Postdoctoral Research Fellow - Behavioral Sciences Campus

The UTHealth John S. Dunn Behavioral Sciences Campus is the largest academic inpatient psychiatric hospital campus in the country, and is comprised of the Harris County Psychiatric Center (UTHealth-HCPC; 273 bed) and the Dunn Behavioral Sciences Center (BSC; 264 bed). Both neighboring psychiatric facilities are a training home for students, residents and fellows in medicine, psychiatry, social work, nursing, pharmacy and psychology. The mean length of stay for most patients is approximately 7 days on acute units, and up to 90 days in the sub-acute units. Patients served are diverse with regard to race/ethnicity, age, education, sociocultural background, and patients often present with serious mental illnesses, co-occurring conditions, suicidality, as well as intellectual and developmental disabilities, and personality disorders. The Psychology Service functions as a hospital-wide consultation service whereby electronic referrals are received from treatment teams/providers. Referral types include individual therapy, group therapy, and various types of assessments and screenings.

The Psychology Service is also actively involved with clinical research. In addition to track-specific responsibilities outlined below, each fellow will be involved in clinical research with 10% protected time for such. Additionally, fellows may assist in program development, provide supervision to psychology trainees and psychiatry residents, and/or facilitate and attend didactic presentations. The 2000-hour, 12-month postdoctoral fellowship training model is designed to prepare fellows for licensure and to function as competent professional psychologists. All training is on-site and all training opportunities are in-person Monday-Friday, 8:00am-4:30pm.

The fellowship and faculty follow a developmental training model whereby each fellow identifies their training objectives and are offered opportunities related to their goals. Initially, trainees are tasked with observing services conducted by faculty; then faculty observe fellows; and, upon demonstrating relevant developmental competence and confidence, fellows are permitted to facilitate services more independently. Typically, the initial training objective involves demonstrating mastery by the fellow in case conceptualization, brief intervention treatment planning, and administering brief interventions. This mastery is typically achieved by the first 6-12 weeks. Next, fellows are introduced to the Forensic track rotation.

General Objectives and Goals:

• Deliver brief, evidence-based individual and group psychotherapies to adult patients with diverse clinical presentations, including serious mental illness (SMI) and co-occurring disorders.
• Demonstrate advanced proficiency in psychological evaluations, including cognitive, personality, and response-style assessments to inform treatment planning and clinical decision-making.
• Apply individualized responsive practices and adapt interventions to meet the needs of various patient populations.
• Provide developmentally appropriate, tiered supervision and feedback to practicum students, predoctoral interns, and psychiatry residents, under the guidance of licensed psychologists.
• Function effectively as a consultant within multidisciplinary treatment teams by providing psychological expertise, treatment recommendations, and education to colleagues.
• Consistent with the practitioner-scholar model, engage in clinical research and curate at least one scholarly product by year-end.
• Apply APA Ethical Principles and state licensure laws, by engaging in ethical and professional behavior, accurately representing trainee status and supervisory relationships, and progressively developing autonomy and readiness for independent practice through reflective self-assessment, supervision integration, and professional growth.
• Meet the postdoctoral requirement for licensure as a psychologist in Texas.

Forensic Track Objective and Goals:

• Fellows will develop advanced proficiency in conducting post-restoration, court-ordered forensic evaluations of competency to stand trial, including clinical interviews, record review, collateral consultation, and the integration of data into clear, objective, and legally-relevant forensic reports that effectively address the psycholegal question.
• Fellows will understand competency restoration interventions tailored to individuals with serious mental illness, and demonstrate skills in addressing functional impairments that interfere with restoration.
• Fellows will demonstrate ethical and individualized responsive practice in forensic inpatient settings, integrating knowledge of relevant legal standards, managing dual agency roles, and addressing the intersection of mental illness, justice system involvement, and sociocultural factors impacting competency and restoration outcomes.

To Apply:

Application should be submitted through APPA CAS. Incomplete applications will not be considered. Please be sure to include a cover letter, updated CV, two redacted assessment report samples (forensic evaluations preferred), and three letters of recommendations.

We will send interview invitations by January 9, 2026. Interviews will begin in January. We will adhere to the APPIC Postdoctoral Selection Standards and Common Hold Date (CHD) Guidelines. Virtual and in-person interviews will be available. The fellowship start date is September 1, 2026. This is a 12-month fellowship. If fellow accepts the fellowship offer, fellow may need to be available at least 2 months before the start date in order to complete background/drug screen, on-boarding form and hospital credentialing process, most of which can be completed remotely

What we do here changes the world. UTHealth Houston is Texas’ resource for healthcare education, innovation, scientific discovery, and excellence in patient care. That’s where you come in.

Once you join us you won't want to leave. It’s because we reward our team for the excellent service they provide. Our total rewards package includes the benefits you’d expect from a top healthcare organization (benefits, insurance, etc.), plus:

• 100% paid medical premiums for our full-time employees
• Generous time off (holidays, preventative leave day, both vacation and sick time – all of which equates to around 37-38 days per year)
• The longer you stay, the more vacation you’ll accrue!
• Build your future with our awesome retirement/pension plan!

We take care of our employees! As a world-renowned institution, our employees’ wellbeing is important to us. We offer work/life services such as...

• Free financial and legal counseling
• Free mental health counseling services
• Gym membership discounts and access to wellness programs
• Other employee discounts including entertainment, car rentals, cell phones, etc.
• Resources for child and elder care
• Plus many more!

Position Summary:

A biomedical postdoc position provides an opportunity for early-career researchers to gain valuable experience, develop independent research skills, and contribute to the advancement of scientific knowledge in their field of expertise.

Position Key Accountabilities:

1. Plans and conducts experiments, analyzes data, and prepares publications describing results.
2. Assists in training and mentoring of lab personnel, including graduate students and other trainees.
3. Reads and evaluates literature.
4. Possess interpersonal skills to effectively collaborate and communicate with individuals at all levels.
5. Have strong written and oral communication skills.
6. Performs other duties as assigned.

Minimum Education:

Doctoral/Terminal Degree. PsyD or PhD in Clinical or Counseling Psychology; Applicants must be graduates from a Counseling or Clinical Psychology Ph.D. or Psy.D. APA-Accredited program and have successfully completed an APA-accredited psychology internship. Doctoral degree requirements must be completed before September 1, 2026.

Physical Requirements:

Exerts up to 20 pounds of force occasionally and/or up to 10 pounds frequently and/or a negligible amount constantly to move objects.

Security Sensitive:

This job class may contain positions that are security sensitive and thereby subject to the provisions of Texas Education Code § 51.215

Residency Requirement:

Employees must permanently reside and work in the State of Texas.

Security Sensitive:

This position is a security-sensitive position pursuant to Texas Education Code §51.215 and Texas Government Code §411.094. To the extent that a position requires the holder to research, work on, or have access to critical infrastructure as defined in Texas Business and Commerce Code §117.001(2), the ability to maintain the security or integrity of the infrastructure is a minimum qualification to be hired for and to continue to be employed in that position. Personnel in such positions, and similarly situated state contractors, will be routinely reviewed to determine whether things such as criminal history or continuous connections to the government or political apparatus of a foreign adversary might prevent the applicant, employee, or contractor from being able to maintain the security or integrity of the infrastructure. A foreign adversary is a nation listed in 15 C.F.R. §791.4.