Postdoctoral Fellow

Postdoc @University of Texas at Austin posted 4 weeks ago

Job Description

General Notes

The Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences is seeking a Postdoctoral Fellow. This position is a one year assignment (one year from start date), renewable based upon availability of funding, work performance, and progress toward goals.

For applicants with a PhD in clinical or counseling psychology, there is an opportunity to deliver cognitive processing therapy, a manualized, evidence-based trauma-focused psychotherapy for PTSD, within a research study to earn clinical hours towards licensure while collaborating with an interdisciplinary team of psychologists, psychiatrists, graduate students, research assistants, and social workers. Other opportunities for earning clinical hours towards licensure also available through other venues in the Department. Additionally, the position requires analyzing data and contributing to manuscript writing to advance scientific understanding in the field and to advance the candidate’s career development.

Purpose

The Postdoctoral Fellow supports an NIH-funded R01 study and other clinical research by assisting with data collection, potentially delivery of evidence-based psychotherapy (for candidates with a PhD in clinical or counseling psychology), analysis of clinical outcome and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data, and the recruitment of research participants for the Fonzo Lab. This position is tied to an R01 project examining the effects of trauma-focused psychotherapy (cognitive processing therapy) on reward circuit function (assessed through functional magnetic resonance imaging; fMRI) and information encoding (assessed through computational models of reward-processing task behavior) under conditions of both safety and threat in adults with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The overall goal of the project is to understand, across levels of brain and behavior/symptoms, how evidence-based treatment for PTSD leads to an improvement in trauma-related symptoms of diminished positive affect (e.g., anhedonia, diminished interest).

Responsibilities

Assist with data collection and recruitment of research participants.
Assist with delivery of cognitive processing therapy to research participants in the context of a clinical research study.
Analyze data and write manuscripts.
Interface with other members of an interdisciplinary team, including psychologists, psychiatrists, graduate students, research assistants, and social workers.
Other related duties assigned.

Required Qualifications

Applicants should have completed (or be close to completing) a Ph.D. in relevant sciences within the last 3 years in clinical or counseling psychology, experimental psychology, cognitive psychology, cognitive neuroscience, or a related field. Prior experience with or a strong interest in working with trauma-exposed individuals. Strong work ethic. Ability to work well within a multidisciplinary team of individuals. Excellent written and oral communication skills. Good knowledge of basic statistics.

Preferred Qualifications

Although a Ph.D. clinical or counseling psychologist is preferred, individuals with a Ph.D. in experimental psychology, cognitive psychology, cognitive neuroscience, or a related field are also eligible for consideration. Experience with fMRI acquisition and/or analysis, coding/scripting, and more advanced statistical analyses is preferred, but not required (on-job-training will be provided). Experience working with clinical populations, particularly those with mood, anxiety, and/or posttraumatic stress disorders, is a major plus. Experience with structured clinical assessments and delivery of cognitive processing therapy or other forms of trauma-focused psychotherapy (for clinicians) is also a major plus.