PCIT Didactic Training (Required): Following general orientation, Drs. Melanie Nelson and Cheryl McNeil will spend a full week on PCIT training. They are both PCIT Global Trainers with a wealth of clinical and research experience. Postdocs will be given priority for PCIT therapist training opportunities and most likely will reach certification by the end of their training year. Those who already have Therapist Certification can work to become Within Agency or Site Trainers.
Specialty Therapy (Required): The UF PCIT Program provides 60-minute therapy sessions to children aged 2.5 to 7-years-old with disruptive behavior. Postdocs will see up to 20 PCIT cases per week. They will be supervised by faculty with Within Agency Training Certification or higher and will attend weekly case conferences. Opportunities for toddler, older child, and CALM adaptations are available. The extent to which the postdoc participates in the adaptations will vary based on prior experience.
Childhood Disruptive Behavior Disorders (Required): The postdoc will spend 0%-40% of their time working with children aged 8 to 13-years-old based on postdoc preference and clinic need. The postdocs will provide services for patients with private insurance. While the presenting concern will be disruptive behavior, this may arise from a wide range of diagnostic considerations, including mood disorders, adjustment problems, trauma, or neurodivergence. Postdocs may use and integrate any evidence-based approaches they determine to be fitting including PMT, CBT, ACT, DBT, as well as Trauma Focused CBT (TF-CBT). There is some ability to select patients based on individual training goals. We also encourage postdocs to take a few patients outside their usual area of focus to expand their training and readiness for independent practice.
Group Therapy (Optional): If the postdoc is interested, any number of individual therapy face-to-face hours may be converted to group therapy. Based on their interest, the postdoc may run a closed group or rolling enrollment group. Some group topics include: Parent Management Training Basics, School Advocacy Seminars, Understanding My Child with ADHD, Understanding My Sibling with ADHD, Resilience Strategies for Exhausted Parents, Navigating Divorce, or Navigating Grief. We highly encourage postdocs to be creative and have fun organizing groups in their area of interest.
Community Training (Optional): If the postdoc is interested, individual therapy hours may also be replaced by community trainings. The UF PCIT program provides trainings to private practitioners in the community and also has grant funding to train providers with child welfare related agencies. Assisting Drs. Nelson and McNeil with these trainings can be part of the postdoc’s Site Trainers certification.
Research (Optional): This is a clinical postdoc, though there are opportunities to get involved in research studies including manuscript writing. Please inquire about current research opportunities.