Psychology Postdoctoral Fellowship Training in Child Psychology and Trauma-Informed Training
The Psychology Postdoctoral Fellowship at ASCF is a 12-month, full-time position focused on advanced specialty training in assessment, consultation, intervention, and systems collaboration with child welfare-involved children and families. The Postdoctoral Fellow serves as a member of ASCF’s Multidisciplinary Treatment Team, providing clinical services to children residing on ASCF’s campus and in community foster care placements. Fellows receive live, individual, and group supervision for assessment and intervention activities and additionally participate in weekly case conferences and seminars. Fellows primarily provide services at the ASCF pediatric mental health treatment center on the ASCF campus in Sarasota, Florida, but may provide consultation and training to various agencies and offices in the Sarasota community. The Fellow’s specific training experiences and schedule includes core experiences outlined below, which include intervention and assessment, but will be tailored to each Fellow’s unique clinical interests, needs, and goals. The Fellowship includes a minimum of two hours of individual weekly supervision provided by a licensed psychologist, a combination of direct service and training activities, and opportunities to specialize in a particular area of intervention.
The Fellowship position is designed to fulfill licensure requirements in the State of Florida by the end of the fellowship year. Fellows completing this position will be well-prepared for a career providing broad clinical services to underserved populations with a past/current history of trauma and adversity. They will also graduate the Fellowship with an advanced knowledge of the child welfare system and systems navigation and advocacy.
Psychology Postdoctoral Fellowship Program
Activities & Schedule Clinical Activities Learning Activities Benefits Application & RequirementsFellowship Activities & Schedule
ASCF Postdoctoral Fellows participate in one year of full-time clinical, learning, and professional development experiences. Core activities include psychological assessment, consultation, evidence-based trauma-focused intervention, multidisciplinary team meetings/case conferences, individual and group supervision, and supervision of Doctoral Psychology Interns. The exact schedule and structure of activities is flexible to accommodate unique trainee goals, interests, and growth areas.
The primary site for training is ASCF’s Pediatric Mental Health Treatment and Research Center located on its campus in Sarasota, Florida. There are opportunities to travel to various agencies and community partners for training and consultation activities.
The Postdoctoral Fellow provides psychological services to children and families with child welfare involvement within Florida’s 12th Judicial Circuit, which covers Sarasota, Manatee, and DeSoto counties. All clients referred to ASCF have current or prior child welfare involvement. ASCF’s client population is diverse and ranges in age from 0 – 18 years of age. Fellows will gain experience with diverse developmental (e.g., neurodiversity, infants/early childhood, middle childhood, adolescence, etc.) and ethnic (e.g., urban, rural, immigrant, Hispanic, Latinx, etc.) populations. The Postdoctoral Fellow will provide services to children residing on ASCF’s campus and to community families on an outpatient basis. Virtually all children seen at ASCF have a history of complex trauma and adversity.
Clinical Activities
The Fellow’s primary clinical activities include the following:
Psychological Assessment and Consultation (Approx. 20 hours or 50% of time)
This includes comprehensive case/records review; consultation with multidisciplinary teams within and outside of ASCF regarding care planning and progress of clients; trauma and developmental screening and assessment for children/youth just entering out-of-home care; comprehensive psychological assessment of developmental, learning, socioemotional, and behavioral concerns; and report writing.
Therapy and Intervention (Approx. 10 hours or 25% of time)
The fellow provides evidence-based, trauma-informed treatment for children ages 2-18 and their families with child welfare involvement. ASCF clinical staff have advanced training and expertise in Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT), Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT), and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). The fellow will gain exposure to these models through group supervision and case conferences and has the option to receive advanced training from certified trainers in one or more of these models.
Learning Activities
The following learning activities are required for all Fellows weekly and constitute approximately 8 hours (or 20%) of a Fellow’s week:
- Individual Supervision – Fellows receive a minimum of 2 hours of regularly scheduled, formal, face-to-face individual supervision per week by a doctoral-level, licensed psychologist with expertise in childhood trauma.
- Live Supervision – Fellows are provided with live supervision conducted through a two-way mirror and bug-in-the-ear technology for clinical activities in which they have limited prior experience and as requested by the Fellow and/or Fellow’s supervisor.
- Clinical Supervision – Fellow meets weekly with ASCF Clinical Supervision to provide oversight on best practices in clinical practice, documentation, systems collaboration, and self-care..
- Assessment Group Supervision – Psychologists, clinical case managers, and Psychology trainees meet weekly for a 1-hour assessment group supervision. This includes didactic training on assessment measures/ approaches and presentation and review of assessment cases.
- Multidisciplinary Case Conferences – ASCF’s Multidisciplinary Team of providers meets for 2 hours weekly to present cases, collaborate regarding client care, review client progress, and plan for client intervention/support needs.
- Didactic training – Didactic training is offered twice a month for 2 hours for all clinical trainees and covers topics related to trauma-informed care, treatment planning, assessment, professionalism, ethical decision making. and the child welfare system.
Optional learning activities include the following and may take up to 5 hours or 10% of a Fellow’s time:
- Parent-Child Interaction Therapy – Fellows who elect to participate in Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) training receive a combination of weekly live, individual, and group supervision following 40 hours of didactic training in the therapy model.
- Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy – Fellows have the option to participate and Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral (TF-CBT) training and receive bi-monthly consultation with a national trainer throughout the training year.
- Supervised Training Activities – Fellows may additionally work toward co-facilitating community training initiatives for family members and professionals caring for children with child welfare involvement, including Caring for Children Who Have Experienced Trauma: A Workshop for Resource Parents (RPC; Grillo et al., 2010) and Child-Adult Relationship Enhancement (CARE; Messer et al., 2016)
- Supervision of Supervision – Fellows have the opportunity to provide supervision to Doctoral Psychology Interns in assessment administration and report writing. They are provided with supervision of their supervision by a Psychologist on staff.
Benefits
The stipend for the Postdoctoral Fellow position is $55,000. Fellows are provided the same benefits as staff members, including health, dental, and vision insurance; paid time off (PTO) for vacation and sick leave; and the option to contribute to a 403B retirement plan with agency match. Fellows also are given a stipend to be used toward continuing education opportunities, licensure, and/or conferences.
Application
ASCF will be accepting applications for one one-year full-time postdoctoral fellowship position in psychology beginning in August of each training year. Flexible start is possible depending on the conclusion of internship.
Requirements:
- Completion of an APA-accredited or CPA-accredited internship.
- Doctoral degree conferred from an APA-accredited graduate school training program in Clinical, Counseling, or School Psychology; or doctoral candidate in good standing with an APA-accredited Clinical, Counseling, or School Psychology with all requirements for graduation satisfied prior to fellowship start.
- Experience in child clinical psychology preferred.
Applicants should submit the following application materials to Laura Roggenbaum, Ph.D., at LauraR@allstarchildren.org:
- Curriculum Vitae
- Cover Letter describing background, interests, training goals, and fit for position
- Three letters of recommendation emailed directly to Dr. Roggenbaum
- De-identified psychological evaluation report written by the applicant
All Star especially welcomes applicants who share our commitment to trauma-informed practices. Fellows will have the opportunity to participate in All Star’s Trauma-Informed Workgroups, which focus on promoting client voice and choice and fostering a culture of physical and psychological safety, diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Review of applications will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled. Both in-person and virtual interviews will be provided based upon applicant preference.
Anticipated start date is August 2026. Position duration is one full calendar year.
For any questions regarding the position, please contact Laura Roggenbaum, Ph.D., at LauraR@allstarchildren.org.
