VA Pittsburgh Healthcare

Contact Information:
Complete program descriptions, contact information and brochures for both the internship and fellowship can be found at the VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System Psychology Training webpage below. Please email Dr. Bernadette Pasquale, PhD, ABPP  with questions Bernadette.Pasquale@va.gov

Director of Psychology Training:
Dr. Bernadette Pasquale, PhD, ABPP
Director of Training, VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System Psychology Training
Bernadette.Pasquale@va.gov

Geropsychology Supervisor(s):
Dr. Sabrina Hakin
Dr. Bernadette Pasquale
Dr. Trent Thatcher

Website Address:
https://www.va.gov/pittsburgh-health-care/work-with-us/internships-and-fellowships/psychology-internships-and-fellowships/

Membership / Certification:
_X__ APA Accredited
_X__ APPIC Member

Geropsychology Training Opportunities / Settings:
_X_ Outpatient Mental Health Clinic
_X_ Neuropsychology / Memory Clinic
_X_ Community Living Center
___ Home Based Health Care
___ Primary Care
___ Inpatient Geropsychiatry/Mental Health
___ Physical / Cognitive Rehabilitation
___ Caregiver Support Services
_X_ Hospice / Palliative Care
_X_ Telehealth / Telemedicine
_X_ Training in Supervision of Interns / Practicum Students
_X__ Other: Driving Clinic; Outpatient GEM Clinic

Format of Geropsychology Training:
_X_ Specialty Track in Geropsychology
___ Major Rotation
___ Minor Rotation
___ Opportunities to work with older adults included in other rotations

Faculty Clinical/Research Interests:

Trainees will attend weekly interdisciplinary team meetings and frequently interact with staff from multiple disciplines in clarifying consult requests, reviewing residents’ functioning, and formulating disruptive behavior management plans. There are also opportunities to provide education to nursing staff on topics such as behavioral management of disruptive behaviors or identification of veterans with depression, suicidality, etc. Trainees may have the opportunity to participate in STAR-VA behavioral rounds and formulate STAR-VA behavioral plans.  At the internship level, our geropsychology track offers three 4-month rotations, two of which are geropsychology-focused rotations in the Community Living Center (CLC) and Geriatric Evaluation and Management (GEM) outpatient clinic. To encourage a breadth of training experiences, the interns on the geropsychology track are encouraged to select a general rotation for their third rotation and may select an elective training experience for 8 months of the training year to gain further training in a specific area or to broaden experience by pursuing training in an area not covered by the rotation.  Interns receive a minimum of 2 hours of formal scheduled individual supervision weekly from their rotation supervisor. In addition, group supervision in the form of one hour of weekly case conference, supervision from elective supervisor at minimum of one hour per week, and/or additional supervision from rotation supervisors frequently in the form of direct observation of clinical work guarantee interns a minimum of four hours of supervision per week. Supervisors are also available to interns on an as needed basis, beyond the regularly scheduled times of supervision. In addition to our staff psychologists, we have 5 postdoctoral fellows annually who are active in the internship program by providing additional clinical supervision to interns and participating in many of the didactic seminars and case conferences which the interns will attend. Thus, it is likely that an intern will receive supervision by a postdoctoral fellow, in addition to the required number of supervision hours by a staff psychologist, during the course of the year across rotations. Progress toward the attainment of the training goals is determined by means of regularly scheduled evaluations. Feedback between interns and supervisors is on-going. Monthly and mid-rotation evaluations are discussed informally with the intern and at a monthly supervisors’ meeting chaired by the Director of Clinical Training. At the conclusion of each primary clinical rotation, a formal evaluation of the intern’s progress is made.