Child Track - Ochsner Psychology Doctoral Internship

Our clinical child behavioral psychologists serve children/adolescents and their families who are presenting with complex neurodevelopmental disorders and/or behavioral or cognitive deficits that interfere with their ability to complete their basic activities of daily living (e.g., feeding, toileting, socializing, following behavioral standards set by home or school, etc.). Behavioral and developmental psychological services are delivered through the Michael R. Boh Centers for Child Development, which are dedicated to high-quality and evidence-based interdisciplinary care for children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders and developmental disorders. Through the Boh Center, our psychologists are co-located with our physicians and allied health professionals most involved in care of patients with developmental disorders and participate actively in interdisciplinary teams to conduct comprehensive evaluations, integrated treatment protocols, direction of special education services, and professional education and research.

Interns are provided with training in evidence-based practices and education regarding neurodevelopmental conditions, behavioral and psychological sequelae, and medical and social correlates of such conditions. Common presenting problems range from assessment for Autism Spectrum Disorders, developmental delay, and intellectual disability; behavioral treatment of feeding and toileting challenges; evaluation of school-related problems; managing challenging to severe behavior; social skills training; and more. Interns receive mentoring in effective work with multidisciplinary teams comprised of developmental/behavioral pediatricians, physical and occupational therapists, speech and language therapists, applied behavior analysis (ABA) therapists and board-certified behavioral analysts (BCBA), psychometricians, and medical subspecialists that are most involved in the care of developmental disorders including cardiology, physical medicine and rehabilitation, pulmonology, neurology, and genetics.

Primary clinical activities for the major rotation in child development

• Developmental/autism, learning, and/or neuropsychological evaluations;
• Assessment and intervention services for patients receiving care for pediatric feeding and swallowing disorders; and
• Outpatient therapy for patients with co-occurring developmental and behavioral and/or emotional concerns, including parent training, group therapy, and individual therapy.

Primary Faculty Supervisors

For this major training area, supervision may be provided by Lee Ann Annotti, Ph.D., Christiane Creveling, Ph.D., Emily Crochet, Psy.D., Lacey Ellis, Ph.D., and/or Nicole Lasserre, Ph.D, BCBA-D.

Child Development Minor Rotation

The minor rotation in child development focuses on assessment services. Developmental/autism assessments, learning assessments, and assessments informed by neuropsychological concerns through the Boh Center for Child Development are designed to assess and differentially diagnosis children with developmental or other delays. The clinic is staffed by developmental/behavioral pediatricians, psychologists, and psychometrists. Evaluations include a diagnostic intake, standardized assessment tools and rating scales, and preparation of a written report. The team collaborates to discuss the diagnosis, a treatment plan, and the need for any further evaluations or testing. Results are typically disseminated to the child’s parent(s)/caregiver(s) through a feedback session.

Primary Service Location(s)

Services for the Child Development major and minor rotation occur at the Jefferson Highway campus. Specific service location includes the Michael R. Boh Center for Child Development.

Clinical psychologists provide behavioral health integration within the pediatric primary care setting. They serve children/adolescents and their families who are referred for concerns by their primary care providers, with the most common referrals being for developmental and/or behavioral concerns, attention or learning concerns, and concerns about anxiety, depression, or mood. Integrated care psychologists see approximately 70% or more of their patients in a consultative fashion immediately following referral from their primary care provider, and approximately 30% of their patients for scheduled follow-up appointments, largely centered around brief, solutions-focused interventions.

Interns are provided with training in evidence-based practices and education regarding consultation; effective brief clinical interview and triage skills; interdisciplinary collaboration; brief assessment and progress monitoring for attention, anxiety, and depression; and brief, solutions-focused interventions. Behavioral health integration within pediatric primary care is a burgeoning area of interest and specialization for early career psychologists because of the access it affords to mental health services for otherwise underserved patient populations. In addition, it allows for interruption of the “traditional” model for behavioral health services of “refer and wait,” and instead allows patients and their families to make progress toward behavioral health goals as soon as possible after referral.

Primary clinical activities for the major rotation in integrated pediatric primary care

• Consulting on referrals from primary care providers for developmental, behavioral, emotional, and social concerns for child and adolescent patients;
• Assessment and intervention services for patients receiving care for pediatric feeding and swallowing disorders; and
• Utilizing clinical interview, triage, and screening skills to determine the best course of action for patient, which could include but is not limited to referral for comprehensive diagnostic or school-based evaluation, referral for behavioral or emotional therapy and/or parent management training, referral to the integrated care service for short-term intervention, etc.; and
• Assisting with development of clinic protocols, such as training for primary care providers on mental and behavioral health problems, standardized screening processes, crisis intervention protocols, and mandated reporting practices.

Primary Faculty Supervisors

For this major training area, supervision may be provided by Yelena Johnson, Ph.D.

Integrated Pediatric Primary Care Minor Rotation

The minor rotation in integrated pediatric primary care focuses on consultation and brief, solutions-focused outpatient therapy. Interns assist with intake and triage for consultation requests from primary care providers to determine best course of action for each patient given their individual needs. When a short-term course of outpatient therapy is indicated, the intern may follow the patient for intervention. The minor rotation in integrated pediatric primary care may also afford opportunities for experiences in crisis intervention and mandated reporting.

Primary Service Location(s)

Services for the Integrated Pediatric Primary Care major and minor rotation occur at the Ochsner Health Center - Lapalco in the Westside Pediatrics Clinic in Marrero, Louisiana.

Our pediatric psychologists serve children/adolescents and their families who are having difficulty managing physical symptoms, adapting to chronic/acute medical conditions, or adhering to medical regimens. Referrals are received from a wide array of subspecialties within Ochsner Health including: Cardiology, Diabetes/Endocrinology, Gastroenterology, Gender Medicine, General Pediatrics, Genetics, Hematology-Oncology, Neurology, Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Plastic Surgery, Pulmonology, Orthopedics, and Transplant Services, among others. Pediatric psychology clinical services are delivered in the Medical Subspecialty Clinics in the Department of Pediatrics and on the inpatient medical floors.

Interns are provided with training in evidence-based practices and education regarding pediatric medical conditions, psychological sequelae, and correlates of such conditions. Common presenting problems range from adapting to acute and chronic illness, self-management/adherence to medical regimens, procedural anxiety, reactions to accidental injury/medical trauma, and conditions related to the interaction of physical and behavioral factors such as chronic pain and medically unexplained symptoms.

The structure of the internship allows interns to follow families through their medical treatment and in a variety of settings. Interns work with their supervisor(s) and the medical teams to coordinate psychological services with medical care. Interns provide continuity of care to patients throughout outpatient visits, medical subspecialty clinics, and inpatient stays.

Primary clinical activities for the major rotation in pediatric psychology

• Consultation-liaison (C/L) services to patients on the acute medical, pediatric intensive care unit (PICU), and/or pediatric cardiovascular intensive care unit (CVICU);
• Assessment and intervention services for patients receiving care for pediatric feeding and swallowing disorders; and
• Assessment and intervention services to patients through multidisciplinary outpatient clinics (e.g., diabetes clinic, colorectal clinic, inflammatory bowel disease clinic, adolescent and young adult clinic, gender clinic, etc.); and
• Outpatient therapy for patients with chronic and/or significant medical conditions, referred for outpatient care from the C/L service or through multidisciplinary clinics.

Primary Faculty Supervisors

For this major training area, supervision may be provided by Justin Carreras, Ph.D., Clifton Mixon, Ph.D. and/or Emily Crochet, PhD

Pediatric Psychology Minor Rotation

The minor rotation in pediatric psychology focuses on consultation-liaison (C/L) services. C/L psychology services involve providers who consult to allied hospital personnel about the behavioral and mental health needs of pediatric patients during the course of their hospitalization. Consultations for hospitalized children typically follow a medical model whereby the consultant assesses the referred pediatric patient and advises the referring physician and medical team about the findings and management of psychosocial aspects of the patient's care. This is often a complex process involving multiple interviews of child, family, and staff, repeated behavioral observations, perhaps formal psychological assessment, communication of findings to the hospital staff via written, telephone, and face-to-face contacts, and implementation of intervention procedures often under tight time constraints of competing medical procedures and insurance limitations. Additionally, C/L services are often confronted with a wide array of referral questions, including differential diagnoses of organic versus psychogenic contributors to symptom presentation, adherence problems to medications and treatments, coping and adjustment to chronic illness and trauma, pain management, decision making for organ transplantation, and arranging for posthospitalization follow-up.

Primary Service Location(s)

Services for the Pediatric Psychology major and minor rotation occur at the Jefferson Highway campus. Specific service locations include the Pediatrics Building, the inpatient acute pediatric hospital unit, the pediatric intensive care unit, and the pediatric cardiovascular intensive care unit.