The Department of Pediatric Psychology at CHOC provides comprehensive psychological treatment and assessment services to children and their families. Our team of psychologists attends to the emotional, cognitive, and developmental needs of medically fragile children. Consultation is provided to all inpatient medical services hospital-wide. Psychological and neuropsychological assessment and psychological support and/or therapy occur within inpatient and outpatient settings. The Psychology training program (practicum, internship and postdoctoral fellowship) is well integrated within the hospital and is administered in collaboration with other professional training programs in pediatrics, child psychiatry, nursing, social services and rehabilitation within the hospital. Interns have the opportunity to be involved in a full range of departmental activities. Examples of specific departmental activities are listed below.
Specific Department Activities
Evaluation and treatment of psychological factors associated with medical illness; including adjustment issues, adherence to prescribed regimens, parent-child issues, and staff-patient-family dynamics.
Neuropsychological assessment
Consultation and liaison with physicians, nurses, and other health care professionals
On-call services, including assessment of patients at high risk for dangerous behavior
Consultation on an emergent basis to the CHOC emergency department, all medical inpatient units, and CHOC medical outpatient clinics
Individual, family, and group psychotherapy
Child psychiatry services
School re-entry services, including participation in IEPs as appropriate
Participation in medical services’ rounds and psychosocial rounds
Provision of educational seminars to residents and medical staff members (interns work with residents on interviewing skills during 1 rotation)
Pain management evaluations and treatment services
Neuropsychological assessments and psychotherapy conducted in Spanish for children and families (for interns who are Spanish speaking)
Infant development and developmental disabilities evaluation, consultation and treatment
Pre Doctoral Internship Program The Psychology internship is well integrated within the hospital and is administered in collaboration with other professional training programs in pediatrics, child psychiatry, nursing, and rehabilitation within the hospital. Interns have the opportunity to be involved in a full range of departmental activities.
Post Doctoral Fellowship Program The postdoctoral fellowship at CHOC offers advanced training in the area of child and/or pediatric psychology. The goal of the training program is to allow fellows to further their professional development so that they can function independently as a psychologist across a wide variety of settings.
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Children's Hospital of Orange County | 
University of California, Irvine