Post-Doctoral Advanced Fellowship Program, VA Bedford Healthcare System, Massachusetts

Psychology Post-Doctoral Advanced Fellowship Program in Mental Illness Research and Treatment at the VA Bedford Healthcare System

The Bedford site of the VISN 1 New England Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center (MIRECC) is seeking applications for a two-year Psychology Post-Doctoral Advanced Fellowship Program in Mental Illness Research and Treatment. The Bedford site of the VISN 1 New England MIRECC is located at VA Bedford Healthcare System in Bedford, MA. The mission of the VISN 1 New England MIRECC is to improve mental health treatments and access to services for Veterans who have addictions and co-occurring mental health disorders Our team also conducts research on improving access to broader recovery-oriented services for this population, including meaningful employment, stable housing, and legal support. For more information on the VISN 1 New England MIRECC, please visit https://www.mirecc.va.gov/visn1/.

For more information on the Post-Doctoral Advanced Fellowship Program in Mental Illness Research and Treatment at the VA Bedford Healthcare System, please visit: https://www.mirecc.va.gov/visn1/fellowships.asp

We will be recruiting for one position to start in the Fall of 2025. Fellows will spend 75% of their time on research and related educational activities and 25% in direct clinical care. Fellows develop and implement a mentored research project, participate in scientific writing, grant writing, and presentations, and contribute to MIRECC educational activities and clinical service delivery, particularly within addiction treatment settings. The Bedford Site of the VISN 1 New England MIRECC is formally affiliated with the University of Massachusetts Medical School.

Applicants must have received a doctorate from an APA or CPA accredited graduate program in Clinical, Counseling, or Combined Psychology or PCSAS accredited Clinical Science program. Persons with a doctorate in another area of psychology who meet the APA or CPA criteria for respecialization training in Clinical, Counseling, or Combined Psychology are also eligible. Applicants must have also completed an APA or CPA accredited psychology internship program. Fellows must be U.S. citizens. For the 2025-26 training year, we expect that the postdoctoral fellowship stipend will be no less than $59,239 for year one and $62,069 in year two.

To apply, please submit the following required application materials by email to to Dr. Victoria Ameral at Victoria.Ameral@va.gov and Dr. Brian Stevenson at Brian.Stevenson4@va.gov

1. Cover letter (2 pages max) specifying: Your research interests and how they align with the MIRECC mission; Research mentors you are interested in working with; Previous experiences in clinical work, education, and research; What you would like to accomplish during your fellowship and your long-term career goals; and the names of your three recommendation letter writers
2. Curriculum Vitae
3. Work sample, such as a published or unpublished manuscript on which you are first author or other written product in which you were lead author (e.g., case report, manuals).
4. Graduate school transcripts (unofficial acceptable, official transcripts required if selected)
5. Three signed letters of recommendation. Include at least one letter from a research mentor and at least one letter from a clinical supervisor. Letters can be sent directly from the recommender or emailed with the completed application packet.

A completed packet with all application materials is due on November 22, 2024. Further information can be obtained by contacting the Psychology Fellowship Co-Directors, Dr. Victoria Ameral at Victoria.Ameral@va.gov or Dr. Brian Stevenson at Brian.Stevenson4@va.gov.

Bedford Site, VISN 1 New England MIRECC Fellowship Faculty Interests
Victoria Ameral, Ph.D.: Psychotherapy treatment development for substance use disorders, continuity of addiction treatment and Veteran experiences of care, harm reduction, recovery-oriented outcomes, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy principles in experimental and applied addiction research.
Brian Stevenson, Ph.D.: Developing vocational interventions that support meaningful employment goals and self-efficacy for veterans with addictions and co-occurring conditions, upstream interventions to prevent job loss, employer bias interventions, provision of recovery-oriented psychological services, and harm reduction.
Jay Gorman, Ph.D.: Improving the treatment of Veterans with addictions and co-occurring mental health disorders by enhancing social connection and building support systems. Andrew Peckham, Ph.D.: Development and evaluation of cognitive remediation interventions in acute, naturalistic treatment settings and cognitive mechanisms of serious mental illness.
Erin D. Reilly, Ph.D.: Development and evaluation of technology-delivered interventions (e.g., mobile apps, robotics, and websites) to assist with at-home self-management of chronic, comorbid mental and physical health conditions including (but not limited to) chronic pain, insomnia, PTSD, and depression.
Mo Modarres, Ph.D.: Application of neuroimaging and data analysis techniques, particularly using EEG and fNIRS, to characterize and understand the brain mechanisms underlying neuro-psychiatric disorders.
Eric Smith, MD, MPH: Depression in Primary Care, Pharmacoepidemiology and Adverse Drug Events Pharmacotherapy, Suicide Prevention
Lisa Mueller, Ph.D.: Developing interventions to address employment and education functioning in Veterans with addiction and mental health conditions as well as psychosocial challenges.
Dongchan Park, MD: Reducing systematic barriers in addressing substance use disorders and cross- cultural influences on the development of behavioral addictions.
Megan M. Kelly, Ph.D.: Development of mHealth and psychosocial treatment approaches for tobacco use disorder and co-occurring mental health disorders; development of social support approaches using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy applications.

(Information submitted on October 3, 2024)