Clinical Health Psychology Fellowship Program 

 The Tripler Army Medical Center Postdoctoral Fellowship Training Program in Clinical Health Psychology strives to provide postdoctoral Fellows with advanced training and specialty expertise in the field of clinical health psychology. Learning occurs primarily through supervised practice nested in the biopsychosocial model and evidence-based interventions utilizing the Scholar-Practitioner model. Fellows interact across the spectrum of prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation and interface with a multitude of medical illness and disease states. 
Upon completing the fellowship, graduates will be well-positioned to apply for board certification in clinical health psychology and operate as clinical health psychologists independently. Graduates of the fellowship are poised to serve in a diverse field of leadership, including medical specialty, public health and policy, and as a clinic leader.
The Clinical Health Psychology Fellowship is the Army’s only clinical health psychology program located at Tripler Army Medical Center, Department of Behavioral Health (DBH). The Department of Behavioral Health also sponsors an APA-accredited Clinical Psychology internship, Joint training and professional socialization opportunities enhance the quality and diversity of all of the programs.
The American Psychological Association has accredited the fellowship since 2010 (https://www.accreditation.apa.org/accredited-programs).

Tripler Army Medical Center 

Tripler Army Medical Center (TAMC) is the only federal tertiary care hospital in the Pacific Basin. It supports 264,000 local active duty and retired military personnel, their families, and veteran beneficiaries. In addition, the referral population includes 171,000 military personnel, family members, veteran beneficiaries, residents of nine U.S. affiliated jurisdictions (American Samoa, Guam, and the former Trust Territories), and forward-deployed forces in more than 40 countries throughout the Pacific. The mission of Tripler is to be the premier health and readiness platform of choice. Tripler’s vision is to deliver world-class care in a dynamic environment, ensuring the readiness of the force and the health of our Ohana across the Pacific. 

Program Overview and Objectives

The Clinical Health Psychology Specialty prepares postdoctoral psychologists in the specialty of Clinical Health Psychology to work in diverse military and civilian healthcare settings. The fellowship follows the postdoctoral education and training guidelines delineated in the 2007 American Psychological Association Division 38 (Health Psychology) sponsored summit meeting, which revisited the standards of training in clinical health psychology (France et al., 2008) as well as the Commission for the Recognition of Specialties in Professional practice (CRSPPP). As an institutional working member of the Council of Clinical Health Psychology Training Programs (CCHPTP), Tripler continues to refine this set of professional competencies to reflect advances in the field as they are integrated into this growing specialty.

The fellowship is grounded in the core foundational and functional competencies governed by Division 38, the American Academy of Clinical Health Psychology (ACHP), and the American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP). Each of the training settings and rotations of the two-year fellowship offers both unique training opportunities and the opportunity to establish the core skills through increasing levels of responsibility, clinical cases, didactics, and seminars. Fellows have the unique opportunity to receive advanced training in biofeedback technologies, which can supplement other empirically supported treatment techniques. The fellowship supports an active academic environment, with options for Fellows to interface with multiple levels of psychology and psychiatry trainees. Additionally, Fellows will engage in a scholarly project to be completed by the end of the fellowship. 

The fellowship boasts a diverse and highly trained military and civilian faculty with clinical and research experience in clinical health psychology. Faculty members are all graduates of the Fellowship program and are committed to the program’s success. 

The fellowship strives to facilitate the professional development of each Fellow. We believe that we should tailor some aspects of the training program to meet the career goals and developmental level of the postdoctoral Fellow. The faculty believes that this requires the facilitation of appropriate opportunities for advocacy, development of clinical and research interests, cross-specialty or departmental collaborations, membership in professional organizations, and attendance at professional conferences.

Rotations

Fellows will complete training rotations in Behavioral Medicine, OB/GYN, Oncology, Endocrinology, Sleep Medicine, Nephrology, Cardiology, and Internal Medicine.

Fellows may have the opportunity to attend the Society of Behavioral Medicine, the APA Convention, and the Hawaii Psychological Association Convention. In addition, our Fellows may have the opportunity to complete advanced training in Biofeedback and Clinical Hypnosis.

Salary and Benefits

Military postdoctoral Fellows do not receive an educational stipend but instead receive their regular military pay, basic allowance for housing, and basic allowance for subsistence based on their rank and time in service throughout the two-year fellowship. Fellows will also receive COLA (Cost of Living Adjustment) due to the location of the fellowship.

Application & Eligibility

The program is for active-duty military Officers. All applicants must be licensed and should contact the Health Psychology Fellowship Director to answer any questions about the application process.  The Fellowship Director is Dr. Larry C. James, Ph.D., ABPP. Dr. James can be contacted via email at Larry.C.James2.Civ@Health.Mil.