Training Opportunities
Clinical Training
The Aging Center is a university affiliated nonprofit mental health services facility administered by the University of Colorado Colorado Springs (UCCS). It is currently one of the few psychology training clinics that addresses practicum and predoctoral internship training requirements in geropsychology. Clinical training is intensive and comprehensive, and experience is gained in all core service centers and in community integrated care settings. Advanced proficiency is achieved in integrated health care services, neuropsychological assessment, and psychotherapy skills.
When funding is available, the Aging Center offers a postdoctoral fellowship in clinical psychology with a specialty in geropsychology. Applications should be submitted through APPA CAS. Unique experience is gained in integrated healthcare, caregiver and family services, and optionally, neuropsychological theory and assessment. Background checks are required for all students providing services at the Aging Center.
Memory and Cognitive Assessment
The UCCS Memory Clinic offers thorough screening for individuals interested in obtaining a baseline of their cognitive functioning. A short, standard battery of tests is administered in 45-60 minutes and followed up with a summary report that is reviewed with a licensed psychologist and student clinician. The 15- to 30-minute review session allows for questions to be addressed and lifestyle factors that can impact cognitive health to be discussed in a supportive format.
Comprehensive neuropsychological evaluations are conducted to help determine the etiology and functional implications of cognitive disturbances. Each evaluation requires approximately 6-10 hours of interviewing, testing, scoring, interpretation, and report writing time. In addition, feedback sessions are offered to individuals and families. Clinical findings are translated into practical language to aid mental health and medical professionals and family caregivers in making decisions about treatment and care. Referrals originate from a variety of sources including physicians, nursing homes, Silver Key Senior Services, Pikes Peak Area Agency on Aging, attorneys, probate court, and Adult Protective Services. The evaluations help identify difficulties in independent functioning that compromise safety and well-being, support behavioral health workers in treatment planning, and assist the courts in determining decision-making capacity.
Aging Family and Caregiver Services Program
This collaborative program with the Area Agency on Aging focuses on assessing and treating the factors contributing to distressed caregiver families and assists with referrals for other supportive services within the community. Primary services, all available at no cost to clients, include comprehensive caregiver assessments and up to eight problem-solving-oriented psychotherapy sessions to help implement caregiver treatment plans. In addition, the program offers consultation and resource information for the caregiver(s) and a psychoeducational support group. Educational seminars and community presentations to increase public awareness are also offered through this service.
Psychotherapy Services
Aging Center staff psychologists and student clinicians offer individual, couples/marital, family, and group psychotherapy for older adults experiencing psychological disorders including depression and anxiety, adjustment to illness and loss or other life stress, and family conflicts. Supervision is conducted weekly, usually in individual meetings with the student or in small groups. Supervisors support a wide variety of psychotherapeutic approaches including psychodynamic therapy, behavioral therapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy, interpersonal therapy, and family systems therapy. The Aging Center uses the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) and the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V) to classify and diagnose psychological problems.
Clinicians in the Community
A comprehensive range of programs links clinicians at the Aging Center agencies serving older adults whose shared goal is to improve the quality of care and quality of life for older adults through coordinated services.
Peak View Behavioral Health
In July 2020 the Aging Center initiated a partnership with Peak View Behavioral Health and its integrated behavioral health program. In this newest practicum placement site, the program affords graduate student clinicians the opportunity to be part of a multidisciplinary team providing primarily in-patient mental health services. With their specialty in Geropsychology, the experience also affords them opportunities to be educators to the medical and behavioral staff/team. Peak View Behavioral Health provides inpatient and outpatient services for behavioral healthcare, serving individuals of all ages, including older adults. It treats a variety of mental health conditions and this new partnership fits well with the Aging Center’s mission to support the community and provide excellent services.
Pikes Peak Elder Justice Center (PPEJC)
In July 2022 the Aging Center began a partnership with the Pikes Peak Elder Justice Center (PPEJC) whose mission is a community response working toward preventing and eliminating elder abuse in the Pikes Peak region and beyond, through identifying victims of mistreatment, and creating safe shelter for them. PPEJC collaborates with a wide range of agencies in the community to assist in coordination of care and continuity of services. PPEJC’s multi-pronged work combines elder shelter, behavioral health, fiduciary education and the Elder Abuse Forensic Multidisciplinary team model to foster a community in which people in later life can live in safety, dignity and with respect. Through a collaboration with the University of Colorado Colorado Springs’ (UCCS) Psychology Department and the Aging Center, the PPEJC provides training for Master’s and PhD students who are supervised by a licensed psychologist.
Psychology Department Research
Several UCCS professors of psychology conduct research on mental health, cognitive functioning, and aging through the Aging and Gerontology Centers. Research conducted by these professors has been presented at national conferences and published in professional journals. The general goal of this research is to expand our knowledge of cognitive functioning and mental health among older adults, and how older adults can maintain their well-being.
Below are UCCS faculty who conduct research through the Aging Center: