Job Details

Study Therapist

Psych-Core-Rsch

Part Time

85490BR

Job Summary

The Study Therapist position is within the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of California San Francisco. The incumbent will work with an eating behaviors clinical-research group on a clinical research grant that involves an entirely digital clinical intervention for adults with binge eating. The incumbent should be a doctoral level psychologist, or MA-level counselor, who is licensed in CA. The majority of the work will be conducted remotely. They will conduct a brief, 8-week motivational interviewing and mindfulness-based digital intervention with up to 30 research participants and provide written reports of clinical progress. The incumbent will provide individual therapy, and may also provide optional group therapy/support groups to research participants, all through telehealth. They may also supervise clinical psychology pre- and post-doctoral fellows. Study therapists will receive up to 5 weeks of training on the intervention protocol.

The incumbent will work closely with research and clinical staff at UCSF. Specific tasks include:

• Providing individual and group psychotherapy via telehealth to up to 30 participants.
• Providing clinical supervision to pre-doctoral and post-doctoral trainees
• Providing clinical summary notes of patient progress.
• Providing written summaries of patient assessments, program fidelity evaluations and contributing to project reports.
• Attending weekly peer supervision groups

The final salary and offer components are subject to additional approvals based on UC policy.

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Department Description

The Research Study:
One of the largest problems underlying obesity is overeating drive, which includes both eating for psychological relief (emotional eating) and compulsive eating (due to cravings). Such eating patterns independently lead to metabolic dysfunction. Further, adults with high overeating drive are more likely to drop out of behavioral weight loss programs and tend to regain weight faster. Overeating drive is a crucial yet understudied behavioral target for the improvement of metabolic health. Previous work suggests that programs specifically targeting overeating drive may 9improve metabolic health and weight-loss maintenance. We developed a novel intervention (Mindful Motivation) to target overeating drive, which synthesizes individual components of mindful eating and motivational interviewing. This intervention has already been pilot-tested in a Phase 1 pilot study for the Mindful Eating program. We recently conducted interview groups with pilot study participants, adults in the community, and UCSF students with overweight and high overeating drive. The feedback on the intervention was generally favorable across both interview groups. We have used the feedback gathered from the interviews to further refine intervention components to amplify their effect on reducing overeating drive.

We will conduct an RCT comparing a healthy eating intervention that combines mindful eating with motivational interviewing to target overeating drive (Healthy Eating + Headspace) to an active control condition (Headspace). This RCT will be conducted with adults in the community with overweight and high overeating drive. The program is adapted from several sources, including motivational interviewing for binge eating, weight management, motivational interviewing for reducing sugar-sweetened beverage intake, and mindfulness-based eating awareness training. The program comprises an initial one-on-one counseling session, three booster calls during the 8-week intervention period, engagement with an online mindful eating program with instruction on mindful eating practices, access to a general mindfulness program (Headspace), and an optional 6-month follow-up with a counselor. For study 2, in addition to the procedures described above, participants will be fitted with a continuous glucose monitoring device for 10 days following baseline and follow-up assessments to characterize patterns of glucose levels.
We aim to enroll a total of 60 participants will be UCSF students (30 in the intervention condition, 30 in the active control condition)

Department Name: Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Department Description: The Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of California, San Francisco is dedicated to building strong, research-focused clinical programs across the department. In support of this goal, the department is committed to recruiting exceptional staff with strong potential for conducting clinical and translational research relevant to neuropsychiatric disease, broadly defined, including but not limited to developmental, psychological and behavioral sciences, including intervention and prevention sciences, health services, and incorporating social, environmental, or genetic influences.

Required Qualifications

• Master's degree in related area, and minimum five years of experience or equivalent training/experience
• Advanced skill providing individual, group and family cognitive behavioral therapy
• In-depth knowledge of applicable laws and ethical standards associated with profession
• Advanced knowledge of diagnostic and therapeutic approaches
• Advanced verbal and written communication. Demonstrated active listening, persuasion and counseling skills
• Advanced skills in collaborating with heath care providers in a multi-disciplinary setting
• Advanced skill providing individual and group motivational interviewing
• Attention to detail; strong interpersonal skills; excellent, effective verbal and written communication skills to coordinate with subjects, team members, other departments and outside institutions; and the ability to multi-task in a fast-paced environment while working with a diverse subject population
• Ability to work well independently, complete projects in a timely manner, and prioritize multiple projects to ensure the completion of essential tasks by deadlines
• Experience in human subject research in an academic and/or medical setting
• Proficiency with Zoom, DocuSign, and Box.com platforms
• Proficiency with Microsoft Suite Software, including Word, PowerPoint, and Excel

Preferred Qualifications

• Doctoral degree in related area
• Motivational interviewing/MITI coding
• MBSR - Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Training
• Proficient with Qualtrics and REDCap
• Demonstrated interest in mental health, eating behavior research, or mindfulness research
• Knowledge of business software, specialized applications and EHR systems used in behavioral health clinics / clinical departments
• Advanced skill providing mindfulness-based therapy
• Experience conducting clinical interviews, such as the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-5 Disorders, and suicide risk assessments

License/Certification

• Licensed in behavioral health discipline in CA

About UCSF

The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) is a leading university dedicated to promoting health worldwide through advanced biomedical research, graduate-level education in the life sciences and health professions, and excellence in patient care. It is the only campus in the 10-campus UC system dedicated exclusively to the health sciences. We bring together the world's leading experts in nearly every area of health. We are home to five Nobel laureates who have advanced the understanding of cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, aging and stem cells.

Pride Values

UCSF is a diverse community made of people with many skills and talents. We seek candidates whose work experience or community service has prepared them to contribute to our commitment to professionalism, respect, integrity, diversity and excellence - also known as our PRIDE values.

In addition to our PRIDE values, UCSF is committed to equity - both in how we deliver care as well as our workforce. We are committed to building a broadly diverse community, nurturing a culture that is welcoming and supportive, and engaging diverse ideas for the provision of culturally competent education, discovery, and patient care. Additional information about UCSF is available at diversity.ucsf.edu

Join us to find a rewarding career contributing to improving healthcare worldwide.

Equal Employment Opportunity

The University of California is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, protected veteran status, or other protected status under state or federal law.

Organization

Campus

Job Code and Payroll Title

004464 BEH HEALTH PSYCHIATRIC PROFL 4 HX

Job Category

Allied Health, Research and Scientific, Social Work and Psychology

Bargaining Unit

University Professional and Technical Employees - Health Care Professionals Unit (UPTE-HX)

Employee Class

Limited Appt

Percentage

20%

Location

San Francisco, CA

Campus

Various Work Sites

Work Style

Fully Remote

Shift

Days, Variable

Shift Length

Variable

Additional Shift Details

Fully remote