VIRTUAL CONNECTIONS ACADEMY
Post-Doctoral Fellows are provided training in individual therapy and applying evidence-supported clinical interventions with clients of various diagnoses. Post-Doctoral Fellows maintain a caseload of 7-8 clients who they provide direct psychological services to on a daily to weekly basis, depending on the student’s Individualized Education Plan (IEP). Services are provide to clients in the home, in the community, in the VCA building, and/or virtually. Additionally, Post-Doctoral Fellows are taught to use a variety of data collection tools, including student point sheets, behavioral rating scales, and behavioral observations to monitor their client’s progress and make adjustments to the treatment approach in order to facilitate the student’s success both in and out of school. Post-Doctoral Fellows are exposed to a variety of evidence based interventions across a broad array of conceptual theory including Narrative Therapy, Family Systems Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Trauma Informed Practices, Humanistic/Existential viewpoints, and Psychodynamic principles, to name a few.
Family Therapy
Post-Doctoral Fellows provide family therapy to clients and their families on their primary caseload. Post-Doctoral Fellows are provided with comprehensive and individualized clinical training that facilitates the acquisition and refinement of evidence-based family therapy skills. They receive monthly group supervision focused on the review of theories of family therapy and applicability of family therapy theory and interventions to current clients and families on their caseloads. In addition, Post-Doctoral Fellows meet individually with our Family Therapy Consultant on a weekly basis in order to further discuss their family therapy cases.
Group Therapy
Post-Doctoral Fellows are provided training in psychoeducational group therapy and have the opportunity to develop group curriculum throughout the training year. Post-Doctoral Fellows lead or co-lead 1-2 psychoeducational groups weekly within the milieu. While groups are run live in the VCA building, students who are working from home have the opportunity the log into the groups remotely via a secure video link. The evidence based practices and topics include but are not limited: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) techniques, psychoeducational focus on teaching and supporting a client’s skill acquisition, behavioral management interventions, social skills and role play, inclusion and acceptance groups, and healthy relationship groups, among others.
Crisis Intervention/Risk Management
Post-Doctoral Fellows are provided training in response to situations such as threats of suicide, assault, sexually problematic behavior, or severe behavioral disturbances, including Self-Harm Risk Assessments and Violence Risk Assessments. Additionally, all Post-Doctoral Fellows are provided training on trauma informed practices, behavioral principles, assessment of underlying causes, reinforcement and motivational systems.
Ethics and Law
Post-Doctoral Fellows are provided training in the legal and ethical standards in psychology, the state of Illinois, and within the school system. This includes, but is not limited to: special education law and ethics, supervision law and ethics, general law and ethics that impact daily service provision and practice (therapy services, confidentiality, informed consent, risk assessments, etc.). In addition to the structured learning activities around legal and ethical standards, the legal and ethical issues that arise with a Post-Doctoral Fellow's caseload are reviewed in supervision on a weekly basis. During supervision, Post-Doctoral Fellows are engage in a discussion about the pertinent legal and ethical issues related to the case, as well as helped with identifying how to navigate these issues.
Inter-Agency & Community Case Management
Post-Doctoral Fellows are provided training on inter-agency and community case management. Post-Doctoral Fellows are required to reach out to private community providers and must complete monthly progress reports to private services providers including: Psychiatrists, Psychologists, specialists, etc. Additionally, all Post-Doctoral Fellows are required to communicate regularly with the inter-agency educational teams and multidisciplinary service providers across the Connections affiliated sites. The goal of these trainings is to facilitate communication and consultation skills of Postdoctoral Fellows.
Related Service Consultation
Post-Doctoral Fellows are provided training in consulting and collaborating with providers from a variety of disciplines, including: Academic Staff, Occupational Therapy, Art Therapy, Music Therapy, Speech/Language Therapists, Restorative Intervention Specialists, and Psychiatrists. Additionally, there is a focus on learning specific therapeutic strategies and supporting Post-Doctoral Fellows in the best ways to collaborate with clients, families and teams, including the related service providers. Post-Doctoral Fellows are active participants in all of the IEP meetings that take place regarding the clients on their caseload. During these meetings, Post-Doctoral Fellows are afforded the opportunity to update the IEP team about their clients’ progress and to address any questions or concerns that arise regarding their client or their course of treatment at VCA.
Post-Doctoral Fellowship
Supervision
