Clinical Psychology Postdoctoral Residency
Advanced Training in Clinical Psychology Practices
Contact Us
For inquires about the residency, please contact:
Heather Lewis, PhD, BCBA
Psychology Postdoctoral Residency Coordinator
Phone: 801-581-8280
Email: heather.lewis@utah.edu
The Postdoctoral Psychology Residency Program at Huntsman Mental Health Institute is an APPIC member program that provides advanced clinical training for child, adolescent, and adult populations with severe and diverse psychopathology. Individuals eligible for the postdoctoral residency must have a Certified Psychology Resident License, a doctoral degree, and successful completion of an APA-accredited internship.
Huntsman Mental Health Institute is currently recruiting postdoctoral positions in the following areas:
- Inpatient Psychology Rotation – Assessment and DBT focused
- Combined Day Treatment/Residential/Intensive Outpatient
Huntsman Mental Health Institute is the leading provider of inpatient and partial hospitalization programs in the Mountain West. HMHI's psychiatric hospital is a 170-bed facility with inpatient units for adults, adolescents and children. In addition, there are child-focused and adolescent-focused day treatment programs and an outpatient clinic on site.
Program Experience
Psychology residents will have the opportunity to addresses psychiatric disorders for a diverse population, including youth or adults. Under supervision, residents will provide quality care and exceptional service within the context of a positive, progressive, and patient-focused environment.
The residency provides intensive experiential training in the core areas of psychology practice including:
- Evidence-based interventions, including training in a variety of treatment modalities
- Evidence-based diagnosis and assessment
- Consultation and interdisciplinary communication and collaboration
- Integrating research into clinical practice
- Addressing the unique needs of every individual
- Application of ethical and legal standards to practice
- Supervision
- Professional values, attitudes, and behaviors
The primary goal of the Huntsman Mental Health Institute psychology postdoctoral residency is to serve as a springboard for trainees to become competent, independent practitioners. This goal is achieved by balancing a resident’s independent work within their multidisciplinary team while providing supervision and support when needed. In order to support our resident’s further development as a competent practitioner, several other training opportunities are offered:
- Grand Rounds Series
- Case Conferences
- DBT Consultation Group
- Resident Rounds
- Supervision
Rotations & Tracks
Psychology residents are partnered with supervisors, across each of their rotations, who specialize working within a specific setting and can provide excellent mentorship and training. Training on each rotation is personalized and adapted to the resident’s level of functioning as new professional challenges are encountered. Psychology residents can expect to have a greater clinical caseload, with typically more intensive clinical needs than psychology interns. Outlined below are rotations that are still being recruited for the upcoming academic year, and each rotation is 6 months.
Inpatient Psychology Rotation – Assessment and DBT focused
Psychology residents on the inpatient rotation provide psychological services to patients admitted to the adult, child, and adolescent inpatient psychiatric units. They will work across treatment teams on a consult basis to provide targeted psychological assessments to aid in diagnostic clarification and treatment planning, and lead DBT skills groups four times per week.
Combined Day Treatment/Residential/Intensive Outpatient
This unique training opportunity offers exposure and training within three levels of care located in South Salt Lake. Teenscope South (TSS) day treatment, Youth Residential Treatment (YRT), and the Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) are treatment programs for adolescents ages 12-17 with mental health concerns. Our new IOP is opening its doors this winter and will serve 8-10 adolescents after school, three days a week. Care will consist of individual therapy and DBT groups as well as expressive therapy and DBT caregiver/teen groups.
Application Process
Applications for the 25-26 academic year are open on a rolling deadline and will be available until all positions are filled. The applicant interview process will be held virtually.
Application Materials
- Letter of interest
- Curriculum vita (CV)
- Sample psychological evaluation (de-identified)
- Names of three references, including a supervisor or training director at current internship or job
Heather Lewis, PhD, BCBA, Psychology Postdoctoral Residency Coordinator, at Heather.Lewis@utah.edu.
For more comprehensive information, please review the Postdoctoral Psychology Residency Program Brochure. For additional information and questions, please contact Dr. Lewis.
Requirements for Application
- Certified Psychology Resident License (through DOPL)
- Doctoral degree (Psy.D./Ph.D.) from a school, counseling or clinical psychology program
- Successful completion of a 1 year APA accredited internship
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience evaluating and treating acute populations
- Experience providing individual, group and family therapy
- Experience assessing/treating the PDD/IDD population is preferred for youth services
*Special consideration will be given to bilingual/Spanish speaking applicants
Stipend & Benefits
- Competitive annual salary
- University of Utah staff benefits
- Medical, dental, and vision insurance
- Vacation and sick leave (combined as 20 days of paid time off)
- 11 paid holidays
Program Leadership
Allison Smith, PhD
Inpatient Psychology Manager
Dr. Allison Smith received her Ph.D. from Northern Illinois University with a focus on child clinical/developmental psychopathology. Dr. Smith is the Manager of the Inpatient Psychology Program. She trained in a variety of settings, including inpatient, outpatient, group homes, and forensic settings, and she has therapy and assessment experience with both children and adults. She completed her internship and postdoctoral residency at the University of Utah Huntsman Mental Health Institute. Dr. Smith's focus is on youth and families experiencing serious mental illness. Conceptually she works from the perspective of developmental psychopathology and cognitive-behavioral therapy. Clinically she integrates cognitive-behavioral strategies, including dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) skills, based on the situation and needs of the patient. Dr. Smith has an adjunct faculty appointment in the University of Utah Department of Psychiatry and is a member of the Psychology Training Committee.
Heather Lewis, PhD, BCBA
Psychology Postdoctoral Residency Coordinator
Dr. Heather Lewis is a psychologist in Huntsman Mental Health Institute Day Treatment programs. She works in both Kidstar and Teenscope providing individual therapy, coordinating psychological assessments, and facilitating group therapy. She received her PhD in School Psychology from the University of Utah. Dr. Lewis completed both her doctoral internship and postdoctoral residency at Huntsman Mental Health Institute. She has worked in various settings outside of Huntsman Mental Health Institute including schools, autism clinics, and outpatient clinics. Dr. Lewis is a board-certified behavior analyst, and often uses this as a framework for understanding patients. Her current therapeutic approach is best described as integrative, though she largely focuses on third wave cognitive behavioral therapy and trauma informed care. Dr. Lewis has an adjunct faculty appoint at the University of Utah in both the Department of Psychiatry and the Department of Educational Psychology.
Robbin Rockett, PsyD
Director of Psychology Training
Dr. Rockett is a clinical psychologist on the child and adolescent inpatient units at Huntsman Mental Health Institute and is excited to help support the training program here. Dr. Robbin Rockett graduated from the University of Texas at Austin and earned her PsyD in Clinical Psychology from the California School of Professional Psychology. Her postdoc training at Ann Martin Children’s Center included both outpatient and school settings working with children and adolescents with a focus on child play therapy, grief therapy and psychodynamic therapy. She has been in private practice supporting families for over twenty years. Dr. Rockett was the assistant Clinical Director at the Community Institute for Psychotherapy, an outpatient clinic serving low-income families and adults. She founded and served as the Clinical Director at Marin Wellness Counseling (MWC), a private group practice that sees children, adolescents, adults, and couples. At MWC she created a training program that trains clinicians to work with adolescents and adults utilizing psychodynamic, family systems and Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) approaches. She served as Past President on the board for the Marin County Psychological Association.
Amanda Miller Weeks, PsyD
Director of Intermediate Services
Dr. Amanda Miller is the Director of Intermediate Services, which includes the Kidstar, Teenscope and Teenscope South day treatment/partial hospitalization programs and the Youth Residential Treatment program (YRT). She received her PsyD in Clinical Psychology from Baylor University and completed her postdoctoral residency at Huntsman Mental Health Institute. She has provided psychological services to the adolescent and child units (i.e., individual and family therapy and psychological assessment) and specializes in treatment of adolescents. She currently provides group therapy in day treatment. Dr. Miller also has extensive training and experience with adults in a variety of clinical settings. Her conceptual orientation is grounded in psychodynamic theory, though clinically she integrates Cognitive-Behavioral strategies, Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) and Interpersonal Therapy based on the situation and needs of the patient. Dr. Miller serves as a primary supervisor within the internship program and is a member of the Psychology Training Committee.
Equal Opportunity Statement
The Postdoctoral Psychology Residency Program provides equal opportunities for all qualified persons and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, age, sexual orientation, national origin, or status of a handicapped person, disabled veteran, of veteran of the Vietnam era.