Fellowship Aims

1. To provide the fellow with broad post-doctoral training in the prediction of suicidal ideation and behavior, prospectively, using intensive longitudinal data collection methods.
2. To provide the fellow with a strong working knowledge of suicide risk assessment and suicide-focused research, with a focus on techniques such as ecological momentary assessment and ecological momentary intervention.
3. To provide the fellow with research training and experience in preparation for a research career in suicide assessment and intervention research.

The fellow will be exposed to various aspects of suicide assessment research via participation in the following activities:

• Study coordination: The fellow will collaborate with the PIs (Drs. Schatten, Armey, and Hughes) to coordinate one large assessment study and one tablet-based intervention study (PI: Schatten) funded by The National Institute of Mental Health and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. The fellow will help coordinate research assistant activities and assessment as well as oversee participant recruitment and conduct study-related appointments (e.g., semi-structured interviews). Additionally, the fellow will have the opportunity for hands-on exposure to ecological momentary assessment, implementation science, and treatment development methods, tailored to the research interests of the individual fellow.

• Review of suicide assessment and intervention literature: The fellow will be provided with a series of readings exploring the prospective prediction of suicide risk. More specifically, readings will focus on the assessment of high-risk behaviors using ecological momentary assessment, laboratory-based methodologies, and suicide interventions.

• The fellow will have the opportunity to contribute towards ongoing grant preparation and submission in the Psychosocial Research Program.

• The fellow will be required to participate in weekly research meetings conducted in the Psychosocial Research Program.

• Grant writing: The fellow will be encouraged to develop a grant idea and submit a grant proposal by the end of the fellowship term.

• Manuscript preparation and submission: The fellow will be encouraged to collaborate on manuscript preparation and poster submissions at national conferences. Currently available datasets will permit development of first-author manuscripts in the areas of suicide assessment and intervention as well as ecological momentary assessment. Individually tailored goals will be established in this area.

• Clinical assessment: The fellow will participate in the clinical assessment activities of NIMH- and AFSP-funded studies suicide assessment and intervention studies. Clinical activities will involve conducting in-person diagnostic structured interviews (i.e., C-SSRS, SCID, SITB-I) with psychiatric patients at baseline and follow-up. Additionally, the fellow will provide clinical assessments of suicide risk during outpatient follow-up assessments following hospital discharge. These assessments are conducted within the context of clinical assessment research studies and are used to determine study eligibility and to provide ongoing monitoring of clinical symptomatology throughout the study. These assessments will also help identify cases of clinical deterioration and help ensure patient safety

• Attend postdoctoral didactic seminars.

Job Qualifications and Specifications

• Education: Ph.D in Clinical Psychology from an APA approved clinical psychology program
• Training and Experience: Completion of approved clinical psychology internship program. Experience with inpatient and outpatient psychiatric population. Clinical skills and research interests in the area of specialization.

Schedule: