The Vanderbilt Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences offers a one-year APPIC Postdoctoral Fellowship Training Program in Professional Psychology, within an academic medical setting. Completion of the post-doctoral fellowship provides sufficient hours and supervision for licensure as a clinical psychologist within the state of Tennessee (and many other states).
The majority of each fellow’s time is spent within their specific training program (listed below). In addition, one-half day per week (typically on Fridays) is spent in collective training activities with other members of the Postdoctoral Fellow cohort and/or with advanced trainees and faculty members in other disciplines, such as psychiatry residents and fellows. These combined training activities include didactic presentations, research seminars, case conferences, and weekly Grand Rounds presentations.
The specific constellation of activities is determined by the primary training program, which are described below. However, all tracks include 1900 hours of supervised experience, with a minimum of two hours of individual weekly supervision provided by a licensed psychologist, a combination of clinical and research activities, and opportunities to specialize in a particular area of intervention.
The following training programs are available for the 2027-2028 training year:
- Postdoctoral Fellowship in Autism Spectrum Disorder;
- Postdoctoral Fellowship in Child Welfare and Trauma-Informed Care at the Vanderbilt Center for Excellence;
- Postdoctoral Fellowship in Psychotic Disorders;
- Postdoctoral Fellowship in Health Psychology at the Osher Center for Integrative Medicine at Vanderbilt.
- Postdoctoral Fellowship in Forensic Psychology
Graduates from our post-doctoral program have gone on to work in a variety of roles and settings, including (but not limited to):
- Tenure-track professor in a Department of Psychiatry
- Tenure-track professor in a Department of Psychology
- Clinical Faculty in an Academic Medical Setting
- Attending Psychologist in an inpatient setting
- Private practice Psychologist
- Director of Clinical Training
Key Information for the 2027-2028 training year
Application Deadline: December 6, 2026
Notification Date: February 28, 2027
Start Date: August 2, 2027 (negotiable)
Stipend: $63,480 (https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-26-044.html)
Anticipated Number of Slots: 5
Applications can be submitted through APPA CAS: https://appicpostdoc.liaisoncas.com
Julia Sheffield, PhD
Co-Director, Post-doctoral Fellowship Training
Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Julia.sheffield@vumc.org
Brief Overview of Individual Programs
Autism and Life Development
The Postdoctoral Fellowship in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) provides experiential training in assessment, treatment, and research of children, adolescents and adults with ASD and related neurodevelopmental disorder. The fellowship adheres to the scientist- practitioner training model and is designed to prepare individuals for careers as a clinical psychologist in academic clinical and/or research settings, based on their individual interests and career goals. This is a 1-year fellowship with possible re-appointment for a second year depending on availability of funding and satisfactory progress during the first year of the fellowship.
Training Experiences Include: psychotherapy, clinical assessment, neuropsychological assessment and research with children, adolescents and adults with ASD. Please contact Blythe Corbett, PhD, at blythe.corbett@vumc.org if you have any questions.
Child Welfare and Trauma-Informed Care
The Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Vanderbilt Center of Excellence for Children in State Custody (COE) is designed to provide advanced training to clinical and counseling psychologists who wish to advance their knowledge, skill, and research with children and families who are in or at-risk of entering the child welfare system. In addition to gaining systems-based expertise, fellows also have the opportunity to continue to enhance their assessment and psychotherapy skills. The Vanderbilt COE is the primary site for this fellowship, while fellows also spend a full day each week at the Vanderbilt Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Outpatient Clinic (CAPOC).
Training Experiences Include: assessment and consultation on issues related to the child welfare system including various stakeholders and agencies that interact with the system (e.g. outpatient mental health centers, in-home providers, school, child welfare staff, Juvenile Justice); understanding the impact of trauma on development in children, family and systems; offering trainings to providers and other child-serving agencies; conducting scholarship in areas relevant to trauma screening, assessment, intervention, dissemination and implementation; provide evidence-based treatments for children, adolescents and families. For further information or for informal inquiries, please contact Melissa Cyperski, PhD at melissa.cyperski@vumc.org
Health Psychology at the Osher Center for Integrative Health at Vanderbilt
The Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Osher Center for Integrative Health at Vanderbilt (OCIH) is designed to provide advanced training to Fellows who wish to build a career that emphasizes a balance of clinical service and clinical research or program development within a dynamic, interdisciplinary integrative medical setting. OCIH is a large and well-utilized integrative medical center that provides services to adults and adolescents with a broad spectrum of complex illnesses. The clinic has strong foundations in mindfulness-based and clinical hypnosis services and focuses on a relationship-centered care model with patients, who are often engaged with multiple practitioners from different disciplines simultaneously. The relational care model emphasizes the role of trauma in the expression of illness.
Training Experiences Include: individual and group therapy, clinical research, program development, mindfulness-based interventions and hypnosis for patients with chronic medical conditions. Fellows also can receive formal training in mindfulness facilitation and the provision of clinical hypnosis as a part of their training year, as these trainings are offered. For further information or formal inquiries, please contact Elizabeth Walsh, PhD (Elizabeth.g.walsh@vumc.org) or Lindsey McKernan, PhD (lindsey.mckernan@vumc.org).
Psychotic Disorders Program
The Postdoctoral Fellowship in Psychotic Disorders provides flexible, experiential training in treatment, assessment, and research of individuals with a psychotic illness, especially the early stage of psychosis. The fellowship takes place within a vibrant Psychotic Disorders Program, comprised of a coordinated specialty care (CSC) team for early psychosis, a large SPMI-focused outpatient clinic, inpatient group therapy, inpatient milieu therapy, clinical and neuropsychological assessment, and research. The fellowship adheres to the scientist- practitioner training model and is designed to prepare individuals for careers as a clinical psychologist in academic clinical and/or research settings, based on their individual interests and career goals. This is a 1-year fellowship with possible re-appointment for a second year depending on availability of funding and satisfactory progress during the first year of the fellowship.
Training Experiences Include: Individual psychotherapy within the model of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Psychosis (CBTp), including training in the Feeling Safe Program, STAR, Recovery-Oriented Cognitive Therapy (CT-R), and other evidence-based treatments for psychosis; inpatient group therapy on an acute psychosis unit; outpatient therapy with early psychosis patients participating in CSC; supervision of practicum students; conducting therapy as part of a clinical trial for delusions; assessment; and research. Please contact Julia Sheffield, PhD at julia.sheffield@vumc.org or Neil Woodward, PhD at neil.d.woodward@vumc.org if you have questions.
Forensic Psychology
The Postdoctoral Fellowship in Forensic Psychology provides focused training in forensic assessment, treatment, and research. The primary training emphasis is directed toward competency in forensic assessment, including assessments involving criminal, quasi-criminal, and civil psycholegal referral questions. Training also includes a mandatory research project and opportunity to provide competency restoration treatment to defendants who are incarcerated or on bond in the community. Clinical experiences are supplemented by forensic-specific didactics, including a case law series and case conferences. Training is conducted through the Vanderbilt Forensic Psychiatry Clinic, which is housed in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. The Vanderbilt Forensic Psychiatry Clinic was founded in the early 1990s and consists of five full-time faculty members (i.e., four forensic psychologists and one forensic psychiatrist) who are active in clinical work, teaching, forensic assessment and consultation, ethics, expert testimony, and research. The group conducts hundreds of evaluations annually spanning criminal, civil, administrative, juvenile, and family law at the local, state, national, and federal levels. The diverse array of faculty and training experiences allows the fellow to create an individualized training program.
Please contact Amanda Bitting, PhD at amanda.r.bitting@vumc.org if you have any questions. To apply for the position, please submit an application, including a CV, letters of interest, and letters of recommendation through APPIC’s Centralized Postdoctoral Application System (APPA CAS).