Psychotherapy
Psychotherapy is an integral component of training at UCLA-Olive View. Residents begin formal psychotherapy training early in the intern year and continuously build their skills throughout their four years in the program.
During PGY-1, residents learn a variety of supportive techniques appropriate for the acutely ill patient and apply these skills in the inpatient setting.
Beginning in PGY-2, residents have the unique opportunity to practice psychiatry in an outpatient clinic, allowing them to learn and practice more advanced psychotherapy techniques appropriate to the outpatient setting. PGY-2s meet weekly for psychotherapy-oriented didactics and learn the basics of psychoanalytic therapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy, and ego and self-psychology.
PGY-3 residents continue to receive direct supervision from faculty on psychotherapy cases and have opportunities to expand into treating patients in one-on-one, couples, and group settings. Formal didactics related to psychotherapy continue through the third year and cover topics such as advanced cognitive behavioral therapy and advanced therapeutics.
For PGY-4 residents, the year-long clinic at California State University Northridge in the student health center is a fantastic opportunity to gain experience in working with college-aged patients and providing psychiatric care that includes psychotherapy. This rotation includes direct access to both psychology and psychiatry staff. Fourth-year residents continue to take part in formal didactics, which cover such topics as interpersonal therapy, anxiolytic techniques, and termination issues.
In terms of dedicated psychotherapy supervision, which is critical to the development of every early psychotherapist, every single PGY-2, PGY-3, and PGY-4 resident in our program is assigned to two individual psychotherapy supervisors on our core faculty with whom they review and discuss their patient cases. In addition to this, interested residents who wish to dedicate more time to psychotherapeutic training can take advantage of other opportunities through our program’s affiliation with UCLA. Our residents have access to the Psychiatric Clinical Faculty Association, which has an extensive roster of faculty who also volunteer to help teach psychotherapy. Los Angeles is also home to multiple psychoanalytic institutes and residents who are interested in more intensive training often attend lectures and take courses offered by those organizations. There is no shortage of opportunities for residents in our training program to enrich their growth, knowledge, and skills in psychotherapy.
