Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH)

Massachusetts General Hospital

Fellowship Director: Britt Emerton, PhD

 

MGH is the third oldest general hospital in the United States, and comprises an 820-bed facility located in downtown Boston, adjacent to Beacon Hill. Its Neurology and Psychiatry Departments are world-renowned, and it recently opened only one of two Proton Beam Units in the world, allowing for state of the art treatment of patients with brain tumors. Research facilities in cognitive neuroscience are located at MGH East, providing opportunities for the fellow to become involved in research studies utilizing functional imaging techniques. The MGH also has an A.P.A. approved Internship in Clinical Psychology with specialty training tracks in Neuropsychology, Cognitive Behavior Therapy, Behavioral Medicine, Child-Adult Clinical Psychology and Adult Clinical Psychology.

 

At MGH, the Fellow will train at the Psychology Assessment Center, situated on the main MGH campus. Supported by the departments of Neurology and Psychiatry, the Center provides comprehensive neuropsychological testing and psychological assessment of children and adults.  The fellow will gain experience at MGH  in  the neuropsychological assessment  of both pediatric and adult populations. Fellows with a specific interest in pediatric neuropsychology will be able to make this a focus of their rotation at MGH; those with an adult focus will also gain experience in the pediatric population, but can continue to focus on adult assessment during their MGH rotation.  The Psychology Assessment Center serves children with medical conditions (epilepsy, brain tumors, leukemia, TBI); with developmental learning disabilities (dyslexia, NVLD); with ADHD and with psychiatric disorders. MGH has a newly formed pediatric epilepsy program, allowing for training in childhood epilepsy and a program in pediatric oncology in which the Fellow can participate in clinical and research projects aimed at understanding the cognitive sequelae of different treatment protocols (chemotherapy; Proton Beam Radiation). Adults who are served by the Psychology Assessment Center present with a very wide range of etiologies (epilepsy, movement disorders, dementia, stroke, tbi, ADHD, learning disorders, personality and mood disorders), with most of the referrals from the MGH Neurology department.   

 

The majority of clinical experience will be gained from outpatient assessments and will be supervised by staff members with no less than two hours of supervision per week. The Fellow  will be expected to perform  three evaluations a week, with the balance between child and adult assessments guided to some extent by the fellow's interests. The Fellow  will be involved in all aspects of the evaluation as well as feedback to patients. The opportunity to gain experience with school-based meetings (i.e., IEP meetings) will also be provided.