Mental Health Internships and Postdoctoral Psychology Training

Kaiser Permanente's Mental Health Training Program enrolls over one hundred social work, marriage and family therapy, and predoctoral interns and postdoctoral psychology residents in the Northern California region each year. Kaiser Permanente is a health maintenance organization and the world's largest non-government system for the delivery of health care, serving over 8.5 million members nationwide in 32 hospitals and 413 medical office buildings. Our Northern California region serves over 3.3 million members at our 22 medical centers and hospitals as well as over 80 medical office buildings. The patient population consists of Kaiser Health Plan members having prepaid mental health benefits and covering a broad ethnic, cultural, and socioeconomic spectrum. All age groups and virtually all psychiatric categories are represented.

Mission and Training Model

The mission of Kaiser Permanente Medical Centers (KPMC) is to provide integrated, efficient, high-quality, evidence-based health care while supporting innovation and continuous quality improvement. The mission of the Northern California Mental Health Training Program is to provide interns and residents with advanced training within this highly integrated, multidisciplinary healthcare system, in order to prepare them for dynamic roles as mental health practitioners in the healthcare system of the future. Interns and residents train in collaboration with, and with guidance from, psychologists and physicians.

The mental health training program subscribes to the Practitioner-Scholar model of training. This model emphasizes the development of professional skills among practitioners who utilize the field's scientific knowledge (Evidence-Based Treatment) in their professional practice. The program is committed to training mental health professionals who are life-long learners dedicated to engaging in continuous education, scientific inquiry, and scholarly endeavors.