Overview of the Pediatric Psychology Fellowship Program
Please meet our Co-Directors of Training and current fellows, and learn about their training journey.
Training Program
The UAMS Pediatric Psychology Postdoctoral Fellowship is a multi-site program consisting of three (3; 2 in Little Rock and 1 in Springdale) full-time, 12-month positions, with the Fellowship providing 2000 hours of supervised training (which meets APPIC standards and Arkansas Psychology Board licensure requirements for postdoctoral training hours). These three positions are divided into three separate training tracks (outlined below). The fellowship begins on September 1st each year. An alternative start date may be arranged with advance notice and agreement from both the training directors and the post-doctoral fellow in cases of unforeseen circumstances. Failure to provide advance notice may result in the loss of the fellowship.
The Fellowship program is part of a comprehensive interdisciplinary training effort within the Department of Pediatrics at UAMS, and involves other trainees such as medical fellows, residents, students, social work interns, and speech/language pathology interns. In addition, psychologists are embedded in other sections within the Department of Pediatrics (i.e., Children at Risk, Adolescent Medicine, Behavioral Pediatrics, Center for Applied Research and Evaluation). The Fellowship is under the direction of the Section of Pediatric Psychology, which consists of 16 doctoral-level psychologists, 3 postdoctoral fellows, 3 master’s-level psychological examiners, 2 neuropsychological technicians and graduate level-practicum students.
The Little Rock rotations are based on the Arkansas Children’s Hospital (ACH) campus and include outpatient clinics, inpatient consultation and UAMS Dennis Developmental Center (DDC). Fellows housed in Springdale, Arkansas are primarily located at the Schmieding Developmental Center (SDC). Please see the SDC descriptions below for rotation and training details with focus on team-based evaluations, autism and developmental evaluations. Please see the ACH and DDC descriptions below for specific rotation and training details.
Fellowship Tracks
Fellowship Tracks
Please read track descriptions carefully before applying. The three positions are structured as distinct training tracks. Fellows remain in assigned track for the full fellowship year.
Track 1: Little Rock – Assessment-Focused Pediatric Psychology
1 Position
The Little Rock Assessment Track is designed for applicants seeking primarily psychological assessment experience, with additional pediatric psychology clinical experiences throughout the year to develop a broad foundation in pediatric psychology.
Primary Training Experiences:
The assessment-focused track may include experiences such as:
- Cardiac Neurodevelopmental Follow-Up Program
- Growth and Development
- Comprehensive evaluations of children and youth with neurodevelopmental, medical, emotional, and behavioral concerns through the UAMS J.L. Dennis Developmental Center (DDC)
- Complex Care
- Psychological assessment and consultation
- Other interdisciplinary assessment opportunities
Track 2: Little Rock – Behavioral Health-Focused Pediatric Psychology
1 Position
The Little Rock Therapy Track is designed for applicants seeking primarily pediatric psychology intervention and therapy experience, while also maintaining opportunities to develop and strengthen psychological assessment skills through participation in assessment clinics.
Primary Training Experiences:
The therapy-focused track may include pediatric psychology experiences such as:
- Feeding Clinic
- Pediatric psychology inpatient consultation and liaison
- Sleep Program
- Cleft Clinic
- Neurofibromatosis
- Craniofacial Clinic
- Gastroenterology (GI) Clinics
- Brief psychological interventions
- Evidence-based behavioral and psychological treatment
- Interdisciplinary consultation and collaboration
Track 3: Springdale (Northwest Arkansas) – Neurodevelopmental Assessment
1 Position
Primary Training Experiences:
The majority of the fellowship experience may involve working with children and youth with neurodevelopmental differences (e.g., intellectual developmental disability, Autism Spectrum Disorder), other special health care needs (e.g., ADHD, learning differences, chronic illnesses), and emotional and behavioral concerns.
The fellowship may also consist of pediatric psychology experiences, tailored to the fellow’s interests and professional goals and based on available opportunities. Depending on interest, clinical needs, and program availability, experiences may include:
- Pediatric psychology opportunities at Arkansas Children’s Northwest (ACNW) and Arkansas Children’s Hospital (ACH) in Little Rock, which may include occasional travel to Little Rock
- Virtual pediatric psychology clinics serving ACH patients and families
- Opportunities to shadow a pediatric neuropsychologist, based on fellow interest and faculty availability
Schmieding Developmental Center
SDC is an outpatient interdisciplinary evaluation and treatment center serving children and youth with neurodevelopmental differences. The center includes pediatric psychologists, neuropsychologists, developmental pediatricians, nurses, social workers, and speech pathologists and provides comprehensive interdisciplinary assessment focused on developmental, social, behavioral, and psychological needs.
Experiences may include:
- Comprehensive evaluations of children and youth with neurodevelopmental, medical, emotional, and behavioral concerns
- Shadowing neuropsychologists and participating in comprehensive neuropsychological assessments.
- Observing interdisciplinary team evaluations
- Interdisciplinary training and didactics
- Opportunities for hierarchical supervision of graduate-level psychology trainees
Additional Training Opportunity: Comfort Ability Clinic
All three fellowship tracks may have opportunities to participate in the nationally recognized Comfort Ability® Program at Arkansas Children’s Hospital’s Clark Center, a pediatric program developed at Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School to help children and youth with chronic pain.