Clinical Rotations
To develop a better understanding of the system of community-based mental health services, RAMS predoctoral interns are assigned to two semester-long clinical rotations. Each intern, in addition to his/her work with adult and child clients at the RAMS Outpatient Clinic, interns spends one day a week at a rotation site delivering clinical services and receiving on-site training and supervision, which is provided both individually and in the form of a treatment team consultation. The two rotations are selected from four options that represent different levels of mental health treatment and prevention:
San
Francisco General Hospital Psychiatric Emergency Services Rotation
The
Psychiatric Emergency Services at SFGH is the primary provider of crisis
intervention services in the City and County of San Francisco. The staff see
approximately 8,000 patients per year. The service operates 24 hours a day,
seven days a week and provides crisis stabilization, complete medical and
psychiatric assessment and evaluation services and initial treatment, if
appropriate. The staff has extensive experience collaborating with a number
of community agencies, frequently incorporating patients’ system-wide
treatment plans. This rotation allows interns to experience clinical work
with acute patients as a member of Psychiatric Emergency Services
multidisciplinary treatment team. Interns have a chance to learn crisis
assessment and intervention, treatment planning and implementation of care
in the emergency room setting, as well as hospitalization and discharge
planning.
PAES Counseling &
Pre-Vocational Services
The San Francisco Department of Human Services Personal Assisted Employment
Services (PAES) is the county’s only Welfare-to-Work Program for adults
without dependent children. The PAES Counseling and Pre-Vocational Services
program functions in close collaboration with the county services (such as
the PAES and the Country Adult Assistance Programs), but has its own unique
focus: this is a holistic, multi-disciplinary mental health program designed
to help chronically unemployed adults to confront psychological barriers to
employment and increase their access to resources for self-sufficiency. The
culturally diverse and multilingual treatment team of this program consists
of professionals from nine different disciplines (psychologists, social
workers, marriage and family therapists, art therapists, psychiatrists, case
managers, vocational rehabilitation counselors, peer counselor, and
acupuncturist). This multidisciplinary team provides a wide range of
psychological services including: brief functional assessments and triage;
full clinical assessment; psychiatric evaluation and medication management;
crisis intervention; individual, group, and family counseling; art therapy;
acupuncture; case management; pre-vocational services, including on-the-job
skills training; consultation and outreach. At this rotation, interns have
the opportunity to work with clients individually (providing assessment
psychotherapy and case management) and to conduct or co-facilitate group
therapy. They will learn about the psychological needs of individuals who
suffer from a combination of severe mental illness, substance abuse issues,
unemployment, homelessness and poverty. They will also gain knowledge of the
structure and features of a complex welfare to work organizational context
and its place in the overall adult system of care as well as the resources
available for continuing support of these clients.
Broderick Street Adult Residential Facility
The Broderick Street Adult Residential Facility is a community-based
long-term stay home for 33 adults, who have both serious & persistent mental
and medical illnesses. Licensed by the California Department of Social
Services - Community Care Licensing Division, it is
a unique pioneering program offering
culturally competent services which include: Room & Board; Care &
Supervision; Therapeutic Activity Groups focusing on symptom management,
behavioral issues, and wellness & recovery; and on-site Outpatient
Behavioral Health and Medical Support Services.
Admission into BSARF is facilitated by
the Placement Team of the SF Department of Public Health; most referrals
come from San Francisco General Hospital, Laguna Honda
Hospital, and the San Francisco Behavioral Health Center (formerly known as
Mental Health Rehabilitation Facility). Many residents are monolingual
Asian Americans.
Interns learn to
conduct assessments of complex cases, develop assessment-based behavioral
modification plans for residential milieu, and provide practical treatment
consultations to multidisciplinary treatment staff. They gain knowledge of
the benefits and features of residential care programs and their role in the
overall system of care for dual and triple diagnosed clients.
Abraham Lincoln High School
Wellness Center Rotation
Abraham Lincoln High School is located in the Sunset District of San
Francisco, on the opposite side of Golden Gate Park from the RAMS Outpatient
site. The Wellness Centers is a collaboration with leadership from
Department of Children, Youth and Their Families (DCYF), Department of
Public Health (DPH), San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD), and
RAMS. Services are provided on-site at the
Wellness Center located in high school, at which RAMS provides the
integrated behavioral health services component (mental health & substance
abuse). This includes confidential on-site mental health and substance abuse
assessments, individual and group therapy, crisis intervention/consultation,
referrals to community resources, and consultation to school staff and
community. Counseling with individual clients as well as time-limited group
counseling are the key parts of the clinical training experience here.
There is the option that some adolescents may continue psychotherapy with
the intern through the RAMS Child, Youth and Family Outpatient Services at
the end of the intern's rotation. Interns have the opportunity to work with
adolescent clients as part of a multidisciplinary team, learn alternative
approaches to community-based clinical intervention and prevention, and hone
their consultation/psychoeducation skills.
Return to NAAPTC Internship Page