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The University of Missouri Department of Health Psychology (DHP) has been the primary training site in Missouri for rehabilitation/neuropsychology since 1986. DHP faculty provide seven of the eleven board certified rehabilitation/ neuropsychologists practicing in the state of Missouri. Training opportunities include post-doctoral research and clinical neuropsychology child and adult fellowships, pre-doctoral clinical internships (in conjunction with the University of Missouri Health Sciences Psychology Consortium), and practicum training for psychology doctoral students and masters level rehabilitation psychology students
All clinical and didactic training is interdisciplinary and includes physicians, rehabilitation therapists (e.g., physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy), nursing, vocational counselors, and school personnel. In addition to direct clinical training opportunities, there are many didactic training opportunities within DHP and the University, including DHP didactics, which follow APA Division 22 and 40 training guidelines, journal clubs, and weekly discipline-specific Grand Rounds.
The primary training sites are Rusk Rehabilitation Center, the DHP clinics in Ellis Fischel Cancer Center, and Missouri Rehabilitation Center in Mount Vernon. Rusk is a 60 bed acute comprehensive medical rehabilitation center  specializing in inpatient and outpatient treatment of catastrophic injuries, such as traumatic brain injuries and spinal cord injuries, geriatric rehabilitation, and pediatric rehabilitation. Post-doctoral fellows, interns and practicum students have the opportunity to provide psychological assessments and treatment as part of a interdisciplinary team of rehabilitation professionals. The population is diverse with a wide age range, various medical and psychological treatment needs, and from a wide catchment area. The DHP clinics provide outpatient psychological assessments and treatment. Missouri Rehabilitation Center offers both inpatient and outpatient treatment.
Outpatient Training Opportunities
The outpatient training opportunities include adult neuropsychology, pediatric neuropsychology and outpatient psychotherapy with persons with disabilities. The Adult Neuropsychology Laboratory provides comprehensive neuropsychological assessment with a focus on recommendations focused on improving functional status of persons with medical conditions and disabilities. Care is coordinated with referring physicians and community service agencies, such as Department of Vocational Rehabilitation.
Child Neuropsychology Clinic
The Child Neuropsychology Clinic offers diagnostic and evaluative services for children who have developmental, genetic, and/or neurological disorders. Evaluations are used for diagnostic decision-making, determination of disability, treatment planning, and monitoring the course of a medical condition. Requests for evaluations come from a variety of individuals including physicians, educators, other health professionals, attorneys, and families.
Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental
and Related Disabilities (LEND)
The Department of Health Psychology is an active participant in the LEND training program, which provides intensive interdisciplinary training for advanced graduate students and post-doctoral fellows in the field of neurodevelopmental and related disabilities. Psychology trainees dedicate one day per week to working side-by-side with others from a range of health disciplines, including pediatrics, nursing, occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech/language pathology, audiology, dentistry, nutrition, social work, and health management and informatics. Family members are also included in the training process.
Educational activities focus on enhancing competencies in the areas of:
- neurodevelopmental disabilities
- interdisciplinary practice
- family-centered, community-based care
- policy and leadership development
Methods of training include didactic and experiential activities, participation in an interdisciplinary clinic, and opportunities for involvement in policy development. Dr. Janet Farmer in the Department of Health Psychology is currently the Director of the LEND Interdisciplinary Clinic. The training program is sponsored by the MU Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and has been funded since 1995 by the Maternal and Child Health Bureau of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Missouri Health Sciences
Psychology Consortium
The DHP has been a member of the Missouri Health Sciences Psychology Consortium since 1986. The overall goal of the APA accredited internship consortium is to enhance current skills, develop new skills, and encourage personal and profession al growth. The primary goal of the internship is to provide integrated and flexible learning experiences to assist in the emergence of competent, ethical, and professional psychologists. This goal is achieved through the following objectives: (a) to provide training in a breadth of clinical skills central to the practice of psychology; (b) to provide training in content areas relevant to an interns career goals; and (c) to provide training in the ethical and professional standards that form the basis of psychological practice. The participating agencies in the consortium are the MU Department of Health Psychology, Harry S Truman VA Hospital, and Mid Missouri Mental Health Center. The three agencies provide major and minor block training experiences. The consortium provides supervision from a diverse group of psychologists with specialized areas of expertise. The DHP has the same general training goals as the Missouri Health Sciences Psychology Consortium, except training is geared to adding neuropsychological and rehabilitation psychology didactics and experiences to round out intern training as generalists in clinical psychology.
All clinical and didactic training experiences are based on suggested training guidelines of APA Division 22 (Rehabilitation Psychology) and Division 40 (Neuropsychology).
HRSA Intern Training Grant
Principal Investigator: Brick Johnstone, Ph.D., A.B.P.P.
Co-Principal Investigator: Renee Stucky, Ph.D.
Funding provided by the Department of Health and Human Resources, Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)
Project Summary
There are an estimated 54 million Americans with disabilities, many who are in need of psychological serves, and particularly in rural areas. Although 32 percent of Missourians (1.7 million people) live in rural counties, there are only 14 board certified rehabilitation/neuropsychologists in the state (only 1 in a rural county). The MU Department of Health Psychology (DHP) is the primary training site in Missouri for rehabilitation/neuropsychologists since 1986. Recently, the Department of Health Psychology has been awarded a three year (9/01/04-8/31/07) training grant from the Department of Health and Human Resources, Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), with the primary purpose of improving the health outcomes of persons with disabilities by increasing their access to psychological services in rural areas.
The specific objectives of the training grant are:
- to improve access to quality health care to persons with disabilities in rural Missouri through appropriate preparation of a) rehabilitation psychologists, b) pediatric neuropsychologists and c) adult neuropsychologists;
- improve access to a diverse and culturally competent and sensitive psychology workforce in rural areas by increasing minority interns;
- improve access to a diverse and culturally competent and sensitive psychology workforce in rural areas by providing training to interns in cultural competence, particularly as it relates to persons with disabilities in rural areas.
Interns are trained at Rusk Rehabilitation Center, in Columbia, MO, Missouri Rehabiltiation Center (MRC) in Mt. Vernon, MO, and the Harry S Truman VA Hospital in Columbia, MO. Interns provide services to all age ranges of persons with all types of physical and cognitive disabilities, which is a typically underserved population.
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