Posted by The Doctoral Residency in Clinical Psychology at the IWK Health Centre provides training for doctoral students in the areas of pediatric health and child/adolescent clinical psychology. Over the course of a year, residents receive extensive training and supervised experience in psychological assessment and intervention for a variety of patient populations and clinical needs in a pediatric setting.
Jenna Thomas recently relocated to Halifax from the University of Calgary to complete this final training requirement for her PhD degree.
“I’m passionate about working with children and their families to improve quality of life and to help them reach their fullest potential,” says Thomas. “I was drawn to the IWK because of its reputation for providing excellent supervision and opportunities to work with children and adolescents with a broad range of health conditions. So far, I have been able to work with families in a number of different settings ranging from outpatient clinic appointments, to inpatient admissions and day surgery.”
Originally from Halifax, Stephanie Ryan has been pursuing her PhD at York University in Toronto. She returned home to complete her Doctoral Residency in part because of the IWK’s family-centered approach to care.
“I’m currently working at The Garron Centre for Child & Adolescent Mental Health,” says Ryan. “The multidisciplinary inpatient care team provides support to youth experiencing a mental health crisis or longer-term mental health and addictions difficulties. I’m also working with the Preschool Autism Team who provides diagnostic assessments to children ages three to six years.”
Kristen Bailey works at Adolescent Intensive Services providing individual therapy, co-facilitating group therapy and contributing as an interdisciplinary team member for youth experiencing mental health and substance use difficulties in both a day treatment and inpatient setting. She also works with the Complex Pain Team to provide interdisciplinary assessment and care on an outpatient basis to children and adolescents experiencing chronic pain.
“It is extremely rewarding to be working with youth and their families to help youth identify and build the skills they need to grow into successful and healthy adults,” says Bailey. “After I complete my residency I am hoping to work at the IWK and explore opportunities to be involved in care for youth who are transitioning from the IWK into the adult health care system.”