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VA Boston Healthcare System

Psychology Training

Programs

The VA Boston Healthcare System is pleased to offer training in professional psychology at all levels of graduate education. Our training programs include:

Boston Consortium in Clinical Psychology Practicum Training Program.
Boston Consortium in Clinical Psychology Internship Training Program. This program is accredited by the American Psychological Association.
VA Boston Psychology Postdoctoral Fellowship Training Program. Operating as an integrated program, we offer one postdoctoral program in the traditional substantive area of Clinical Psychology and one in the specialty area of Clinical Neuropsychology. Each program (Clinical and Neuropsychology) is separately accredited by the American Psychological Association.

Please look to the tabs on the left to direct you to additional information on your program of interest.

Training Environment

The VA Boston Healthcare System encompasses nine campuses within a 40-mile radius of the greater Boston area. The consolidated facility consists of the Jamaica Plain campus, located in the heart of Boston's Longwood Medical Community; the West Roxbury campus, located on the Dedham line; and the Brockton campus, located 20 miles south of Boston in the City of Brockton. In addition to the three main medical centers, six Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs) located in Worcester, Framingham, Lowell, Quincy, Dorchester, and Causeway Street (Boston) make up the VA Boston Healthcare System (VA BHCS).

Jamaica Plain Campus

The Jamaica Plain Campus offers state-of-the-art ambulatory care and primary care services. The Ambulatory Care Center serves as a hub for tertiary ambulatory services. This center’s specialized services include state-of-the-art audiology services, ambulatory day surgery, CAT scanning, MRI, specialized aphasia treatment, an eye center providing argon laser therapy of retino-vascular diseases, CO2 and YAG laser treatment of cancer and Argon and YAG laser treatment of eye diseases, and vitrectomy. A model Veterans Industries/Transitional Living program for patients with Substance Abuse problems has recently been approved by the Committee for Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF). Medical services located at this campus also include substance abuse (a Center of Excellence in Substance Abuse Treatment), nuclear medicine, and a Center for Excellence for oncology/hematology, which includes high voltage radiation therapy/linear accelerator. Two National Centers for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (also named Centers for Excellence) include the Behavioral Science Division and the Women’s Health Sciences Division. Additional programs available at Jamaica Plain are a Comprehensive Women’s Health Center and mammography, an Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom program, and many other special programs to meet gender specific needs as well as other special needs of veterans due to environmental causes such as radiation, Persian Gulf, or Agent Orange exposure.

West Roxbury Campus

The West Roxbury Campus serves as the tertiary inpatient medical center for the VA Boston Health care System and the other VA medical centers in the region. Recently named a Center for Excellence in Cardiac Surgery this facility offers cardiac catheterization, CCU, and a renowned Open Heart Surgery Program. The West Roxbury campus also has a nationally recognized acute Spinal Cord Injury program, and is one of few VA facilities that have a CARF-accredited acute medical rehabilitation program and spinal cord injury program, supported by a swimming pool that is located in the hospital proper. This campus supports an interventional cardiology program with electrophysiology. In addition, West Roxbury serves as the referral center for intensive inpatient surgery and provides such unique and high-risk surgeries as, vascular surgery, specialized general and cancer related surgery, orthopedics, hand and joint replacement surgery, neurosurgery, plastic surgery, and urology.

The spinal cord injury program operates within a “hub and spokes” model for the Northeast VA region to provide consistent care excellence. West Roxbury maintains a 24-hour emergency department.

Brockton Campus

The Brockton Campus offers veterans a wide range of health care options including long term care, which includes a chronic Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) unit, mental health services, and comprehensive primary care. A Center for Excellence in Health Care for Homeless Veterans, this campus houses a 60 bed Domiciliary for Homeless Veterans. Also available in Brockton is an inpatient psychiatric unit for women, one of only four such units available in the entire VA system. This unit, in conjunction with a recently opened outpatient Women’s Health Center, offers women veterans a complete spectrum of health care services. Both the Homeless Veterans program and the Women’s Program are regional referral centers for veterans throughout New England. The Chronic Spinal Cord Injury Unit offers specialized programs and respite care for veterans with spinal cord injuries and disabilities. The Nursing Home Care Unit similarly offers respite care programs to veterans throughout New England. The Mental Health services offered at the Brockton Campus are extensive in both the inpatient and outpatient arenas. Offering both chronic and acute inpatient psychiatric programs, and programs in substance abuse, this service was recently named a Center for Excellence for Seriously Mentally Ill veterans.

Research Activities

Research is an integral part of the overall VA Boston Healthcare System’s mission and plays a key role in enhancing the healthcare services provided to our veteran population. The total Research and Development Program for the three campuses, Brockton, West Roxbury and Jamaica Plain, is one of the largest and most active in the VA system. In recent years, total intramural VA funding has been in the range of $15 million. Extramural research funding from other federal agencies, such as NIH and DOD, private proprietary companies, voluntary agencies and foundations have added another $10 – 12 million per year. As a referral center for neuro-psychiatric disorders, the Brockton campus has major research efforts in the neurophysiology of mental illnesses, problems in alcoholism and sleep problems associated with many mental disorders. The research interests at the West Roxbury campus, as the acute tertiary care division, spans several fields, with a strong focus on gastrointestinal disorders, cardiology and cardiovascular diseases, hematology, pulmonary medicine, urology, neurology, and spinal cord injury. At the Jamaica Plain campus in conjunction with the Boston Outpatient Clinic, there are significant research projects on substance abuse, hemostasis, aphasia, language and memory disorders, PTSD, and infectious diseases, among others. Investigators at both the Brockton campus and the Jamaica Plain campus have been participating in a major VA cooperative studies trial on the National Health Survey of Persian Gulf War Veterans and their families. There are several special emphasis programs and research centers at the VA Boston Healthcare System, including the Massachusetts Epidemiology Research and Information Center, the Normative Aging Study, the Dental Longitudinal Study, NIDA/VA Medication Development Center, and two National Centers for PTSD. There are also several programs in the area of Rehabilitation Research and Development and Health Services Research and Development, with the VA’s HSR&D Management Decision and Research Center, located at the Jamaica Plain Campus. There is very active participation on all campuses in many of the VA’s Cooperative Studies Program multi-center clinical trials.

Living Environment

The nature of the Greater Boston area and the location of the different Medical Centers provide trainees the opportunity to choose a variety of lifestyles and housing. The West Roxbury and Jamaica Plain divisions, several miles apart from one another, are within the city of Boston. The Brockton division is south of Boston along Route 24, a major highway connecting with routes to Cape Cod and other southeastern Massachusetts population centers, such as Fall River and New Bedford. The city of Providence, located less than an hour’s drive, is accessible via major highways from either division. There is a shuttle service between the three Divisions that operates throughout the working day. It is possible for the trainee to live in or close to Boston and be part of an urban lifestyle; housing costs in or near Boston are quite high. Moving out from Boston, the trainee will encounter more affordable housing and a choice of city, small town, or rural settings.

No matter which setting the trainee chooses, the cultural, educational and recreational activities of Boston and New England are easily accessible. Boston, known for its arts, history and educational institutions, is little more than a half-hour from Brockton by car at non-peak hours. There are also many forms of public transportation available into the city. Commuter rail from Brockton to South Station in Boston is available. It is easy to get in and out of Boston to see a play, visit a museum or experience the flavor of the city’s diverse ethnic groups. The New England region is attractive, varied and readily accessible by car. The Berkshires, Cape Cod, Rhode Island, southern Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont are all easily visited as day trips. A trip to the beach, the mountains, Gillette Stadium (New England Revolution and New England Patriots), Fenway Park (Boston Red Sox), the TD Banknorth Garden (Boston Celtics and Boston Bruins), or Boston’s many museums offers the trainee an opportunity for a change of pace while staying close to home.

The internship and fellowship years often means relocation not only for the intern and fellow but also for a partner. A wide range of educational opportunities are available at the many colleges and universities in the Greater Boston area, including Harvard University, Boston University, M.I.T., College of the Holy Cross, Boston College, Suffolk University, Clark University, Brown University, University of Rhode Island, and University of Massachusetts Boston. In addition to full-time study at the main campuses, there are many satellite, evening or part-time programs available. The job market is relatively good for significant others who may be looking for employment during the training year.

Psychology Service (116B)

VA Boston Healthcare System

150 South Huntington Avenue

Boston, MA 02130-4893

(857) 364 - 4035

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