Comprehensive Psychiatric Emergency Room (CPEP)

The Comprehensive Psychiatric Emergency Program, a program within Bellevue’s Emergency Department, is a comprehensive psychiatric service that includes triage, psychiatric evaluation and extended observation in the CPEP Emergency Room, Mobile Crisis Outreach, Interim Crisis Clinic, and crisis residence services.  In CPEP, the psychology extern serves as part of a multidisciplinary team that includes psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers and nurses.  Each morning, the trainee becomes the primary clinician for 1-2 patients, and as such has responsibility for the patient’s care, including the diagnostic evaluation, mental status exam, and formulating an appropriate disposition plan.  In the afternoon, the trainee will be evaluating new patients.  After being evaluated in CPEP, patients are generally either admitted to CPEP, one of Bellevue’s Inpatient Psychiatry Units or referred to CPEP’s Interim Crisis Clinic.  CPEP externs also work in the Crisis Clinic, and there, the trainee conducts short-term crisis intervention services while his or her assigned patients are waiting to get an appointment in an appropriate community mental health clinic or private clinician. 

Educational opportunities include in-depth rapid psychiatric assessment and learning how to quickly differentiate among DSM-IV diagnoses.  The training focuses on refining interviewing techniques, conducting mental status exams, and engaging in brief psychotherapeutic crisis interventions.  Brief cognitive screenings may also be administered by the trainee to assist in the evaluation.  Multidisciplinary rounds are held each day at 8:30 AM and 4:00 PM.  Daily supervision is provided for each case by experienced psychiatrists and psychologists.  Trainees also receive twice weekly group supervision and participate in seminars and case conferences with observation of live interviews.

The successful extern is open to learning, able to work as a team member, and in possession of good stress management skills. The externship period begins with a thorough orientation followed by several days of observing other clinicians at work.  Externs are then assigned their own individual patients.

Training Period and Time Commitment:
Academic Year (early September through May) and Summer (early June through July) programs available.  At least two days a week are required during the year and at least three days a week in the summer.

Qualifications:
Open to any level doctoral student enrolled in a program in Clinical, Counseling, School or Forensic Psychology. 

Application Procedure:
Fax letter of interest, resume, and two reference letters to Zoya Simakhodskaya, Ph.D at 212-562-3929.  Deadline is February 1.  Applications will not be reviewed before January 15.  Interviews take place in February and offers are made by March 1.  The number of externs chosen each year changes with the program’s needs.  Questions may be directed to Dr. Simakhodskaya at simakhoz@bellevue.nychhc.org.