Advanced Training in Clinical Psychology Practices
Contact Us
For inquires about the residency, please contact:
Marcy Porritt, PhD (She\They)
Psychology Postdoctoral Residency Coordinator
Phone: 801-587-3147
Email: marcy.porritt@utah.edu
The Postdoctoral Psychology Residency Program at Huntsman Mental Health Institute (HMHI) 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.
HMHI is currently recruiting postdoctoral positions in the following areas:
- Youth-Focused Inpatient Treatment
- Young Adult Comprehensive Assessment and Treatment (YA CAT) Program
- Autism Spectrum Disorders Clinic | Youth Residential Treatment
- Youth Day Treatment
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 individual and cultural diversity
- Application of ethical and legal standards to practice
- Supervision
- Professional values, attitudes, and behaviors
The primary goal of the HMHI 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 potential rotations and training opportunities for psychology residents.
Youth-Focused Inpatient Treatment Rotation
Psychology residents on the youth-focused inpatient rotations provide psychological services to patients admitted to the inpatient adolescent and child psychiatric units. The resident on this rotation serve as the primary psychologist on a multidisciplinary team. This is a 6 month rotation.
Young Adult Comprehensive Assessment and Treatment (YA CAT) Program
In the Young Adult Comprehensive Assessment and Treatment (YA CAT) program, the psychology resident plays a primary role in providing assessments and recommendations for future treatment.
Autism Spectrum Disorders Clinic / Youth Residential Treatment Rotation
This rotation is designed to be split between our Autism Spectrum Disorder Clinic (ASDC) and Youth Residential Treatment (YRT). The ASD team training experience includes strong components of both assessment and treatment. The YRT allows for psychology residents the opportunity to work with high-acuity patients for a longer timeframe.
Youth Day Treatment Track
Application Process
Complete internship applications must be submitted no later than December 10, 2022, though earlier submissions are appreciated. Interviews will begin in early February.
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
Marcy Porritt, PhD, HMHI Psychology Postdoctoral Residency Coordinator, at marcy.porritt@utah.edu.
For more comprehensive information, please review the Postdoctoral Psychology Residency Program Brochure. For additional information and questions, please contact Dr. Porritt.
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
Brian Augustyn, PhD
Director of Psychology Training, Huntsman Mental Health Institute (HMHI)
Dr. Brian Augustyn received his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Biola University – Rosemead School of Psychology and completed his internship and postdoctoral hours at the University of Utah Huntsman Mental Health Institute (formerly called University Neuropsychiatric Institute). Dr. Augustyn trained in a variety of clinical settings, including inpatient, outpatient, day treatment, medical centers, and specialized schools, with a background providing ABA discrete trial behavioral modification. His clinical work focuses primarily on therapy and psychological assessment with children, adolescents, and their families, with an emphasis in the areas of mood disorders, anxiety disorders, and autism spectrum disorder, while also providing support on the adult inpatient units as well. Dr. Augustyn also has a background in the integration of spirituality and psychology and has been published and presented research in this area. His theoretical orientation focuses primarily on approaches emphasizing cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), and other behavioral or solution-focused interventions. Dr. Augustyn has an adjunct faculty appointment at the University of Utah Department of Psychiatry, and is involved with the DBT consultation group, clinical documentation audit committee, inpatient hospital ethics committee, interview committee for the School of Medicine, supervising psychiatry resident, and teaching didactics for the psychology interns and psychiatry residents.
Allison Smith, PhD
Psychology Manager, Huntsman Mental Health Institute (HMHI)
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.
Marcy Porritt, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellowship Coordinator, Huntsman Mental Health Institute (HMHI)
Dr. Marcy Porritt (She/They) received her PhD in Clinical Psychology from Loma Linda University with a formal specialization in neuroscience and neuropsychology. Her clinical emphasis is assessment and treatment of severe psychopathology and developmental disorders in adults and children. Dr. Porritt’s work experience includes community mental health, homeless outreach, Veteran’s Administration and inpatient/intermediate psychiatric settings. Dr. Porritt currently works at HMHI Young Adult Comprehensive Assessment and Treatment program and is the Psychology Postdoctoral Residency Coordinator at HMHI. She identifies primarily as a contextual behavioral scientist focusing on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy with Compassion and Dialectical Behavioral Therapy. Dr. Porritt is a member of the LGBTQ Affirmative Therapists Guild of Utah and is actively involved in engaging issues of Justice Equity Diversity and Inclusion.
Response To Covid-19
Employees at HMHI are considered “essential workers” and clinical employees (i.e., staff, interns, externs and fellows) have been providing direct face-to-face patient care in day treatment and inpatient settings.
In order to mitigate the risk to employees while continuing to provide high-quality patient care, a wide-range of safety protocols have been implemented. Some of the policies that are in place to mitigate the risk of COVID-19:
- All staff are required to have been vaccinated for COVID-19 unless they qualify for a medical or religious exemption.
- Masks are required for everyone on HMHI grounds.
- All patients on the inpatient units and in day treatment are tested for COVID-19 during admission and then re-tested weekly (or more frequently if they are symptomatic or have had an exposure). Only patients with negative test results and no symptoms of COVID-19 are able to attend in-person groups and unit programming.
- Any staff with symptoms are asked not to come to work and are directed to contact the U’s Work Wellness Clinic to determine steps they need to take to return to work.
- Unit group rooms and common areas are frequently wiped down and disinfected, and visitation rooms are disinfected between visits.
- Family therapy is typically provided virtually due to visitor restrictions aligning with COVID-19 policies.
- Group size reductions (12 patients maximum) to enable social distancing, along with vigilant observation of symptoms for both staff and patients, further limits on-site exposure.
- Patients are limited to 1-2 visitors per day, and visitors must attest that they are asymptomatic in order to visit. No food or beverages may be consumed.
- Currently all outpatient visits, supervision, and training didactics are a combination of telehealth/ virtual platforms and in-person visits, depending on the comfort of staff and patients and the feasibility of social distancing.
Since the landscape is evolving, we cannot definitively predict how the next training year will look, however, we expect a hybrid of face-to-face and virtual / telehealth meetings (for example, for family therapy, and for staff meetings and trainings) to remain part of our work.
The applicant interview process will be held virtually.
Affirmative Action Statement
The Postdoctoral Psychology Residency Program at HMHI actively supports and is in full compliance with the spirit and principles of affirmative action in the recruitment and selection of psychology interns. We provide equal opportunities for all qualified persons and do 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.