Fellowship in Somatization, Mental Health and - Vancouver, Canada - PHSA

PHSA

Verified Company

Vancouver, Canada

2 weeks ago

Posted by:

Sophia Lee

beBee Recruiter

Description

Fellowship in

_SOMATIZATION_

BC Children's Hospital

Full Time Fellowship (1 year) - Start Date between July-October 2023

Mental Health and Concurrent Disorders

_Somatization._
Who the Fellow will work with and what will be the core of their work:

The fellow will work closely with their primary supervisor and interdisciplinary team members including child and adolescent psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, a nurse-clinician, and pediatricians, as well as other clinical and research trainees in psychiatry and psychology.

He/she will participate in weekly research and clinic meetings and will have opportunities for involvement in direct clinical care with children and families, dissemination of peer-reviewed research, and knowledge translation for community clinicians and the public.

Details of the clinical/research training experience:

Fellowship Types Available in Program:

þ

Combined Clinical and Research/Academic Project Focus
þ

Primary Research Focus

Fellowship Training Experiences within Program

Area of Focus:
Our program addresses somatization in children and youth (e.g., DSM5 Somatic Symptom Disorder and Conversion Disorder).

Clinical Opportunities:

Clinical training experiences include consultation-liaison, initial diagnostic assessments with children and families, group therapy, and family therapy. Our program is integrating research into clinical activities provided.

Research/Academic Project Opportunities:

The following studies are currently underway. None require full-time research dedication for involvement.

1) Describe pediatric somatization

Observe/conduct diagnostic interviews for new program assessments
Determine longterm prognosis of those identified with somatization at BCCH
Psychometrically evaluate a new questionnaire to assess somatization
Develop a novel research question to be tested using previously collected data on ~200 somatizing youth years old) and their parents on variables such as: somatic symptoms, functional disability, healthcare utilization, perceptions of medical events, readiness for change, perceptions of and responses to stress, emotion regulation, internalizing and externalizing symptoms, and parent and peer relationships, attachment

2) Evaluate group therapy for somatization

Observe/facilitate the 6 week <> group, offered 4 times per year to adolescents and parents
Evaluate interventionrelated changes using multiple waves of quantitative and qualitative data collected (baseline, during, postintervention, 6month followup) on ~40 families
Compare efficacy of virtual to inperson group
Develop and evaluate a novel controlled outcome study comparing group to alternative treatment

3) Evaluate family-based treatments for somatization

Observe/conduct attachmentbased family therapies (emotionally focused family therapy, dynamic relational therapy) for somatization
Evaluate the feasibility of these therapies using quantitative/qualitative two waves of data collected on ~25 families.
Contributing to grant writing, developing novel research questions, and selecting measurement tools to support program evaluation

4) Create animation video for knowledge translation

Contributing to the development and wide dissemination of a set of animation videos that will explain pediatric somatization to the general public
Developing strategies for evaluating uptake and impact of the video

Other Potential Opportunities:

1) Threat-related attention bias study (involving neurocognitive assessment)

2) Systematic literature reviews and opinion pieces for publication

3) Development and evaluation of knowledge translation activities (e.g., educational modules, national practice standards, treatment guidelines, and handbooks for community physicians, mental health clinicians, and school professionals)

4) Supervision and teaching of junior research assistants and clinical trainees

Please direct any inquiries about the clinic or fellowship training opportunity to:
Amrit Dhariwal, PhD, RPsych

Titles: Clinical Assistant Professor, Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Subspecialty

Program, UBC Medicine

Investigator, BC Children's Hospital Research Institute

Staff Psychologist, Teaching & Consultation Clinic, BCCH

Areas of Interest: Dr. Dhariwal is a clinicianresearcher at BC Children's Hospital where she focuses her time on developing, providing, and evaluating psychological treatments. Her current interests address alleviating somatization in children and teens. Her expertise extends to attachmentbased treatments spanning the period between infancy and adulthood. She holds an appointment as a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of British Columbia where she teaches about psychotherapy for pediatric populations. She regularly provides teaching, clinical supervision, and mentorship to psychiatry residents and fellows, predoctoral clinical psy