Department of
Behavioral Medicine and Psychiatry

Rotations

The fellowship is organized around clinical time spent as part of WVU Medicine’s Medical and Surgical Weight-Loss Program, as well as Minor Rotations (1/2 to 1 day per week for 12 months). The plan of training can be individualized to meet the fellow’s training goals and interests.

Bariatric Clinic

Supervisors: Stephanie Cox, PhD, ABPP, Laura Aylward, PhD

Location: Chestnut Ridge Center/ Department of Surgery

WVU Bariatrics offers a comprehensive medical and surgical weight loss program including bariatric- trained surgeons, mid-level providers, dieticians, and psychologists. The fellow has the opportunity to work as part of these multidisciplinary teams in both assessment and intervention capacities. Fellows receive training in pre-surgical psychological evaluations to determine a patient’s appropriateness for surgery. Additionally, fellows can provide treatment to patients both pre and post surgically. Concerns commonly addressed include engagement in behavioral changes, treatment of disordered eating behavior, stabilization of psychiatric symptoms, etc. The fellow also has the opportunity to attend team case review meetings and observe surgical procedures. The fellow will also have the opportunity to lead and/or co-lead a monthly support group for pre- and postoperative patients.

Chronic Pain (optional depending on availability)

Supervisor: Colleen Lillard, PhD, Angelo Giolzetti, PsyD, ABPP

Location: Chestnut Ridge Center

Chronic pain is often an associated comorbidity of obesity. For this reason, the fellow may wish to increase expertise in chronic pain. The goal of the rotation is to increase fellow’s knowledge of various chronic pain disorders often encountered in behavioral medicine settings including low back pain/ disk disease, radicular pain, neuropathic pain syndrome, fibromyalgia, and pain associated with malignancy, etc. Assessment is a primary focus of this rotation including evaluations to determine risk for opioid abuse/ misuse and pre-surgical psychological evaluations. The fellow may also participate in an intensive treatment program for Opioid Use Disorders (COAT Program- Compressive Opioid Addiction Treatment). Opportunities to work across disciplines with various medical sub-specialties and to work within an interdisciplinary pain center also exist.

Supervision: Fellows will meet with each of their supervisors for a total of 2 or more hours per week of individual supervision. Additionally, fellows receive informal supervision in the course of observing therapy or conducting co-therapy with the supervisor, staffing after intake evaluations, and in multidisciplinary meetings.

Major Rotation Components:

Individual Therapy: Fellows will gain experience in individual psychotherapy throughout the year with an emphasis on treatment of disordered eating, weight loss interventions, and health behavior change. Depending on the fellow’s previous individual therapy experience, the fellow frequently begins observing and modeling a supervisor providing therapy, advances to doing co-therapy with the supervisor and then begins seeing patients independently with supervision.  A strong emphasis is placed on conducting empirically supported treatments from a cognitive-behavioral perspective, both brief and more long-term interventions.

Evaluation/Assessment: Assessment is a focus of the fellowship year as the fellow provides comprehensive psychosocial evaluations to patients prior to bariatric surgery. . As the fellow progresses, the fellow will shift to performing evaluations independently with supervision.

Group Therapy: Fellows participate in group therapy experiences including Binge Eating/ Emotional Eating Therapy Group and Support Group for our Bariatric Surgery program.

Supervision/ Mentorship: Our program follows a junior-college model with strong focus on training. Fellows receive in depth mentorship and supervision. We work closely with our fellows and trainees receive supervision in the course of observing therapy or conducting co-therapy with the supervisor, staffing after intake evaluations, and in multidisciplinary meetings. Additionally, mentorship goes far beyond supervision. We provide the fellow with professional development, guidance, and support throughout their training year and beyond.

Minor Rotation Experiences

Fellows may select a combination of Minor Rotations, adding up to 1/2 days per week total. Opportunities include a variety of settings and treatment modalities, inpatient and outpatient, and medical and psychiatric settings. The minor rotations are designed to complement clinical experiences so as to ensure an in-depth experience. Minor rotations are individualized, with the specific composition of the experiences determined based on the interests and training needs of the individual fellow. Efforts will be made to honor the fellow's preferences, but cannot be guaranteed. Experiences may be brief observational (such a 1-time observation) or last for up to 3 months. The minor rotation plan may be modified as the training year progresses.

At the beginning of the training year, fellows will discuss their preferences with the training director. The rotations will be chosen based on these interests, the training needs as determined by the training director in conjunction with the fellow, and the overall schedule. Modifications to the minor rotation plan may occur through the training year. Additional opportunities not listed may also be available.

Available experiences are listed below (depending on availability):

  • Cardiology
  • Pulmonology
  • Diabetes Clinic
  • OB/GYN
  • Endocrinology
  • Bariatric Surgery OR
  • Cancer Center
  • Psychiatry Consultation and Liaison
  • Family Medicine Inpatient Rounds
  • Primary Care
  • Neuropsychology