Advanced Fellowship in Geriatrics

Dr. Gould is a mentor in the VA Fellowship in Advanced Geriatrics at the Palo Alto GRECC. This is a 2-year post-doctoral research fellowship that consists of approximately 75% research and 25% clinical time. Fellows are expected to develop a scientific research project, publish results in a peer-reviewed journal, present at a national meeting, and participate in grant writing. A personalized training curriculum would be created with a research mentor. For more information, see the brochure. Please contact Dr. Gould by email (Christine.Gould@va.gov or cegould@stanford.edu) if you would like to discuss your potential fit with her research program. 

 

VA Palo Alto Health Care System Psychology Rotation

Dr. Gould and Dr. Erin Sakai supervise pre-doctoral interns and postdoctoral fellows in the GRECC rotation. As part of this rotation, trainees gain clinical experiences in the Geriatric Research, Education, and Clinical Center (GRECC) interdisciplinary team clinic and through providing outpatient psychotherapy to older Veterans and caregivers. More information about the Psychology Training program including rotation descriptions can be found here.

 

Trainees are also encouraged to get involved in clinical demonstration projects. In one such project, Dr. Gould and Dr. Sakai are currently testing a new model of mental health care by helping older Veterans us VA mental health apps to meet their mental health and wellness goals. The Geri-Mobile team also developed patient education materials to help older Veterans use VA mental health mobile apps. To request these materials, please contact Priyanka Mehta at Priyanka.Mehta@va.gov. The Geri-Mobile project was featured in the March 2018 GRECC eNewsletter.

 

Palo Alto University Supplemental Practicum Training Experience

 

Dr. Christine Gould leads the Mental Health, Aging, & Technology Research Lab at the VA Palo Alto GRECC. The aim of the lab is to leverage technology as a way to deliver mental health interventions to older adults. Dr. Gould works to develop interventions and new models of care through research and clinical demonstration projects. 

 

Clinical Experience:

40% of the time or greater will be spent conducting assessments or delivering treatment in the context of research studies, program evaluation, or clinical services. Assessments will include conducting M.I.N.I. Neuropsychiatric interviews or Structured Clinical Interviews for the DSM-5 with middle-aged and older adults. Additional assessments delivered will vary by the study. Interventions will involve coaching patients in using technology-delivered to improve their mental health symptoms and disorders. The coaching may include using motivational interviewing, cognitive-behavioral techniques, solution-focused techniques, and problem-solving. Other opportunities for delivering psychological services may be available based on the ongoing studies, programs, or GRECC primary care clinic needs.

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Additional Experiences:

Other experiences that are not direct clinical services include conducting fidelity ratings for intervention studies, assisting with record keeping for assessments completed, and contributing to presentations and manuscripts.

 

Supervision

1 hour per week of individual, face-to-face supervision in addition to group supervision.

 

Didactics:

Trainees may attend the GRECC Geriatrics seminar didactics on Tuesdays from 3:00-4:00 pm. Additionally, trainees are encouraged to attend the geropsychology seminar on the first and third Thursdays of the month from 2:30-4:30 pm in building 4.  Other didactic opportunities include the monthly Geriatric Psychiatry and Neuroscience Grand Rounds, national GRECC webinars, and other national geriatric webinars.