Clinical Pain Psychology Fellowship
Application Information
All applicants must have completed
- APA-or CPA-accredited graduate programs in clinical or counseling psychology;
- APA-or CPA-accredited internship; and
- all requirements for their PhD or PsyD prior to the beginning of their appointment.
Application Deadline
Application Portal opens on October 4, 2023.
Applications are due by December 5, 2023.
All application information should be submitted using the APPIC online system.
Minority candidates are strongly encouraged to apply. The fellowship is accredited by the APA Commission on Accreditation, 750 First St. NE, Washington, DC 20002-4242, (202) 336-5979. Email: apaacred@apa.org
Fellowship Start Date
The postdoctoral fellowship year is anticipated to be 9/3/2024 - 2025
Application Information
Additional inquiries about the program may be directed to Heather King.
To Learn more about the Stanford T32 visit our Postdoctoral Fellowships page or contact Beth Darnall, PhD for pain psychology research inquiries.
Program Overview
The Stanford University Division of Pain Management is presently inviting applications for its 2023-2024 Pain Psychology Postdoctoral Clinical and Research Fellowship Program.
Our program is unique in that it offers three fellowship tracks:
- Clinical fellowship, 100% clinical, one year, APA-accredited.
- Dual-track clinical and research fellowship (50% clinical/ 50% research: 2 years), APA accredited.
- Dual-track clinical and research fellowship (80% research/ 20% clinical: multi-year), typically supported by NIH T32 funding.
Applicants may choose to apply for a clinical or dual-track clinical and research fellowship.
Fellows receive 2 hours of individual face-to-face supervision each week (1 hour with each supervisor). Total supervision meets or exceeds the hours required for California State licensure. Our team is dedicated to your experience throughout your career from fellowship to employment. Our highly connected faculty are focused on your success and strive to ensure you are provided access to multiple job opportunities!
One-Year Clinical Fellowship
The one-year, APA-accredited clinical pain psychology fellowship involves training at the Stanford Interdisciplinary Pain Management Clinic alongside a multidisciplinary team of providers including physicians, physical and occupational therapists, psychologists, and nurses. Fellows are provided medical, psychiatric, physical therapy, and behavioral didactic experiences consistent with the gold standard biopsychosocial model of care. Fellows will develop and hone expertise in the treatment and assessment of adult chronic pain conditions, all within a comprehensive, interdisciplinary, and collaborative training environment.
Our team-based approach specializes in compassionate and novel services including: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Mindfulness, Hypnosis, Emotion Focused Therapy (EFT), Pain Reprocessing Therapy and Biofeedback delivered in individual and group based settings.
Two-or Three-Year Dual-Track Clinical and Research Fellowships
The combined clinical/research fellowship track offers two options: a 2-year APA accredited (50% research/ 50% clinical) fellowship, or a 3-year (80% research/20% clinical) fellowship.
Research funding for the combined track is available through the Stanford Division of Pain Medicine’s NIH funded T32 training program in Pain and/or Substance Use Disorders. The NIDA T32 is intended to develop postdoctoral trainees’ skills to become independent investigators in the fields of acute and chronic pain, substance abuse disorders, and their intersection. The dual training program (1-3 years) fits alongside clinical training and incorporates required and elective coursework, mentored research experiences, an individual integrated research project, seminars, and exposure to professional development skills, including grant proposal and manuscript writing.
The aim of this program is to develop the next generation of leaders in pain medicine by offering training opportunities for advancing into independent academic careers with grant funding. For example, we have 8 active NIH K-awardees, most of whom were former T32 fellows. T32 fellows may participate in a breadth of NIH, FDA and PCORI-funded clinical trials that focus on characterizing pain mechanisms, novel pain treatments, pain neuroimaging, randomized controlled trials (RCTs) involving patient-centered opioid reduction, RCTs involving online psychological treatments for chronic pain; and digital interventions for surgical pain, chronic pain, and opioid misuse. See below for the list of available research projects.
Meet our Clinical and Research Team
Clinical Experience & Curriculum
In addition to clinical responsibilities, fellows are expected to attend weekly didactic lectures, teaching rounds, monthly journal club meetings, grand rounds, and mortality and morbidity conferences. We also encourage our fellows to register and attend relevant conferences/seminars.
Stipend & Benefits
Stanford University offers fellows exceptional salary and benefits, as outlined below.
- Stipends are approximately $71,650 + generous benefits. Benefits include vacation days, sick leave, statutory holidays, as well as a generous health plan.
- $2,000 educational funds
- Paid Leave includes the following:
- 15 days vacation/personal time off
- 12 days sick leave
- 5 days conference attendance
- 6 weeks pregnancy leave
- 1 week paternity leave
- University holidays
Life After Fellowship
Our program focuses on training future leaders in the field of pain psychology. Thus far, our program graduates have been able to successfully complete state licensure requirements and secured competitive positions.