The UC Davis Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences is located in Sacramento, California, approximately 20 miles east of the main UC Davis campus, in Davis, California.  It has a well-established postdoctoral fellowship program administered by full-time psychologists on the faculty under the direction of Stacey Peerson, Ph.D. The department has a strong collaborative relationship with Sacramento County’s Department of Health and Human Services  Many of our faculty and trainees conduct clinical work at one of the County’s many inpatient treatment facilities and/or outpatient clinics. Such a unique relationship not only provides our clients with superior mental health treatment but allows our faculty and trainees exposure to clients of wide-ranging backgrounds and complex clinical presentations. Our program offers postdoctoral fellows the best of both worlds, training from a strong academic approach that emphasizes evidence-based treatment within the context of complex clinical work in inpatient and outpatient settings.

The program consists of an adult track and a child track.  On the adult track, the postdoctoral fellow spends the year working at both an inpatient psychiatric hospital and an adult outpatient community mental health clinic. The two postdoctoral fellows who participate in the child track spend the majority of their time at an outpatient clinic for children, adolescents, and their families.  Opportunities are also provided to those fellows in either track who would like to conduct a minor rotation in their non-specialty track.

As part of each track, our fellows provide individual, family, and/or group psychotherapy.  They also conduct comprehensive psychological assessments, which regularly include the use of projective tests such as the Rorschach.  Fellows are considered an integral part of the interdisciplinary setting and regularly provide consultation to a range of mental health professionals, including psychiatrists, residents, medical students, social workers, and marriage and family therapists.

The Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences has over 80 faculty members, including 10 psychologists. Psychologists in our department represent a wide array of clinical and research interests and expertise.  Several psychologists within the Department participate in federally funded research programs that investigate the basic mechanisms of brain function, neurodevelopment, clinical studies in child and adult psychiatry, and specific psychiatric disorders, such as autism and psychosis.

Four attending psychologists participate in the postdoctoral training program in clinical psychology.  These psychologists represent an array of theoretical approaches, including family systems, psychodynamic, interpersonal, and cognitive-behavioral.  Clinically, they have expertise in psychotherapy and comprehensive psychological assessment with children, adolescents, and adults from culturally and ethnically diverse backgrounds who present with complex Axis I and Axis II disorders.

For more information about our full-time faculty, please click on the links below:

Fellows receive a stipend of $40,000 for the training year.  Fellows receive approximately 19 days of paid time off (PTO) during their training year, which can be used for vacation and sick leave.  In addition, fellows will receive approximately 6 days  of extended sick leave that is available in the event of an extended absence due to illness or medical reasons.  Because fellows work in Sacramento County facilities, they also have approximately 13 days off per year for state and federal holidays.  We are proud to offer our fellows the same retirement and medical benefits provided to our faculty.  Fellows may choose their medical and dental insurance from several providers and are given free vision insurance.

Our program adheres to the requirements for psychology licensure in the state of California.  As part of the postdoctoral fellowship, our trainees receive 1900 supervised clinical hours.  Trainees participate in three to four hours of individual and group supervision each week with two to three different licensed psychologists and/or psychiatrists. At least one hour of supervision each week is individual and face-to-face with a primary supervisor. In addition, trainees meet with individual and group supervisors regarding their psychotherapy and assessment cases. It is our goal that at the end of their postdoctoral fellowship, fellows will have obtained the necessary professional competencies to practice autonomously with respect to psychotherapy and psychological assessment in various multidisciplinary settings.

The Department provides a wide range of educational opportunities. A bi-monthly grand rounds invites speakers from around the country to present information from their research or clinical experience.  Seminars related to law and ethics, psychotherapy, and professional development (i.e., preparing for licensure, building a private practice, self-care and vicarious traumatization) are offered.  Postdoctoral fellows also participate in assessment and therapy case conferences with their peers and psychologists from the department and community. Other educational experiences include teaching medical students and giving professional presentations.  Finally, postdoctoral fellows are invited to join psychotherapy process groups with other postdoctoral fellows and residents in psychiatry.  These groups offer a unique experiential perspective on the process and techniques of group therapy.