Psychosocial Oncology

• Develop experience in the role of a psychologist within a multidisciplinary medical team.
• Build skills in effective collaboration and contribution to multidisciplinary care.
• Increase knowledge of psychosocial oncology and evidence-based interventions for patients with cancer and serious illness.
• Learn to conduct health and behavior evaluations and effectively communicate findings through written reports.
• Strengthen skills in addressing the psychological, social, and behavioral challenges associated with cancer diagnosis, treatment, and survivorship.
• Gain comfort and clinical competence working with complex medical issues, including serious illness, grief, death, and health literacy concerns.
  

• The psychology intern will learn consultation skills for working with a multidisciplinary team and provide appropriate psych-social collaboration.
• The psychology intern will gain competence in administering health and behavior evaluations to assess for mental and behavioral health issues in an adult population affected by cancer.
• The psychology intern will decide on appropriate, evidence-based interventions and provide psychological and behavioral health interventions in group, individual, family, and couples modalities.
  

• Health Behavior and Psychological Assessments: The intern will conduct semi-structured psychosocial intake assessments with newly diagnosed cancer patients and transplant candidates. They will also perform regular follow-up assessments of post-treatment quality of life.
• Psychotherapy: During the course of the rotation, the intern will conduct psychotherapy with oncology patients undergoing treatment for cancers at different stages of severity. They will also be expected to provide therapy for caregivers. They will have the opportunity to co-lead therapy groups, as appropriate. Psychotherapy will be provided in outpatient and inpatient settings, as needed.
• Educational Activities: The intern will attend weekly supervision sessions. They will be provided with relevant reading material to ensure a solid foundational understanding of concepts such as bone marrow transplantation, grief, death/dying, illness anxiety, and other common concerns in the environment. 
• Additional Opportunities: Interns are encouraged to identify additional goals of their training. Opportunities exist to shadow an oncology social worker, nurse, or nurse practitioner.
  

The range of issues and problems that arise for patients and their family members when faced with a serious, life-threatening illness often requires eclectic therapeutic approaches. In general, the goal is to promote healthy adaptation to the illness and optimal functioning of the patient and family. Cognitive-behavioral, existential, biopsychosocial and family systems theoretical approaches are commonly used to conceptualize and treat patients.

• Brief and long-term psychotherapy
• Adult individual psychotherapy
• Couples & Family psychotherapy
• Group psychotherapy
• Supportive psychotherapy
• Psychoeducation and Multidisciplinary

Our patient population consists of adults (18+) diagnosed with malignant or benign blood disorders, with a primary focus on individuals with various forms of blood cancer across a range of illness severity. We serve a diverse group of patients representing different ages, racial and ethnic backgrounds, socioeconomic statuses, and both rural and urban communities across Colorado and the broader Rocky Mountain region. As an intern, you will have the opportunity to work with patients in the inpatient setting and engage with caregivers in both inpatient and outpatient contexts.

Interns receive weekly supervision focused on psychosocial assessment and psychotherapy cases. A developmental approach to training is used: interns initially engage in guided learning, including assigned readings on cancer diagnoses, treatment modalities, and the transplant process, as well as shadowing the supervising psychologist and multidisciplinary team members to build familiarity with the medical environment and clinical workflows.

As competency increases, interns are assigned their own caseloads to manage under supervision. A minimum of one hour of formal, scheduled supervision is provided each week to review clinical cases, support skill development, and process professional experiences. In addition to scheduled supervision, informal supervision and consultation are readily available as needed to support the intern’s growth and learning.