The Clinical Psychology Residency Program at Womack Army Medical Center, consists of year-long training across defined competencies. Typically, the program begins and ends in early January of each year, but some years we have had to delay the start of training to accommodate military schools. However, the commitment to 12-months of training remains unchanged, regardless of variations in start dates. The CPRP embraces an advanced version of the Train-As-You-Fight model introduced at the internship level. Training at WAMC is designed to prepare residents for their expected first assignment as a Behavioral Health Officer, which includes the need to practice all of the major advanced professional skills across any given week. Instead of training each of the major skills in separate three-month rotation experiences as occurs at most sites, in this program residents learn to balance all the skills of professional psychologists during an extended eight-month Advanced Adult Outpatient/BHO Rotation.
Our “Train-as-You-Fight” model uses a developmental approach to help residents acquire advanced levels of competency to function independently as professional psychologists with no periods to allow attrition or degradation of skills. Training occurs through yearlong activities including intake interviews, assessments, psychotherapy, military-specific evaluations, training seminars, case conferences, and supervision, as well as through opportunities for trainees to provide briefings to military leaders/units, and training, teaching, and supervision to Interns and paraprofessionals. The training program is structured in a manner that is sequential, cumulative, and graded in complexity. During the first nine months of the training year, our residents are provided with weekly formal didactic training hours that are focused on the foundation skills required to be successful during the residency year and beyond. The training focus is primarily experiential, starting with more straightforward cases for assessment and treatment.
Residents complete a self-assessment of their skill and competencies at the beginning of the training year, utilizing a quarterly progress report, which is the same assessment measure used to evaluate their performance at three-month intervals during the training year. In cases of direct accession, residents also complete the CPRP skill sets self-evaluation, which allows the training faculty to better determine resident training needs. Additionally, with faculty support, residents establish individualized development plans to detail their goals, strengths, and areas of training focus. This also helps to guide the training experience, as it allows residents to identify personal training goals.
Residents spend the first eight months of training on the Advanced Adult Outpatient/Behavioral Health Officer Rotation on a full-time basis. Around the eighth-month marker, residents in good standing may then elect to complete an elective four-month rotation focusing on one of the following options: Advanced Operational Psychology, Inpatient Psychiatry, Pain/Behavioral Medicine, Child and Adolescent Family Behavioral Health, or Clinical Research. Residents spend four days per week on their selected elective rotation with the remaining day dedicated to didactics, professional development or a mini rotation such as Consultation and Interprofessional /Interdisciplinary skills experiences or self-selected focused training experiences. Descriptions of the rotations and core program activities, as well as evaluation criteria, are reviewed with the residents as part of their orientation, and are updated during the year as appropriate.
The CPRP ensures that residents receive the required supervised experiences necessary to function independently as Clinical Psychologists, as well as to meet all guidelines set forth by the APA. This is understood to be a minimum of 52 weeks or 2000 hours of supervised experience during the training year. The Department of Behavioral Health and all other rotation sites, typically have duty hours equivalent to a 40-hour workweek. However, for residents to obtain the maximum training value, a minimum of 45 hours per week is typically necessary. Normal duty hours for trainees are therefore 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, and include 60 minutes for lunch. Residents are not required to perform night call duties.
Residency Admissions, Support and Initial Placement Data for 2025
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