Transplant Psychology

Number of positions: 2 practicum students (1 position in Liver Transplant/Living Kidney Donor & 1 position in Kidney Transplant/Multivisceral/Living Liver Donor)
Average time commitment (16-20 hrs/week). This practicum occurs at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit.
This is a 1-year placement.
Primary Supervisor: Antú Segal, PsyD, ABPP and Megan Ramthun, PsyD

Henry Ford Hospital’s Transplant Institute draws from the entire state for heart, lung, liver, kidney, pancreas, and multivisceral transplantation, as well as living donors for kidney and liver donation. Candidates for organ transplant have a wide range of psychiatric pathologies including mood, anxiety, personality, and substance use disorders. Psychiatric and substance use disorders can have serious negative impact on outcomes after transplantation. Therefore, identification of these risk factors prior to transplant with recommendation for patients to engage in empirically validated interventions to mitigate risks can significantly improve outcomes, including quality of life and survival, after transplantation.

The practicum students in transplant psychology will learn about organ transplantation and the role of an integrated clinical health psychologist in interdisciplinary transplant teams. This includes exposure to both outpatient and inpatient care. Clinical work involves exposure to complex medical patient presentations, experience in performing clinical chart reviews and pre-surgical psychological semi-structured evaluations, engagement in post-transplant clinical care, and experience in performing brief cognitive screeners. Practicum students are also encouraged to participate/observe interdisciplinary teams and additional educational opportunities such as Behavioral Health Grand Rounds on Thursday mornings. Additionally, the practicum student has the opportunity to co-lead a relapse prevention group for pre-transplant patients with substance misuse.