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Post Doctoral Fellowship in Sport Psychology

We are excited to welcome one postdoctoral fellow to UNC Charlotte’s Counseling & Psychological Services for the 2024-2025 year!

Beginning in early August 2024, CAPS will offer one postdoctoral fellowship opportunity focused on Sport Psychology. The position is embedded in the Charlotte Athletics Department and is designed to provide psychologists with advanced training and supervised experience in preparation for licensure with specialized training in provision of services to student athletes. 

The fellowship is a full-time, twelve-month position open to applicants with a Ph.D. or Psy.D. in counseling or clinical psychology. We hope that you find the information you need within these pages. If you find that our program matches your needs and interests, we would be pleased to receive your application.

At the end of the postdoctoral fellowship experience, fellows will have all necessary hours required for licensure in the state of North Carolina. 

The purpose of our postdoctoral fellowship is to support psychologists during the transition from internship to licensure while helping them to continue honing their skills while gaining specialized experience. It is our hope and expectation that postdoctoral fellows exiting our program do so ready to practice autonomously as newly-licensed clinicians in a university counseling center, other mental health setting, and/or in a sport psychology position. While a primary goal for our postdoctoral fellow is to gain supervised clinical experience while working toward licensure, we also recognize that the postdoctoral year is an opportunity to develop more specialized skills. We have developed the fellowship with an emphasis on the provision of services to student athletes, and expect that each fellow will gain increased competence in this area. The postdoctoral training program at Counseling & Psychological Services emphasizes experiential learning supported by supervision, mentoring, and professional development.

Overview

This fellowship is designed to offer advanced training and experience in sport psychology services, including primary responsibilities in providing individual therapy, outreach, and consultation with student athletes, coaches, and athletic staff at Charlotte. The postdoc will gain specialized experience and training in team and individual sport performance. 

Individual Counseling and Psychotherapy

Each semester, a postdoctoral fellow may follow the 20-10-10 model that consists of 20 hours per week for psychotherapy, individual consultations, and initial therapeutic consultations; 10 hours of outreach and team consultation; and 10 hours of administrative work, depending on the fellow’s needs and goals. All postdoctoral fellows receive individual, direct supervision of their clinical work by a licensed psychologist for 2 hours per week. 

Initial Consultations and On-Call/Crisis Coverage

The postdoctoral fellow will provide initial consultation, which consists of a 45-60 minute interview, where client information is gathered in an interactive format and then is used to make a disposition/diagnosis when applicable.  Following the assessment, the postdoctoral fellow will make the appropriate referral/assignment of the case. The postdoctoral fellow will not participate in formal on-call shifts but may be contacted if a team or individual athlete they work with is experiencing a crisis.

Group Counseling

During the year, postdoctoral fellows may have the opportunity to facilitate or co-facilitate a group. Group options may include a psychotherapy group, a structured/theme-oriented group, or a drop-in group. Decisions about group responsibilities and assignment will be made based on the fellow’s interest and training goals, group availability, athlete need, and balance of other training requirements.

Outreach and Consultation

The postdoctoral fellow will have opportunities to participate in outreach and consultation activities depending on the fellow’s interests and University needs. The fellow will have up to 10 hours per week allotted for team based consultation activities, including but not limited to, practice/competition observation, team presentations, team meetings, and coach/staff consultations. Some topics include specific student-athletes, behaviors, mental health, sport performance, and counseling and education. The postdoctoral fellow will meet with their supervisors early in the fall semester to discuss experience, interests, and goals for outreach, didactic training, and consultations. 

Fellowship applicants must hold an earned doctorate in counseling or clinical psychology from an APA accredited program, complete an APA-accredited internship prior to the fellowship start date. Demonstration of a completed dissertation by the end of the Spring 2024 semester is also required. A successful candidate will demonstrate strong skills as a clinician, clinical experience with young adults, competency serving a diverse client population, and desire to work within a multidisciplinary team. Experience working with college athletics and athletic departments is not required.   

For full consideration, applications should be submitted by January 5, 2024. 

Applications will include:

  • A letter of interest
  • A current curriculum vitae
  • Full contact information for two professional references
  • Two letters of recommendation

Apply by electronically submitting a letter of interest, current resume, and two letters of recommendation at https://jobs.charlotte.edu/postings/53454 Only electronic submissions will be accepted.

For additional information, contact Erica Lennon, CAPS Director, at EricaLennon@charlotte.edu.

The postdoctoral fellowship is a twelve month full-time position that begins in early August. Salary will be $50,000 for the 2024-2025 year. Benefits include medical coverage, university holidays, and compensatory time off. The fellow has a private office with telephone and computer, as well as access to UNC Charlotte libraries and technologies. Some financial support and leave time for professional development is also available.