West Los Angeles Healthcare Center – Psychology Training | VA Greater Los Angeles Health Care

The Internship Program offers five required seminars: a weekly Intern Seminar, a weekly Assessment Seminar, a twice-monthly Diversity Seminar, a monthly seminar on Clinical Supervision, and a monthly seminar on Evidence-based Psychotherapy. The monthly Geropsychology Journal Club is required for interns in the Geropsychology Track and optional for those in the General Track. The GLA Trauma Psychology seminar is required for interns on the Trauma rotation and optional for all others.

The General Intern Seminar meets every Wednesday afternoon and covers a wide range of topics, including law and ethics, assessment of risk, the Veteran population, professional development, intervention, program evaluation and other topics relevant to treatment of the Veteran population. The Director of Training schedules the seminar and welcomes ideas from interns on topics of interest. Interns are required to make one presentation at the Intern Seminar, which will focus on dissertation research or research conducted during the internship year. General meetings are scheduled as needed, and provide the intern class with the opportunity to discuss any areas of concern or topics of interest with the Director of Training. During the COVID-19 pandemic, we also implemented weekly to biweekly 30-minute huddles with the Director of Training to discuss updates, questions, and timely topics.

The Assessment Seminar meets every Wednesday afternoon. The seminar is facilitated by a staff psychologist with assistance from other training faculty and outside speakers with specialized psychological and neuropsychological assessment experience. The seminar is designed to enhance foundational skills in personality and psychodiagnostic assessment, cognitive evaluation, and other specialized areas such as violence risk, trauma, sexual health, pain and organ transplant. Coverage of psychodiagnostic assessment will focus on the MMPI-2 and MMPI-2-RF and include case presentations and group discussion. Cutting across all lectures will be a focus on how clinical research informs the assessment process. Of note, interns with specific interest in neuropsychology have been able to attend the Sepulveda Ambulatory Care Center’s Neuropsychology Seminar depending on scheduling constraints.

The Clinical Supervision Seminar, facilitated by Dr. Cardoos, meets monthly and is designed to provide interns with training in evidence-based supervision practice. Seminars include formal didactic presentations, assigned readings, exercises, case discussions, self-assessments, and role-plays, with an emphasis on experiential learning. Topics generally include APA Guidelines for Clinical Supervision, models and theories of supervision, roles and responsibilities, the supervisory relationship, legal and ethical issues, diversity and multiculturalism, reflective practice, and evaluation and feedback.

The Diversity Seminar, led by Drs. Elika Razmjou and Catherine Woods, meets with the overarching goal of increasing trainees’ cultural awareness, sensitivity, and humility. The core of the training is an active examination of the dimensions of our cultural selves as we connect with others in the context of our professional identities, and in our lived experiences as persons with intersecting identities. We use this understanding to inform our clinical conceptualizations and the relationships with our patients, with considerations for integrating social justice and advocacy. To achieve these objectives, we use interactive didactic presentations, case discussions, and experiential practice. Guest lecturers are invited to speak on topics of relevance to our clinical population or other areas of interest that are identified by the seminar facilitators and trainees. Additionally, interns will provide a presentation on a diversity-related topic of their choosing, as an opportunity to share their expertise or to delve into a content area they are less familiar with. The seminar meets twice monthly. Handouts and resources are provided.

The Evidence-Based Psychotherapy Seminar, facilitated by Dr. Castellon, meets monthly and features a variety of guest speakers discussing state-of-the-art evidence-based interventions relevant to the VA setting. Topics have included Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, CBT for Psychosis, CBT for Pain, Cognitive Processing Therapy, Prolonged Exposure, Integrative Behavioral Couple Therapy, Mindfulness-Based Interventions, CBT for Insomnia, psychodynamic psychotherapy, and Motivational Interviewing. The seminar format includes formal didactics and group discussion.   

The Geropschoology Journal Club, led by Drs. Rebecca Melrose and Paul Cernin, is a monthly didactic required for Geropsychology trainees, as well as for any trainee interested in learning more about the unique complexities of working with the geriatric population. Each month, supervisors and trainees will meet to discuss 1-2 research articles on a specified topic in Geropsychology. Topics will include psychotherapy with older adults, successful aging/promoting cognitive health, caregiver support, the 3 D’s (depression, dementia, and delirium), mild cognitive impairment, professional development in Geropsychology, and the ABPP process, as well as various other topics based on training needs.

The GLA Trauma Psychology Seminar,  facilitated by Dr. Robert Jakucs, is a virtual weekly didactic attended by Trauma Recovery Services staff and trainees (pre-interns, interns and postdoctoral residents) across all of GLA who are interested in the assessment and treatment of PTSD. The seminar, which is led by a variety of guest speakers, focuses on increasing understanding of trauma/PTSD, reviewing evidence-based approaches for assessing and treating PTSD, examining both practical and theoretical issues in the treatment of PTSD and discussing emerging new knowledge in the field of trauma psychology. It also includes case discussions and consultation.

There are many other educational opportunities available during the internship year. These often include GRECC-sponsored program and conferences, continuing education program sponsored by the Psychology Department, the Neurobehavior Seminar, a weekly Pain Lecture Series, rotation-specific case conferences, GLA-sponsored events, VA/UCLA Grand Rounds, and many programs and lectures in the community. Attendance at optional educational activities is at the discretion of the Training Director and rotation supervisor(s).