PROGRAM DESCRIPTION:

The Johns Hopkins Behavioral Sleep Medicine Program is accepting fellowship applications for the 2024-2025 academic year. This fellowship is housed in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences on the Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center campus and is accredited by the Society for Behavioral Sleep Medicine (SBSM). Primary goals of the fellowship are to provide requisite training, supervision, and clinical experience to be eligible for state licensure and certification to become a Diplomat in Behavioral Sleep Medicine (DBSM) by the Board of Behavioral Sleep Medicine.

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The fellowship is designed to provide both breadth and depth of training in behavioral sleep medicine, and behavioral medicine more broadly. Fellows will learn to flexibly deliver cognitive behavioral treatments for a range of sleep disorders using a case-conceptualization approach. Most patients are adults with insomnia, often with co-existing psychiatric and/or medical conditions. Additionally, fellows will obtain experience in the assessment and treatment of other sleep disorders, including cognitive behavioral approaches to improve CPAP adherence, treatment of circadian rhythm disorders, and parasomnias, as well as scoring and interpreting clinical actigraphy data. Interested fellows may also maintain a small caseload of general psychotherapy patients.

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STRUCTURE OF THE PROGRAM:

The fellowship is structured to provide fellows with a balance of direct and non-direct clinical training experiences. Fellows will spend approximately 50% of their time (or 20 hours per week) in direct clinical care, with the remaining time dedicated to supervision, didactics, administrative responsibilities, professional development, and research. Fellows can tailor their training experience to disorders or clinical presentations of particular interest, as available, as well as participate in one or more minor rotation training experiences (described below).

 

The fellowship is ideally suited for students who have trained in scientist-practitioner and clinical scientist graduate and/or internship programs. Successful applicants must demonstrate strong clinical skills in health psychology/behavioral medicine or training in cognitive behavioral therapy. Specific predoctoral experience in behavioral sleep medicine is an asset but not a requirement.

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DESCRIPTION OF MINOR ROTATIONS:

Fellows have the option of participating in minor rotations over the course of their training year. Duration of training in minor rotations is a minimum of 6 months and can continue throughout the training year, dependent on the fellow’s training goals and interests. Percentage of effort devoted to minor rotations is flexible, but will not exceed 50% of direct clinical service hours (i.e., no more than 10 hours per week).

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Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery/Medical Obesity Rotation. Individuals who select this rotation will receive training through the Obesity Behavioral Medicine Program in the Johns Hopkins Department of

Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. Fellows will gain specialized experience in the evaluation and cognitive behavioral treatment of patients pursuing metabolic and bariatric surgery as well as those with binge eating disorder. They will receive further training in the evaluation and treatment of individuals participating in the Johns Hopkins Healthy Eating, Activity and Weight Program, an obesity medicine specialty clinic.

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Burn Psychology Rotation. The burn psychology rotation at the Johns Hopkins Adult Burn Center focuses on assessment, treatment and consultation for adult burn survivors. This rotation will introduce the trainee to all aspects of burn care and working closely with the Burn Center team of surgeons, nurses and therapists. The mission of the rotation is to mentor postdoctoral clinical and research fellows to become independent scientist-practitioners in burn psychology, with a focus on understanding and reducing the emotional, physical and social challenges that accompany burn injuries and promoting psychosocial wellness in burn survivors. Fellows will provide direct assessment and treatment to burn survivors during their acute admission to the Burn Center as well as following burn survivors over time at the outpatient Burn Psychology Clinic. Areas of emphasis includes non-pharmacological interventions for pain, itch and sleep, treatment of depression, anxiety and posttraumatic stress disorder, ICU delirium and psychological coping with chronic illness, changes in appearance and function. There are also opportunities for outreach activities such as providing burn education to nurses, physicians, paramedics and firefighters in the geographic area.

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DIDACTIC TRAINING:

Fellows will participate in a weekly sleep medicine seminar with Department of Medicine, Pulmonary, and Neurology sleep medicine fellows and faculty. This seminar provides breadth and depth of coverage on all sleep-related issues. Fellows will be expected to present at this seminar at least once during the year on a topic of their choosing. Behavioral Sleep Medicine fellows are also expected to attend a bi-monthly Sleep Research Seminar.

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In addition to the above opportunities, fellows will have access to lectures offered in the rich academic environment of the Johns Hopkins University campus both within and outside the department. This includes the Department of Psychiatry’s weekly Grand Rounds and professional development seminars offered through the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs. Fellows will also be encouraged, and provided time, to attend didactic trainings provided by the Society for Behavioral Sleep Medicine and the annual Association for Professional Sleep Societies conference.

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RESEARCH:

In addition to training in the delivery of high quality clinical care, fellows will have the option to participate in research training, including collaborating and co-authoring manuscripts, conference presentations, and book chapters during their training. This will be provided by matching the fellow's interests with ongoing faculty research and mentorship in the following areas:

 

1. Sleep in psychiatric and medical disorders. Current studies are focused on understanding the effects of sleep loss on brain function and drug response; understanding the relationships among insomnia, weight loss, and breast cancer, and; determining the optimal treatment of insomnia in the context of traumatic brain injury.

 

2. Psychosocial variables associated with weight loss outcomes among patients pursuing metabolic and bariatric surgery; behavioral weight loss intervention interventions for patients with early-stage breast cancer.

 

3. Factors contributing to adjustment to chronic pain and burn injuries; identifying predictors of psychological treatment outcomes for these patient populations.

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SUPERVISION:

Fellows will receive a minimum of 2 hours of direct supervision per week and ad hoc supervision as needed. Supervision follows a sequential development model. During the first few weeks, fellows will observe their supervisor. Fellows will then see patients individually with increasing autonomy over the course of the year, consulting in real time with supervisors for new patient intakes. Fellows might also have the opportunity to contribute to the development and co-facilitation of a CBT-I group with Dr. Atwood.

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APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS AND INSTRUCTIONS:

To be considered, applicants must have completed a PhD or PsyD in Clinical Psychology from an American Psychiatric Association or Canadian Psychological Association accredited program by the time the fellowship starts. Psychology fellows at Johns Hopkins are required to be registered as Psychological Associates in Maryland, which includes passing the State’s jurisprudence exam prior to the start of fellowship (this is not required to apply). To apply, please send and a two-page (maximum) cover letter before Dec 15, 2023 describing:

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1. Your behavioral medicine and/or relevant clinical experience

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2. Your career goals

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3. What you would like to accomplish during this postdoctoral fellowship to advance your career goals

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4. When your degree is expected, including the dates of your successful dissertation defense

 

Please include: a copy of your curriculum vitae; graduate school transcript(s), and two letters of recommendation from clinical supervisors who comment on your clinical strengths and weaknesses. Strong candidates will be offered the choice of a virtual or in-person interview with the Training Director and secondary faculty supervisor. We especially encourage applications from members of ethnic and racial minority groups. Johns Hopkins is a non-discriminatory/affirmative action employer.

 

Send all application materials to:

Molly Atwood, PhD at: matwood4@jhmi.edu