


Program Overview
Training Philosophy
The Clinical Psychology Residency Program is committed to a scientist-practitioner approach to education and practice. The program includes a General Clinical Psychology Stream (5 positions), a Clinical Neuropsychology Stream (1 position), and a Forensic Psychology Stream (1 position). The training of all residents emphasizes the delivery of empirically supported assessment and treatment approaches (e.g., cognitive-behaviour therapy, dialectical behaviour therapy). Many members of the clinical training faculty contribute regularly to the scientific literature, and all faculty members are committed to keeping abreast of the latest research in their respective fields to inform their clinical practice.
St. Joseph’s Healthcare program is committed to preparing residents to become independent practitioners by offering both breadth and depth of experience. The intensive training experience ensures the development of core competencies required by provincial and state licensing boards by providing residents with a range of assessment and intervention opportunities, and exposure to different types of clients and services.
The program also supports the concept of psychologists acting in multiple roles. Psychology faculty and residents have integral positions on multidisciplinary teams, and several programs and services are headed by psychology faculty. Psychologists and psychological associates at St. Joseph’s Healthcare are seasoned clinicians, managers, directors, trainers, authors, researchers, and advocates for important professional issues. The Residency Program provides opportunities to participate in a wide range of professional activities and to interact closely with colleagues from a variety of other disciplines.
Training Objectives
The primary objective of the residency program is to provide a comprehensive pre-doctoral internship training experience that assures the development of adequate levels of proficiency across basic areas of clinical psychology, including assessment, therapy, consultation, attention to issues of diversity and individual difference, professional issues, and clinical research. The following goals and objectives must be met to demonstrate a psychology resident is competent in these areas:
Goal 1: Develop Assessment and Diagnostic Skills:
Objectives for Goal 1: Residents will produce a minimum of four written assessment reports integrating history, interview information, behavioral observations, and depending on the rotation psychometric test data. For example, many residents will gain extensive experience with the Diagnostic Assessment Research Tool (DART), a semi-structured clinical interview developed and validated right here at St. Joe’s. The reports will include accurate DSM-5-TR diagnoses and provide client specific recommendations.
Goal 2: Develop Therapy Skills
Objectives for Goal 2: Residents will be given opportunities to refine their knowledge and skills in empirically validated psychotherapeutic interventions with a variety of presenting problems. Most commonly taught treatment approaches in the program include Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT), Cognitive Process Therapy (CPT), Prolonged Exposure (PE), Written Exposure Therapy, Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy, and Cognitive Remediation Protocols, such as the memory and aging program, and goal management training.
Goal 3: Develop Knowledge of Ethics and Professional Issues
Objectives for Goal 3: Residents will understand the application of the CPA Codes of Ethics and Ontario legislation to clinical practice. Residents will be provided with opportunities to develop their professional identity, gain an understanding of the multiple roles psychologists may play in an interdisciplinary healthcare setting, and will be provided with information about obtaining employment in professional psychology.
Goal 4: Develop Knowledge of Issues related to Diversity and Individual Differences
Objectives for Goal 4: Through didactic seminars, assigned readings, other educational opportunities, self-reflection, and discussion in supervision, residents will recognize and address therapist/client diversity, reflect on the impact of systemic racism on client presentation, consider the impact of power and privilege within clinical interactions, and recognize the importance of individual differences and the avoidance of stereotyping. Residents will also be assigned patients/clients representing diverse populations (to the best of the clinical setting’s ability) in order to put theory into practice.
- While it’s a priority to increase to the diversity and representation of who seeks psychological services, there are certain rotations that have may have more opportunity to work with clients from equity deserving groups, including the Youth Wellness Centre, the Ontario Structured Psychotherapy Program, the Eating Disorders Clinic, and the Chronic Kidney Disease and Dialysis Service. Many rotations across the hospital are also involved in the hospital-wide Prioritizing Indigenous Mental Health Pathway, which residents may be able to become involved in based on interest and supervisor availability.
Goal 5: Develop Knowledge of and Skills in Consultation
Objectives for Goal 5: Residents will understand the role of a psychology consultant in an interdisciplinary healthcare setting. Through formal didactic seminars on interprofessional care, provision of consultation-based activities in the context of all clinical case assignments, and participation in case consultation during interdisciplinary team meetings, residents will enhance their knowledge of the basic principles and skills for providing professional consultation.
Goal 6: Develop Skills in Providing Feedback
Objectives for Goal 6: Residents will be given opportunities to develop their skills in providing feedback to referring clinicians, patients/clients and their family members when relevant.
Goal 7: Develop Skills in Supervision and Integration of Supervisory Feedback
Objectives for Goal 7: Residents will develop an understanding of basic models and methods of supervision, will actively contribute to the process of supervision, will provide constructive feedback about supervision, and will integrate supervisory feedback into clinical and professional work. Residents will be given the opportunity to provide supervision to practicum students/junior learners and receive supervision on their supervision. Residents will be able to discuss the process of providing supervision, including navigating challenges that arise in the supervision relationship.
Goal 8: Develop Skills in Clinical Research
Objectives for Goal 8: Residents will gain familiarity with the various ways in which professional psychologists integrate clinical research into their careers and will participate in research activities during the course of the year. A half day per week is dedicated to resident research time, and residents may choose to prepare manuscripts for publication, and participate in new research with residency faculty. Clinical research skills will also be taught through grand rounds presentations, the role modeling provided by residency faculty, and through discussions with supervisors. Residents who are particularly interested in program evaluation can also carry out an evaluation project during the protected half day as their research project.
Structure of the Program
The Residency Program runs from September 1 through August 31.
The program requires 1600 hours of supervised practice to be completed over 12 months. Residents work 37.5 hours per week, with specific hours to be determined by each rotation. Some rotations may have opportunities that occur in the early evening (e.g., until 7:00 p.m.) per week. Residents spend more than 50% of their time in direct contact with patients; an example of a typical work week in the general stream is as follows:
- 8 to 10 hours individual therapy – less if in neuropsychology or forensic psychology
- 2 to 4 hours group therapy (e.g., 1 or 2 groups)
- 6 hours assessment (e.g., 2 to 3 comprehensive assessments) – 8 to 18 hours per week if in neuropsychology (e.g., 1 to 2 neuropsychological assessments per week)
- 4 hours individual supervision
- 2 to 3 hours multidisciplinary team meetings
- 3 to 5 hours didactic training (weekly seminars, rounds, case conferences)
- 10 to 12 hours preparation, reading, report writing, research
Individualized Rotation Plans: The residency incorporates a combination of concurrent and sequential rotations, varying in length from four to twelve months. Major rotations may comprise over 50% of the residency year. Before the beginning of the residency, a rotation schedule for the entire year is developed collaboratively between the Training Director, relevant supervisors, and each resident. In other words, rotations are developed flexibly to meet the training goals of each individual resident while at the same time meeting requirements for core competencies.
Workspace
Each resident is provided with an office at the West 5th campus, complete with a telephone, voicemail, and computer with on-line access to high-speed e-mail, the internet, and various hospital and library resources. Although the majority of mental health services are provided at the West 5th campus, for certain rotations residents will spend some time at the Charlton and/or King Street campuses. When this occurs, space will be available at each site on the days relevant to the respective rotations.
Although the vast majority of residency activities take place in person, all residents will be provided the infrastructure to work remotely if needed.
Didactic Experiences: Seminar Series
Seminar Series
In keeping with the scientist practitioner model of training espoused by St. Joseph’s Healthcare, the residency program incorporates a didactic seminar series to supplement and inform the residents’ clinical rotations. Seminars are held on a weekly basis for 1.5 hours and are facilitated by faculty from a number of disciplines.
Topics for the current seminar series are available at: www.stjoes.ca/psychology
McMaster University Grand Rounds
Residents are expected to attend Grand Rounds for the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences, McMaster University (held in the auditorium at the West 5th campus or on Zoom) at 9:00 AM each Wednesday during the academic year.
Residents are encouraged to attend Mental Health and Addiction Program Rounds offered through St. Joseph’s Healthcare.
Residents are required to present at either Grand Rounds or Mental Health rounds. Presentations may discuss research on a particular topic (such as the dissertation) or may integrate a case presentation with theoretical and/or empirical literature.
For recent and forthcoming topics, a schedule of McMaster Grand Rounds is available at: www.fhs.mcmaster.ca/psychiatryneuroscience/education/psych_rounds/index.htm
Workshops and Research Days
The faculty at St. Joseph’s Healthcare periodically organize workshops open to both staff and students. Faculty and residents regularly participate in the Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences Research Day, held annually in May. This event highlights current empirical findings, giving residents the opportunity to both learn about the latest research as well as present their own work. There is also an annual Education Half Day organized by the Education Coordinating Committee in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences that typically focuses on various aspects of clinician-educator development. Clinical programs including Forensics, Mood Disorders, Schizophrenia, and others often host full day professional development events, and staff and residents are highly encouraged to attend.
Research Opportunities
Residents are provided with a half day of protected research time per week. Residents are encouraged to actively engage in research at St. Joe’s. They may also spend this time preparing posters and/or papers for publication, and preparing talks. Opportunities to participate in clinical research projects or to develop new projects are available on most rotations. Residents are able to complete research projects with faculty outside of their clinical rotations. Recent research projects involving residents have included studies of: understanding forensic psychiatric inpatient aggression through a violence risk scenario planning lens; the effects on neurocognition and adaptations for neurocognitive impairment; and comparing therapists’ willingness to engage in invivo versus imaginal forms of exposure therapy for repugnant obsessions. Residents are required to present a research poster on a residency-relevant topic at the Department Research Day.
Supervision
Residents spend a minimum of four hours each week in direct individual supervision, including discussion of clinical cases and professional development, observing and being observed while providing clinical services, and formal case presentations. Opportunities for group supervision also exist in a number of rotations, and residents are encouraged to participate in peer supervision during regularly scheduled resident meetings.
Residents will also receive didactic and experiential learning on providing clinical supervision through our Supervision of Supervision (SOS) program. Each resident will supervise at least one practicum student in assessment and/or intervention services over the course of the residency year in their respective rotations, which will be supervised by a clinical supervisor in their major or minor rotations. In the event a practicum learner is unavailable in a given rotation, the Director of Clinical training will work towards finding a suitable supervision experience in another rotation the resident has a strong background in.
Evaluation
In addition to the regular and constructive feedback residents receive during supervision, formal evaluations occur twice during each rotation – at the midpoint, and at the end. The midpoint review is intended to provide a formal opportunity to review the progress made on learning goals and plans set out at the beginning of the rotation, and identify areas of strength and weakness that can be further developed throughout the remainder of the rotation. Results of the final rotation evaluations will be amalgamated into a comprehensive resident evaluation that will become a permanent part of the resident’s file. Summaries of the midpoint and final evaluations are sent to each resident’s university to document his or her progress in the internship course.
Residents also complete evaluations at the midpoint and end of each major and minor rotation. Residents evaluate the amount, quality, and availability of supervision, their supervisor’s clinical and research mentorship, their satisfaction with the amount of patient contact they have, the appropriateness of overall time demands placed on them, research opportunities, the quality of the feedback they receive from their supervisors, the quality of the supervisory relationship, the overall quality of the rotation, and its value to their residency experience. In addition to the formal evaluation at the end of each rotation, residents are encouraged to approach their supervisors with any concerns that may arise. Finally, residents complete evaluations for each of the didactic seminars.
Residents also receive formal didactic training on care quality and program evaluation and are required to complete a small program evaluation planning exercise following Triple Aim principles.
Accreditation
The Clinical Psychology Residency Program has received accreditation by the Canadian Psychological Association until 2029.
The program is also a member of the Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers (APPIC) and the Canadian Council of Professional Psychology Programs (CCPPP).
For more information on our accreditation status:
The Canadian Psychological Association
141 Laurier Avenue West, Suite 702
Ottawa ON K1P 5J3
Tel: 1-888-472-0657
Web: www.cpa.ca