology interns and fellows, medical students, and residents and fellows in psychiatry and other specialties.
The COVID-19 pandemic was the impetus for many changes to clinical practice and training in health service psychology. We continue to respond to the level of public health risk posed by COVID-19 and other infections with the safety of our trainees, staff, faculty, and patients as our paramount concern, while continuing to meet the needs of the communities we serve. We are grateful for the scientific strides that have contributed to a greater understanding of disease and the availability of vaccination. All staff at UCM are required to be vaccinated for COVID-19 and influenza (with medical or religious exemptions available in rare circumstances). Our program is primarily in person and on site, although we do offer the flexibility of telehealth to patients who request these services. These telehealth visits are usually provided from on site. We strive to provide didactics and supervision in person unless video formats are indicated for flexibility, convenience, and/or safety. We expect that this balance will continue to shift over the next few years based on patient and provider preference, availability of space, and insurance regulations and reimbursement. As we prepare to recruit for a new training year, different faculty members have different expectations for the externs in their programs with regard to clinical activity, supervision, and didactics. Please review this information carefully to learn more about our program and to determine if you meet the requirements for specific externship programs before you invest time and energy in applying. It is also important for you to assess whether our training programs are a good fit for your learning goals and your life circumstances. 
On behalf of all my colleagues, I encourage you to learn more about our Department to determine if we are a good fit for this next chapter in your training. Externs are integral contributors to our clinical and educational missions and we are committed to providing you with an enriching educational experience. If you choose to apply, we believe that you will be actively engaged in a stimulating and challenging learning environment. We hope that you will experience our programs as opportunities for supervised training in evidence-based assessment, intervention, and consultation that address the integration of the science and practice of health service psychology. 
You are welcome to contact me directly with questions or concerns. Thank you for your interest in our programs.

Sincerely,
Shona N. Vas, Ph.D., ABPP
Director, Clinical Psychology Training
Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience

The University of Chicago
5841 S. Maryland Ave., MC 3077
Chicago, IL 60637
Contact Information:  svas@bsd.uchicago.edu; W: 773-702-1517; C: 773-508-9034

Note: Our externship programs are using a common and coordinated system of application. You only need to submit one application even if you choose to apply to multiple externships. You will be able to indicate your preference (in descending order) for up to 5 externship programs. This brochure contains all necessary information to submit your materials and to have your references upload their letters of recommendation. Materials that are submitted outside of this system will not receive full consideration.

UCM Externship Application Submission