Clinical Training

TTPAS Fellows are required to observe and participate in clinically related activities once per week during the first semester of their second year in the program at one of following locations.

(1) The Alcohol and Drug Treatment Programs (ADTP) at the Jamaica Plain and Causeway Street campuses of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Boston Healthcare System. The ADTP specialize in treating veterans who identify alcohol and/or other psychoactive substance use disorder(s) as their primary problem, and with co-occurring psychiatric disorders and psychosocial problems. The primary goal of the Outpatient Clinic is to deliver empirically validated treatment that is individualized and tailored to patient needs and goals. The fellows will be expected to assist in the conduct of psychodiagnostic evaluations, including the use of self-report outcome measures, participate in interdisciplinary team meetings, and engage in case management activities. Students will have exposure to one or more of the following treatment and service options: Consultation, Diagnostic Assessment, Early Sobriety Group, Group Psychotherapy, Individual Therapy, and Psychopharmacology Management.

(2) The Clinical Studies Unit at BUSM’s Division of Psychiatry is focused on the addictions, with staff consisting of psychiatrists, psychologists, nurses, a pharmacologist, and full-time researchers. The program’s activities include the development of medications to treat alcohol and drug dependence, and clinical medication trials in alcohol, cocaine, and opioid dependence.

(3) fellows may also fulfill their clinical requirement with CARE Unit at the Boston Medical Center. CARE Unit staff will provide fellows with experiential exposure to patients in treatment and outreach settings so that they understand that alcohol and drug addictions are chronic, relapsing conditions that are treatable with effective medical and behavioral treatments and addressable with risk reduction strategies, such as syringe access and overdose prevention. Clinical observation experiences include a publically-funded methadone maintenance program, a primary care-based buprenorphine and naltrexone clinic, an HIV clinic-based multi-disciplinary addiction treatment program, a syringe access and harm reduction program, and an inpatient program that provides facilitated access to outpatient methadone and buprenorphine treatment. Monthly conferences include the CARE Case Conference that includes an in depth case presentation and interactive discussion and the CARE Journal Club which is a monthly discussion of a clinically oriented addiction research article.

(4) The Center for Addictions Research and Services in SSW will provide TTPAS fellows the opportunity to gain exposure to community based residential and outpatient addiction treatment programs. Specifically, these programs focus on providing a range of integrated empirically validated behavioral and pharmacological addiction and mental treatments. The programs specialize in serving highly vulnerable populations including Latino and African American drug users, homeless, those with co-occurring mental health disorders, many HIV positive or at risk of HIV and those re-entering the community from correctional institutions. fellows will interact with program staff, conduct base-line and follow-up assessments, participate in research-treatment staff meetings, observe and participate in community based outreach and referrals. fellows will have the opportunity to work directly with social workers and outreach workers who are serving these client populations in the community based clinics.