Rehabilitation Psychology Residency Program

From the Program Director

The Department of Clinical Neuropsychology, in conjunction with the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine and the Center for Transitional Neuro-Rehabilitation (CTN), at Barrow Neurological Institute offer a 2-year postdoctoral residency program in rehabilitation psychology that follows the Baltimore Conference Guidelines for postdoctoral fellowship training in rehabilitation psychology. Barrow Neurological Institute at St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center is an ideal training setting for rehabilitation psychologists. We have been consistently recognized for providing innovative care for people with disorders of the brain and spine and are ranked among the best hospitals in the United States for neurology and neurosurgery.

Our core faculty consists of three rehabilitation psychologists (including one ABPP board-certified rehabilitation psychologist) and 15 neuropsychologists, including seven board-certified neuropsychologists. Both inpatients and outpatients are seen in rehabilitation services. Barrow is a high-volume neurosurgical center, home to one of the nation’s busiest deep brain stimulation programs, a comprehensive epilepsy surgery center, the Muhammed Ali Parkinson Center, one of the most active brain tumor treatment centers in the U.S., and a Level I Trauma Center. In addition to a 46-bed inpatient neuro-rehabilitation center, Barrow offers comprehensive CARF-accredited rehabilitation services throughout the continuum, with recent emphasis on technology, including being a Center of Excellence for the Ekso.

There are prestigious residency programs in neurosurgery, neurology, and neuroradiology, in addition to postdoctoral training programs in clinical neuropsychology and rehabilitation psychology. U.S. News and World Report has ranked our rehabilitation center in the top 40 in the United States.

Barrow rehabilitation psychology residents are valued members of our team whose time is spent acquiring the knowledge and skills required for eventual independent practice. We offer residents a wide breadth and volume of patients with neurological disorders as well as dedicated educational seminars and research training.

The residency training program exposes residents to a wide variety of neurological and neurosurgical disorders to familiarize them with meaningful ways of assessing patients and developing and implementing practical and meaningful treatment programs or recommendations. In doing so, residents learn to convert assessment information into practical healthcare decisions for patients and to communicate with physicians in a manner that illuminates the psychological understanding of the patient.

Rehabilitation Psychology Handbook

The faculty and staff of the Rehabilitation Psychology Residency Program are committed to providing comprehensive, state-of-the-art training to our residents. We are an equal opportunity program and encourage applications from all qualified individuals regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, disability, or other minority status. We hope you will consider Barrow Neurological Institute for your professional training.

Sincerely,

Krista Hanson, PhD, ABPP-CN
Director of Clinical Training, Postdoctoral Residency Programs
Department of Clinical Neuropsychology

Rehabilitation Psychology Handbook

Get to Know Our Program

Important Application Dates

We are not recruiting a resident for the 2025-2026 academic year. We anticipate recruiting a resident for the 2026-2027 academic year.

Application Process

Applicants who are considered appropriate candidates for the Rehabilitation Psychology Postdoctoral Residency Program must have obtained a doctorate degree in clinical psychology, counseling psychology, clinical health psychology, or clinical neuropsychology from an APA or CPA-accredited program. Candidates must also have completed an APA or CPA-accredited clinical internship. Applications from individuals whose training programs are not accredited at the time of application will not be considered. As this is a postdoctoral program, applicants must have completed their doctorate by the start of fellowship. Applicants who are not U.S. citizens must have unrestricted authorization to work in the U.S. for the full two-year residency program before their application can be accepted; confirmation of citizenship/visa status must be included in all applicants’ letter of interest.

Applicants should submit a letter outlining their interests, background experiences, training goals, and the opportunities sought during fellowship. Additionally applicants should provide current curriculum vitae and unofficial transcript of all graduate work. Three letters of recommendation should also be submitted; these letters should come directly from the writers and will not be accepted from applicants. In addition, applicants should submit a statement from the training director of the doctoral program that all requirements for graduation, including dissertation, will have been completed prior to Sept. 1 and/or the start date of the residency for the following year; this attestation should be separate from the letters of recommendation.

Application materials may be sent electronically or by mail. We are not recruiting a resident for the 2025-2026 academic year.

Please note that this fellowship is separate from the Neuropsychology Postdoctoral Residency Program, which participates in the Association for Postdoctoral Programs in Clinical Neuropsychology (APPCN) match.

Application materials can be sent to:

RehabilitationPsychologyResidencyProgram@DignityHealth.org

Krista Hanson, PhD, ABPP-CN
Attention: Rehabilitation Psychology Residency
222 West Thomas Road, Suite 315
Phoenix, Arizona 85013

Important Dates

Applications due: We are not recruiting a resident for the 2025-2026 academic year although we anticipate recruiting a resident for the 2026-2027 academic year.

Rehabilitation Psychology Residency Training by Year

Year 1

The first year is spent between the Neuro-Rehabilitation Center (NRC) and the Barrow Neuro-Rehabilitation BRIDGE program. The NRC is a 46-bed acute inpatient neuro-rehabilitation unit. This center primarily serves people with stroke, traumatic brain injury, brain tumor, and related neurological disorders and spinal cord injury. The resident participates in brief assessment, intervention, psychoeducation, staff education as appropriate, and interdisciplinary team collaboration.

The BRIDGE is a comprehensive outpatient partial-day treatment program for patients with acquired or traumatic brain injury. This specialized program is targeted for patients who require more intensive services than traditional rehabilitation programming but who do not require or cannot tolerate an intensive full-day comprehensive treatment program. Patients participating in this program receive services from physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, rehabilitation psychology and neuropsychology, and social work.

Resident responsibilities during this experience include involvement in providing weekly individual rehabilitation psychological intervention, co-leading weekly group rehabilitation psychological intervention, guiding team members from other disciplines in best approaches to optimize patient engagement, and potentially providing periodic educational outreach in the community about acquired and traumatic brain injuries.

Year 2

CTN offers intensive, day-long treatment for older adolescents and adults with brain dysfunction (e.g., traumatic brain injury, cerebrovascular accident, arteriovenous malformation, epilepsy, anoxic injury, and brain tumor). The program features holistic, milieu-oriented outpatient treatment of cognitive, language, communication, physical, functional, emotional, interpersonal, spiritual, and quality of life needs.

Family involvement is also an integral component of the treatment model at CTN. Treatment occurs in an interdisciplinary team setting (e.g., physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech-language pathologists, dietitian, psychiatrist, physiatrist, social worker, and a recreational therapist). CTN focuses on independence in the home and community and on productivity when patients return to work or school.

Family members receive emotional support and learn about the patient’s strengths and limitations and how to assist the patient in functioning in the home and community. The resident is able to participate in a variety of activities, including neuropsychological assessment, cognitive retraining, individual and group psychotherapy, job placement, a therapeutic milieu, family therapy, psychoeducation and skills groups, interdisciplinary team collaboration, and research.

Center for Transitional Neuro-rehabilitation