Facility: Kennestone Hospital

Clinical Health Psychologist, Women’s Health

The National Academy of Sciences formally defined “behavioral medicine” in the late 1970s as “the interdisciplinary field concerned with the development and integration of behavioral and biomedical science knowledge and techniques and the application of this knowledge and these techniques to prevention, diag­nosis, treatment and rehabilitation.”  This concept continued to build momentum, resulting in a later definition, by the first President of APA’s Health Psychology division, of “behavioral health,” as an interdisciplinary field “that stresses individual responsibility in the application of behavioral and biomedical knowledge and techniques to the maintenance of health and the prevention of illness and dysfunction.”  Today, Health Psychology subsumes all of these components as well as a means to improve the overall healthcare system.

Since its inception in 2009, Wellstar’s Psychological Services division has partnered with individuals, families, and healthcare providers to offer hope and improve the quality of life to persons experiencing emotional, behavioral, and cognitive challenges by providing premier diagnostics, high quality and evidence-based treatment options in a compassionate environment. As global health challenges continue to impact individual wellness and healthcare delivery, Wellstar Health System is pleased to announce an opening for a Health Psychologist co-sponsored by the Behavioral Health (BHSL) and Women’s Service Lines. The hiring of the Women’s Health Psychologist is part of a broader initiative involving the collaboration of Behavioral Health and primary and specialty care providers. The Women’s Health Psychologist will function in an ambulatory clinical role, helping to improve patient outcomes for women with co-occurring physical and mental health conditions. The Psychologist is an extension of the Wellstar Psychological Services practice, reporting to Wellstar’s Director of Health Psychology or his/her designee.

Duties/Responsibilities: This role follows an integrated model. At Wellstar our integrated models (1) improve treatment access for patients whose quality of life is suffering due to problems of a behavioral or psychiatric nature, (2) improve patient outcomes, and (3) optimize office workflow and provider-to-provider coordination to break down access barriers inherent in more traditional models. In accomplishment of these objectives, the psychologist will offer Behavioral Health services to patients with various medical and psychosocial problems, which may or may not be related to pregnancy, and can be mitigated via behavioral modifications and evidence-based psychological interventions. Using an integrated care model, the psychologist receives referrals and warm hand-offs from medical colleagues at an OB/GYN practice that are supporting the development of this program. This is not a “traditional” mental health role. Rather, services encompass brief cognitive and behavioral interventions for patients whose OB/GYN treatment plans can be facilitated with behavioral interventions of a health psychologist. When treatment acuity necessitates more intensive interventions, the psychologist will assist by linking patients to community-based behavioral health providers who can more effectively manage their complex needs. The Psychologist is responsible for assessment and diagnosing of mental health conditions and utilizing evidence-based treatments to deliver better and safer care as well as to facilitate treatment adherence to the patient’s medical plan. She/He will be responsible for tracking patient outcomes, both to demonstrate effectiveness and to facilitate continuous improvements. The clinician will also provide consultation and education, as needed, to the medical team that s/he supports. This clinician will both be responsible for the program development of this service and will provide supervision to a LCSW-level provider at a remote OB/GYN clinic who will also provide these services.  Wellstar seeks team members who are also committed to training and supervision of future clinicians.

Skills Needed: TheOB/GYN medical specialty is a fast-paced environment. As such, the Psychologist must be flexible, able to provide effective consultation, and effective when working with a multi-disciplinary team of physicians, affiliated care providers, nurses, and care managers. The candidate will need knowledge of program development within a medical setting as well as have skills both to build participation in the program by stakeholders and to define appropriate scope of practice. The Health Psychologist should possess understanding of women’s health and related issues, and should be adept at viewing patients through the lens of the biopsychosocial model. She/He should have the capacity to build collegial relationships with other members of the Medical Staff and administrators involved in women’s health care. She/He should possess strong crisis management skills to help prevent office bottlenecks that interfere with office workflow and possess understanding of a repertoire of evidence-based behavioral health interventions, including motivational interviewing, relaxation and mindfulness techniques, and other cognitive-behavioral methods. Further, it is imperative that the clinician possess advanced cultural competencies and understand how to apply their repertoire of clinical skills to various populations. Knowledge of psychotropic medications and general knowledge of various medical and health-related problems is important.

The applicant should be a critical thinker. Training via a Scientist-Practitioner model will best position an applicant for success in this role. While not a research-focused position, analytical abilities and prior experiences with research design, drafting of IRB proposals, successful publication in peer-reviewed journals, and basic-to-intermediate proficiency in statistics will be advantageous.  Attending to the program’s outcomes with a research-informed awareness will facilitate success in this role and continued improvement in the program.

Candidates should possess professionalism and interpersonal nuance. A strong candidate is flexible, open to feedback, and possesses emotional intelligence. Fluency with medical nomenclature is needed to collaborate optimally in this environment. As such, candidates with exposure to medical settings are preferred. The candidate should have strong written and verbal communication skills and be comfortable presenting to a professional audience. Computer literacy is necessary, especially the use of the Microsoft programs (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, TEAMS). Basic knowledge with statistical programs (e.g., SPSS) is also desirable. Training will be provided to complete all documentation in EPIC, WellStar’s Electronic Medical Record (EMR).

Setting: Wellstar Health System is a 11-hospital system and the largest non-profit health system in Georgia. A member of the Mayo Clinic Network, WellStar provides care across the greater Atlanta area. This position will complement the array of Health Psychology services at the Wellstar Kennestone Regional Medical Center (KRMC). Wellstar Kennestone is a 633-bed, Level II trauma center. The Health Psychologist will hold full Medical Staff privileges. The position will be based out of an OB/GYN office located near the medical campus of KRMC.

Wellstar’s Behavioral Medicine program is strongly integrated into the fabric of its health system, offering sub-specialty programming in Cardiovascular Behavioral Medicine, Bariatric Medicine, Metabolic Behavioral Medicine, Psychosocial Oncology, and Psycho-gastroenterology. In addition to these sub-specialty foci, our Behavioral Health services are integrated into ambulatory Primary Care and Pediatric clinics as well as the inpatient setting such as the Consultation-Liaison Psychology program via the LVAD program. Wellstar’s Behavioral Health Service Line established “Clinician Well-Being” as a foundational pillar and well-being initiatives aimed at mitigating drivers of stress and burnout are integrated into the entire system.

Wellstar Women's Health is dedicated solely to healthcare excellence for women. This service line combines advanced technologies with a compassionate patient-centered and family-oriented approach to help every patient feel right at home through all life stages.  Clinic services include puberty care and transitions, annual well-woman exams, mammography and other health screenings, sexual health and family planning, prenatal care and delivery, high-risk pregnancy care, infertility evaluation and treatment, gynecologic surgery (including minimally invasive surgery), menopause care and transitions, incontinence and prolapse, and gynecologic cancers, such as ovarian and uterine.  Supporting these services, Wellstar gynecological services also have clinics for female pelvic medicine and reconstructive surgery, maternal-fetal medicine, and reproductive endocrinology and infertility medicine.

Required Minimum Education: (1) a doctorate degree (Ph.D./Psy.D.) in clinical or counseling psychology from a program accredited by the American Psychological Association (APA), (2) completion of an APA-accredited internship in a hospital/medical setting. (3) focused training in Clinical Health Psychology with focused rotations in women’s health during internship/residency; and (4) licensure or license-eligibility in the State of Georgia. Board-certification in Clinical Health Psychology (ABCHP) is preferred but not required at the time of hire. For those individuals without board-certification, the provider should take steps to obtain board certification within 36 months of the date of hire.

Application Process: Please forward a copy of your CV and cover letter to provider recruiter, Beth Guerin, at [email protected]. Backchannel Dr. Shawn Coyne at [email protected]for additional information.