Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center

Psychology Training Programs

Psychology Training Programs

The Psychology Training Program at the Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center (Lovell FHCC) offers Psychology Externships, Doctoral Internships, and Postdoctoral Fellowships for doctoral-level trainees. Please see below for further information about our program and each of these training experiences.

Director of Psychology Training: Suchi Daga, Ph.D. (Suchi.Daga@va.gov)

Assistant Director of Psychology Training: Ashley Simendinger, Psy.D. (Ashley.Simendinger @va.gov)

Lovell FHCC, located on a 125 acre campus in North Chicago, Illinois, is a first-of-its-kind partnership between the U. S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Defense (DoD), integrating all medical care into a federal health care facility with a single combined VA and Navy mission. On October 1, 2010, the former North Chicago VA Medical Center (VAMC) and the former Naval Health Clinic Great Lakes (NHCGL) merged their resources and services, and Lovell FHCC now cares for nearly 75,000 patients per year, including an estimated 40,000 Navy recruits who prepare for military service at Recruit Training Command at Naval Station Great Lakes. We provide a full spectrum of health care for our patients, including full medical and surgical care, a large array of medical sub-specialties (cardiology, pulmonary, neurology, etc.), a variety of mental health services (including inpatient care, outpatient individual and group therapy, and residential care for homelessness, trauma-related symptoms, and additions), Community Living Center, as well as many other programs at our campus in North Chicago, our military medical clinics on base, and our three Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs) in Evanston, Illinois, McHenry, Illinois, and Kenosha, Wisconsin.

There are several core values and principles that guide how we operate our Psychology Training Program. Our program is grounded in the development of our trainees. We are committed to providing excellent clinical supervision and professional mentorship. Our primary focus is on creating a flexible, tailored, and hands-on training experience that meets the training and professional development needs of each trainee to prepare them for their career. Because we are a combined VA and DoD site adjacent to Naval Station Great Lakes, we uniquely offer multiple rotations and opportunities to work with Naval Recruits and Active Duty Service Members (from all branches), as well as with Veterans. We believe this provides our trainees a distinctive chance to experience the full span of a military career (Recruit, Active Duty, and Veteran), which in turns facilitates better understanding of a patient’s experience and better delivery of care. Additionally, our program’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion principles also shapes our recruitment and training program, and is evident throughout all clinical work, supervision, and training experiences. At Lovell FHCC, we strive for an environment grounded in cultural humility and self-reflection. We serve a diverse population and are working to grow a staff and trainee community that reflects this diversity across all identity intersections. We know that when we bring together and honor individuals’ backgrounds and histories, we do better as people, providers, and as a community. With that in mind, we are committed to providing culturally responsive and holistic care, brave spaces for staff and trainees to explore and grow, and support for combatting systemic inequities while pursuing opportunities for inclusion and justice. We strongly welcome and encourage candidates from historically minoritized groups to apply to our site.

 

Psychology Externship

Application submission window is between January 16, 2023 - January 20, 2023, by 5 p.m. CST.

The unpaid Advanced Psychology Externship Program starts on August 1, 2023, and runs through June 28, 2024, 16 hours per week, and generally consists of clinical training, supervision, and didactics. We offer externship positions to advanced doctoral trainees in several clinics. For the 2023-2024 training year, we expect to have positions available in:

- Outpatient Mental Health Clinic (MHC; 7 positions)
- Domiciliary Care for homeless Veterans (DCHV; 1 position)
- Stress Disorders Treatment Unit (SDTU; 1 position)
- Trauma Recovery Program (TRP; 1 position)
- Neuropsychology Services (2 positions)

For more detailed information about our externship program, please click the link below to view our Psychology Externship Brochure.

2023-2024 Psychology Externship Brochure

Psychology Internship

Application Deadline: November 11, 2022

Number of Available Positions: 6 General Track; 1 Neuropsychology Track

The Doctoral Internship Program at Lovell FHCC adheres to the guidelines of the Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers (APPIC), and is fully accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of the American Psychological Association. The next site visit will occur in October 2022.

Questions related to the program’s accredited status should be directed to the Commission on Accreditation:

Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation
Education Directorate,
American Psychological Association
750 First Street NE
Washington, D.C. 20002-4242
Phone: 202-336-5979 /
E-mail: apaaccred@apa.org
https://accreditation.apa.org/
 
For more detailed information about our internship program, and for information on Internship Admissions, Support, and Initial Placement Data, please download our Psychology Internship Brochure.

Psychology Fellowship

Application Deadline: January 2, 2023

Available positions and tracks: Addiction Treatment Program (1 position)
                                                  Domiciliary Care for Homeless Veterans (1 position)
                                                  Geropsychology (1 position)
                                                  Trauma Recovery (outpatient & residential; 1 position)

Lovell FHCC will adhere to the Common Hold Date (2/27/2023) process (https://www.appic.org/Postdocs/Postdoctoral-Selection/Postdoctoral-Selection-Standards). 

Our Postdoctoral Fellowship Program is fully accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of the American Psychological Association. The next site visit will occur in 2023.

Questions related to the program’s accredited status should be directed to the Commission on Accreditation:

Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation
Education Directorate,
American Psychological Association
750 First Street NE
Washington, D.C. 20002-4242
Phone: 202-336-5979 /
E-mail: apaaccred@apa.org  
https://accreditation.apa.org/

For more detailed information about our fellowship program,and for information on Fellowship Admissions, Support and Initial Placement Data, please download our Pyschology Fellowship Brochure.

Eligibility Requirements

Per VA policy, Lovell FHCC can only offer training positions to United States citizens who are pursuing a doctoral degree in clinical or counseling psychology from an APA-accredited institution (only externs may be non-US citizens). For more information on eligibility requirements, please review these materials:

Am I Eligible? Checklist for VA HPTs
Resources for Health Professions Trainees Coming to VA | Eligibility and Forms - Office of Academic Affiliations