Postdoctoral Fellowship in Clinical Psychology
For over 70 years, the Hines VA has been training the next generation of health service psychologists, striving to meet the growing and changing demands of the profession by providing the highest quality learning and training experiences in a supportive learning environment.
The mission of the Hines VA Clinical Psychology Fellowship Program is to train psychologists to meet advanced practice competencies in psychology, and function effectively as professional psychologists in a broad range of roles and settings, including health service delivery, research, and education. The program’s five areas of emphasis include:
• Primary Care Mental Health Integration
• Geropsychology & Integrated Care Psychology
• General Mental Health and Special Populations
• Integrated Rehabilitation and Health Psychology
• Trauma and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
Through training across a variety of clinical placements, fellows develop a breadth of skills across the advanced profession-wide competencies, with training goals that are tailored to the specific emphasis area and the goals of each fellow.
The Edward Hines, Jr. Veterans Affairs Hospital, in suburban Chicago, is one of the largest and most diversified medical and surgical hospitals in the Department of Veterans Affairs system and is the largest VA facility in Illinois. Hines is located 12 miles west of downtown Chicago, on a 147-acre campus. The hospital is a tertiary referral center with many specialty services, including some that serve a large U.S. regional area. Hines operates 483 hospital beds and completes more than 850,000 patient visits per year, serving more than 57,000 Veterans. The facility oversees six community-based outpatient clinics (CBOCs) located in Aurora, Hoffman Estates, Joliet, Kankakee, LaSalle, and Oak Lawn. There are over four thousand employees at Hines who dedicate their time to taking care of our nation’s heroes.
Units and Patient Programs Served by Psychology Service
The units and patient programs served by Psychology Service include:
- Addictions Treatment Program
- Blind Rehabilitation
- Community-Based Outpatient Clinics
- Community Living Center (Geriatrics)
- Emergency Department
- General Medicine and Surgery
- Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Program
- Hematology/Oncology
- Home Based Primary Care
- Infectious Disease
- Palliative Care Clinical Team
- Multidisciplinary Pain Clinic
- Behavioral Sleep Medicine
- Inpatient/Residential Rehabilitation Psychiatry
- Managing Overweight/Obesity in Veterans Everywhere (MOVE) and Bariatrics Program
- Memory Disorders Clinic
- Mental Health Clinic
- Mental Health Intake Center
- Mental Health Intensive Case Management
- Organ Transplant Evaluations
- Opioid Treatment Program
- Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
- Polytrauma Program
- Primary Care Mental Health Integration Program (Primary Care Behavioral Health)
- Reproductive Mental Health
- Women’s Health Clinic
- Psychosocial Rehabilitation and Recovery Center
- Spinal Cord Injury & Disorders
- Substance Abuse (inpatient and residential)
- Traumatic Brain Injury Clinic
- Trauma Services Program
Affiliations
Hines is institutionally affiliated with Loyola University of Chicago, Stritch School of Medicine, and also maintains affiliations with the University of Illinois-College of Medicine, Chicago, and Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. Loyola University Medical Center, which shares a campus with Hines, is one of the largest medical centers in the Chicago area, with 523 licensed beds on a 70-acre campus.
Psychology Service Staff
The staff of Psychology Service is comprised of 63 doctoral-level psychologists, and two program assistants. The broad range of expertise, background and experience represented in the staff at Hines is also reflected in the diversity of their professional assignments throughout the hospital.
Most staff members are involved in the training program as either major or secondary supervisors. Some supervisors hold faculty appointments at universities in the Chicago area and are active in funded research endeavors. Our ability to provide both broad-based generalist training in clinical core competencies and a tailored internship experience reflects our wealth of rotational placements and supervisors at Hines.
Postdoctoral Fellowship Training Program
The Postdoctoral Fellowship Training Program in Health Service Psychology at Hines VA began in 2008. Our fellowship program was first awarded full APA-Accreditation in 2012. Our next site visit will be in 2029.
We will be recruiting six fellows for the 2026-2027 training year. The Postdoctoral Fellowship Training Program in Health Service Psychology has five emphasis areas:
• Primary Care Mental Health Integration (PCMHI) – 1 Fellowship Position
• Geropsychology & Integrated Care Psychology– 1 Fellowship Position
• General Mental Health and Special Populations – 1 Fellowship Position
• Integrated Rehabilitation and Health – 1 Fellowship Position
• Trauma and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder – 1 Fellowship Position
Please refer to our online brochure for a detailed description of our Fellowship Program’s philosophy, training model, programmatic structure, and training opportunities. The 2026-2027 Fellowship year will begin August 10, 2026. The stipend is $59,539. Our application deadline is December 8, 2025.
The Psychology Service at Hines VA also maintains a two-year specialty fellowship program in Clinical Neuropsychology. This program has two staggered positions, admitting one new fellow each year. Our specialty fellowship program in Clinical Neuropsychology was awarded ten years of full APA Accreditation in April 2018. David Kinsinger, Ph.D. ABPP-CN is the training director for this program. All questions regarding the two-year specialty fellowship program in Clinical Neuropsychology should be directed to Dr. Kinsinger who can be reached at David.Kinsinger@va.gov. Information about this program can be found at the following website: https://www.va.gov/hines-health-care/work-with-us/internships-and-fellowships/postdoctoral-fellowship-in-clinical-neuropsychology/
For additional information, please feel free to contact our Psychology Training Director, Katherine Meyers, Ph.D. at katherine.meyers@va.gov.
Questions related to the Program’s accredited status should be directed to the Commission on Accreditation:
Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation
American Psychological Association
750 First Street, N.E.
Washington, DC 20002-4242
Phone:
Web: www.apa.org/ed/accreditation