Join The Wright Institute Team
Position Title: Half-time or Full-time, Tenure Track Institute Faculty
Department: Clinical PsyD Psychology Program
Location: Wright Institute, 2728 Durant Ave., Berkeley, CA
Academic Term: September 1 - June 30 (Trimesters: Fall -13 weeks, Winter - 13 weeks, and Spring 10 weeks)
Qualifications:
- Education: A health service psychology doctoral degree (Clinical, Counseling, School or Combined).
- Experience: Demonstrated experience in teaching at the graduate level with emphasizes clinical expertise, and/or research experience in relevant areas of instruction (see below).
- Skills: Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to engage and inspire students.
- Commitment: Dedication to fostering an inclusive and supportive learning environment.
Position Overview:
Applicants may seek either a full-time or half-time Institute Faculty position. Full-time faculty teach a minimum of eight (8) 3-hour courses (or the equivalent of 24 hours of teaching credits) per year. Half-time faculty will teach a minimum of four (4) 3-hour courses (or the equivalent of 12 hours of teaching credits) per year. Viable candidates must have the ability to teach a variety of courses, provide useful feedback to students and will perform other roles such as chairing dissertation committees, participating in program governance, mentoring students, demonstrating scholarship integrating the science and practice of psychology, maintaining professional development, and performing routine service to the program (e.g., participating in faculty meetings, town halls, contributing to re-accreditation efforts, etc.)
Key Responsibilities:
- Maintain updated course curriculum, develop rubrics for determining student achievement, and maintain a syllabus in our web-based portal that includes reading/multimedia lists, weekly student expectations and class lecture topics.
- Teach a half- or full-time course load.
- Foster an engaging and supportive learning environment, encouraging student participation and facilitating discussions that enhance understanding of the material.
- Providing timely student feedback and evaluation in order to support student success.
- Offer academic advising and support to students, assisting them in their professional and academic development.
- Work collaboratively with other faculty members to ensure a cohesive and comprehensive educational experience for students.
- Participate in the program governance committees, orientation, admissions interviews, faculty meetings
Application Process:
Interested candidates should submit the below application including the following:
- A current curriculum vitae.
- A cover letter detailing their teaching philosophy and relevant experience.
- Three references
Application Deadline: January 31, 2025
Contact Information: Cassandra Dilosa, cdilosa@wi.edu
The courses for which instruction is being sought are as follows:
Case Conference
A two year-long sequence for 1st and 2nd year students, a 3-hour per week course, taught in the first year on Thursday mornings 9-12 and the second year on Monday mornings 9-12. Each class is followed by a mandatory 1-hour Case Conference Leaders meeting from 12-1.
Students in the first year Case Conference are assisted in developing a professional identity, comportment, and their ability to engage in and use supervision and consultation effectively. Emphasis is given to the development of reflective practice and self-awareness. Students are helped to become comfortable with conducting therapy within biopsychosocial and theoretical perspectives, to apply common factors of therapy and particularly, to develop a therapeutic alliance, formulate cases, set goals, design treatment plans and to evaluate the efficacy of interventions. Students gain familiarity with diagnosis, risk assessment, and legal/ethical decision-making. They learn to adjust to the customs of a service setting, including paperwork, agency protocols and functioning in an interdisciplinary team. Case Conference is also expected to aid students in adopting a multicultural perspective and to engage in issues of human diversity. Case Conference provides an opportunity for students to integrate learning from other course series and to gain a more mature, complex understanding of clinical material and their role as clinicians.
While maintaining the goals of the first year Case Conference, the second-year Case Conference focuses on case material, helping students to articulate more sophisticated points of view. Emphasis is placed on analyzing problems in creating and maintaining the structure of psychotherapy, and the nature of the relationship between therapy participants. Students work to improve their ability to use evidence-based general therapeutic factors such as the therapeutic alliance, maintaining boundaries, and repairing ruptures in the alliance. They expand their awareness of multicultural complexity, including recognition of the role of power and privilege in clinical work. Students improve their use of supervision and learn to give and receive consultation while gaining capacity for self-reflection and awareness of their own strengths and weaknesses. Students improve their ability to detect and intervene in high risk and crisis situations. Their biopsychosocial case formulations become increasingly sophisticated, further integrating theory and science. Competence in differential diagnosis and treatment planning is emphasized. Students further integrate learning from assessment courses and other intervention courses. They broaden their clinical roles, manage a larger, more complex caseload, expand the modalities of and approaches to intervention, and increase their ability to integrate multiple perspectives. Students complete the second-year Case Conference with the Case-based Clinical Competency Exam, where they demonstrate their competence in oral and written case presentation.
Research Methods and Statistics I, II, III, and Tests and Measures Series
provides students with the knowledge and skills needed to be intelligent consumers of clinical research, to implement effective research designs in their own research, and ultimately to disseminate research as health service psychologists (WI Aim 1). (RMS III is taught to 2nd year students in the Fall term on Wednesdays 9-12, RMS I, RMS II, and Tests and Measures are taught to 1st year students respectively in the Fall, Winter, and Spring on Thursdays from 1-4)
RM&S I (Methods) is part of the Research Methods and Statistics series which provides students with the knowledge and skills needed to be intelligent consumers of clinical research, to implement effective research designs in their own research, and ultimately to disseminate research as health service psychologists (WI Aim 1). RM&S I Methods is the first course in the Research Methods and Statistics series offered in the fall trimester of the first year.
Primary topics include sampling, internal and external validity, quantitative methods (correlational, experimental, and quasi-experimental/cohort designs), qualitative methods (e.g. interpretive phenomenological analysis, grounded theory, thematic analysis, narrative analysis), mixed methods, program evaluation, multicultural guidelines, and research ethics among others. RM&S I Methods is designed to help students meet Wright Institute competency #1g: students learn the current body of knowledge for research methodology.
RM&S II (Statistics) is the second course in the Research Methods and Statistics series offered in the winter trimester of the first year.
Primary topics include descriptive and inferential uses of statistics, the logic of hypothesis testing, power, effect size, t-tests and ANOVAs, correlation and regression, non-parametric statistics, extensions to advanced analyses, and the use of statistical software. RM&S II Statistics is designed to help students meet Wright Institute competency #1h, which requires that students learn the current body of knowledge in techniques of data analysis.
RM&S III (Prospectus Development) is part of the Research Methods and Statistics series which provides students with the knowledge and skills needed to be intelligent consumers of clinical research, to implement effective research designs in their own research, and ultimately to disseminate research as health service psychologists. RM&S III Prospectus Development is the final course in the Research Methods and Statistics
series offered in the fall trimester of the second year.
Primary topics include the structure and content of a prospectus, research topic development, literature review, alternative methodologies, and the process for proposing and completing a dissertation.
Tests and Measurement is also included in the Foundations Series. Tests and Measurement is offered in the spring trimester of the first year.
Primary topics include basic psychometric principles, such as test reliability, validity, and scaling; processes for test construction and development; ethical, legal, and socio-cultural issues in test use; best practice in test administration.
Advanced Ethics
Advanced Ethics provides students with the knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed to prepare them for the effective biopsychosocial practice of clinical psychology. Advanced Ethics is offered in the winter trimester of the third year. Two course sections are taught on Mondays from 1-4 and one section is taught on Fridays from 1 to 4.
Primary topics include professional ethics as outlined in the Ethical Principles and Code of Conduct of the American Psychological Association, and reporting laws and licensing requirements for California psychologists. The emphasis is on the interrelationship of clinical, ethical, and legal issues. Students will examine personal ethical values and their relationship to/impact on professional ethical standards. Students will learn how to develop a viable plan for managing ethical dilemmas as they arise in their roles as a psychologist.
Multicultural Awareness
Multicultural Awareness is part of the Sociocultural Series which provides students with knowledge of cultural and individual diversity, as well as skills and attitudes necessary for culturally competent practice as a clinical psychologist. The Multicultural Awareness course is offered in the winter trimester of the first year.
The primary tasks of the course ask the student to identify a salient aspect of their cultural identity, learn to build cross-cultural alliances, and learn to identify and discuss areas where they hold cultural privilege.
Sociocultural Issues
Sociocultural Issues is part of the Sociocultural Series which provides students with knowledge of cultural and individual diversity, as well as skills and attitudes necessary for culturally competent practice as a clinical psychologist. Sociocultural Issues is offered in the fall trimester of the second year of training.
The primary focus of the course is clinical application of multicultural perspectives, including multicultural intervention competencies for working with multiracial patients, with patients who have disabilities, with patients from diverse social classes, with sexual and gender diverse patients, with religiously and spiritually inclined patients, with immigrants; acculturation and ethnic identity; and consideration of intersectional identities.
Clinicians To Society
Clinicians to Society is part of the Sociocultural Series offered in the spring trimester of the first year. In this course, students learn about the principles and history of Community Psychology, develop skills for creating and conducting a community intervention, and understand community-wide forces such as oppression with attention to the impact of injustice on our intersectional identities. Building multicultural competence is a core goal of the course.
Assessment I, II, and III
The Assessment Series is designed to provide students with the knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary for the effective biopsychosocial practice of clinical psychology (WI Aim 2). The Assessment I, II, and III are offered in the second year of training.
Assessment I explores the assessment of cognitive functioning using standard measures of intelligence and other dimensions as aids to clinical diagnosis. They learn key aspects of several models of cognitive functioning, and their relationships to the assessment of cognitive and intellectual functioning. The course emphasizes the administration and use of the WAIS-IV and other measures of intelligence and cognitive styles.
Assessment II explores use of self-report tests such as the MMPI-2, as well as performance-based tests such as the Rorschach. Students administer tests, interpret findings, and prepare reports that integrate theoretical and clinical issues.
Assessment III synthesizes and advances student skills by focusing on administering, interpreting, and writing up the complete assessment test battery. Students also learn to give feedback to clients and answer referral questions. The courses of the Assessment Series are designed to meet the WI competency #4f: students learn the current body of knowledge and methods of psychological assessment and diagnosis.
Psychopathology
Psychopathology is part of the Foundations Series which provides students with a broad and general foundation in the science of clinical psychology as well as knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary for the effective biopsychosocial practice of clinical psychology during the first three years of training. Psychopathology is offered in the fall trimester of the first year of clinical training.
Primary topics include an introduction to the study and understanding of psychopathology and the framework used to classify psychological disorders. Historical, cultural and social issues are considered in the identification and consideration of dysfunctional behavior and disturbed experience, alongside the development of the ICD-10 as the current system of categorization for mental disorders.
Supervision and Consultation
Primary topics include different approaches to supervision, elements of effective supervision, multiple applications of consultation, factors that influence supervisory and consultation functioning, and relational and sociocultural contexts of supervision and consultation. In addition to didactic material delivered in lectures, students will get the opportunity to experientially try out consultation and supervision approaches with their peers through small group exercises. Supervision and Consultation is offered in the fall trimester of the third year and satisfies two of the nine profession-wide competencies of health service psychology.
Intervention: Child and Adolescent
The course focuses on practical issues in child and adolescent therapy, from the first meeting with the child and family, through the course of treatment. Students learn how to assess and intervene in the home, school, clinic, and other settings. The course covers individual, family, and group therapy with well-functioning and complex children/adolescents. Some of the primary topics include the clinical aspects of development, attachment, infant/child-parent psychotherapy, developmental trauma and transmission of trauma, and racial identity development.
Intervention: Family Systems
The Intervention series provides students with the knowledge and skills needed to prepare them for the effective biopsychosocial practice of clinical psychology. Intervention: Family Systems is the third course in the Intervention series and is offered in the spring trimester of the first year.
Primary topics include clinical interventions that use a systems approach to mediate psychological problems; the field of family psychology, including traditional and recent models of family therapy and couple therapy; theories of family development including theories of "normal" development, the development of psychopathology, and one's family of origin; sociocultural and concentric systems of influence.
Intervention: Brief
The Intervention series provides students with the knowledge and skills needed to prepare them for the effective biopsychosocial practice of clinical psychology. Intervention: Brief Therapy is a course in the Intervention series and is offered in the winter trimester of the third year.
Primary topics include key theories and practice of brief psychotherapy, the applications of brief psychotherapy in other-than-optimal clinical settings, a psychodynamic approach to interpretation, the uses of empathy in psychotherapy, exploration of the therapeutic relationship, work with "difficult" clients and clients who do not fit the ideal selection criteria for brief therapy, multicultural issues in brief therapy, the termination of brief psychotherapy, and the social meaning of brief psychotherapy.
Intervention: CBT
Intervention: Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy is the first course in the Intervention series and is offered in the fall trimester of the first year. Primary topics include basic theoretical tenets and concepts of CBT and the application of CBT framework to case study (formulation and intervention). Intervention: Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy is designed to help students meet Wright Institute competency #5a, which is that students learn the major theoretical models of intervention, and the planning, application, and the effectiveness of interventions.
Intervention: Psychodynamic
This course is designed to familiarize the student with fundamental principles of psychodynamic/psychoanalytic psychotherapy. We will first review the history and basic tenets of the major theories – drive and ego psychology, object relations, self psychology and relational psychology. Readings will be assigned that illustrate and instruct matters of efficacy and effectiveness in psychodynamic psychotherapy. The application of research findings for psychodynamic approaches will be discussed. Psychodynamic interventions place the quality of the treatment on the therapeutic relationship, and on specific concepts such as the frame, transference, countertransference, resistance, and interpretation.
Intervention: Group
This course examines group theory, intervention, therapy, and research, as well as social psychology, leadership, social defenses, and interpersonal relations. Students also learn to engage a group in dialogue, and develop an awareness of their clinical style in groups. Students become more aware of how group process is ubiquitous, as they learn to be more informed members of groups to which they belong. Students are encouraged to reflect on their personal and professional experiences of groups as related to the course material.
Introduction to Neuropsychology
This course is designed to provide an overview of neuropsychological principles for clinical psychologists. For individuals specializing in psychotherapy and/or psychological assessment, this course offers the fundamentals of an additional framework with which to understand and work with clients. Students will be exposed to neuropsychological principles by reviewing 1) neuroanatomy and function, 2) neurological pathology, and 3) principles of neuropsychological evaluation. This is a third-year course taught in the Fall trimester.
The primary goal is to develop an appreciation of brain functioning with respect to behavior, cognition, and emotions and how this may be incorporated into clinical practice. The second goal is to become familiar with neurological and medically based disorders and how they may be identified and treated. Third, we will review when and how to make a referral for a neuropsychological assessment, what to expect, and how to integrate this information into clinical work. Students are strongly encouraged to share their clinical material in class discussions when applicable.
Psychopharmacology
This course prepares clinicians to collaborate with psychiatrists and MD’s in order to provide optional treatment for clients who are on medications. Students become knowledgeable about the psychotropic medications clients use, their ethical responsibility for knowing when to refer clients for a medication evaluation, how to best work with medical professionals around client care and how to monitor client reactions to the medications. In addition, we will review basic principles of psychopharmacology as well as examining interaction effects, common psychological issues related to the meanings of taking medication, and resources helpful for keeping us abreast of the changes taking place in the field. This is a third-year course taught in the Spring trimester.
Biological Bases of Behavior
The Foundations Series includes Biological Bases of Behavior which provides students with a broad and general foundation in the science of clinical psychology as well as skills, knowledge, and attitudes necessary for the effective biopsychosocial practice of clinical psychology during the first three years of training. Biological Bases of Behavior is offered in the winter trimester of the second year.
Primary topics include concepts important to understanding the neurophysiological and neuroendocrine underpinnings of psychological and neurological disorders.
Chemical Dependency
This course satisfies the California state requirement for licensure and introduces students to the field of addiction treatment. Students gain an understanding of the process of addiction, relapse, and recovery, as well as the impact of racism on substance abuse in communities of color. Students learn to identify points of intervention in the treatment process, and explore the effect of addiction on mental and physical illness. Students also analyze the impact of substance abuse on family functioning, approaches to treating the family, and how to utilize community resources in treatment. Other topics include the role of public policy in promoting substance abuse treatment, recent research on addiction and its implications for treatment, and the genetic components of addiction.