Center for Brief Therapy

Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine

Philadelphia, PA

Organization Type: 
Educational Institution
Program Type: 
Standing Program
Education Level: 
Graduate
Educational Elements: 
Lecture/Didactic
Self Reflection Activities
Experiential including clinical contact with patients
Other Element(s): 
Pre-doctoral Internship in Clinical Psychology
Program Description: 

The pre-doctoral internship in clinical psychology at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM) Center for Brief Therapy is designed to train future psychologists to work in health care settings as providers of comprehensive psychological services that stress interdisciplinary collaboration.  The internship is exclusively affiliated with the PsyD program in clinical psychology at PCOM. The internship is designed to be fulfilled in 2000 hours of training over a period of 12 to 24 months consecutively. The Center for Brief Therapy is located on the 5th floor of the Rowland Hall Medical Office Building, and serves as a mental health resource to the students at the PCOM medical school and the local community.  The internship fulfills part of its mission in a rotation at the on-campus Center for Brief Therapy, where interns provide mental health services in the outpatient clinic at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine.  The program accepts referrals from the Center for Academic Resources and Educational Services (C.A.R.E.S.) program, a student-focused program designed to lend academic support services to medical students and graduate students who are members of the PCOM academic community. 

This internship fulfills another part of its mission by having interns participate in rotations with an integrated primary care emphasis at the on-campus PCOM Family Medical Practice and / or at community health care centers in three urban sites: the PCOM Roxborough Health Care Center, the Lancaster Avenue Health Care Center in West Philadelphia, and the Cambria Health Care Center in North Philadelphia.  In each of these centers, interns collaborate with medical and allied mental health professionals as a fully participatory member of the total health care team.  Interns meet with the Internship Director at the beginning of the internship to discuss their interests and determine which health care center may best help them to match their training interests with the community demographics that the various health care centers serve.

Evaluated: 
Yes
Program Results: 

The PCOM Center for Brief Therapy is a member of the Association of Postdoctoral and Psychology Internship Centers (APPIC) and uses the National Matching Service program to select interns in the annual match.  The program received initial accreditation for the maximum of seven years by the Commission on Accreditation of the American Psychological Association in August, 2014. The next accreditation site visit will be held in 2021. 

Targeted Professions
Psychology: 
Clinical
Clinical Health
Program Website
Self-Reported Competencies
PCPCC’s Education and Training Task Force identified 16 interprofessional training competencies critical for preparing health professionals for practicing in team-based, coordinated care models such as patient-centered medical homes. Listed below are the self-reported competencies that this program has achieved, which have been organized by the five core features of a medical home as defined by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
Patient-Centered Care Competencies: 
Advocacy for patient-centered integrated care
Cultural sensitivity and competence in culturally appropriate practice
Development of effective, caring relationships with patients
Patient-centered care planning, including collaborative decision-making and patient self-management
Comprehensive Care Competencies: 
Assessment of biopsychosocial needs across the lifespan
Risk identification
Coordinated Care Competencies: 
Interprofessionalism & interdisciplinary team collaboration
Team leadership
Quality Care & Safety Competencies: 
Assessment of patient outcomes
Evidence-based practice
Quality improvement methods, including assessment of patient-experience for use in practice-based improvement efforts
Accessible Care Competencies: 
Promotion of appropriate access to care (e.g., group appointments, open scheduling)
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