Social Work, Psychosocial Rehabilitation Interprofessional Fellowship
The Psychosocial Rehabilitation Interprofessional Fellowship at VA Palo Alto health care accepts social work and psychology postgraduates for a one-year fellowship starting each September.
This stipend fellowship focuses on developing clinician leaders and educators who can provide state-of-the-art, interprofessional psychosocial rehabilitation and recovery care that aligns with the standards set by The Joint Commission, the Psychiatric Rehabilitation Association (PRA), and the community integration standards defined by CARF. Specifically, the fellow will aim to:
- Promote continuity of care
- Engage with the whole person
- Foster hope, self-esteem, and empowerment
- Encourage advocacy, peer support, and self-help
- Support consumer-identified community goals
- Promote education, role models, and self-determination
- Encourage natural social supports and resources
- Teach life, stress, and symptom management skills
- Develop partnerships with consumers, families, caregivers, and community organizations
- Facilitate community-based normative experiences (educational, vocational, living, and leisure)
Fellows are expected to adopt this approach when working with Veterans living with chronic serious mental illness.
The fellowship follows a three-rotation model. The initial immersion site for all fellows is inpatient acute psychiatry, where fellows engage directly with Veterans diagnosed with severe mental illness. The second core rotation is at the Veterans Recovery Center (VRC), which emphasizes the recovery model. This rotation helps fellows understand and apply recovery-oriented practice principles. The third rotation is tailored to each fellow’s self-identified training needs and interests.
This position is a full-time, one-year opportunity that includes a stipend, benefits, and clinical supervision towards licensure.