Advanced Clinical Mindfulness Fellowship (ACMF)

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

 

Since this is a half-time fellowship, could I work at another institution for the other half of my time?

No, currently the fellowship option exists as part of a full-time position at Cambridge Health Alliance (CHA). If you are a psychologist, you would split a full-time position between the Advanced Clinical Mindfulness Fellowship (ACMF) and a half-time fellowship in integrated primary care at CHA. If you are a social work trainee, you would split a full-time position between the ACMF and the Outpatient Addictions Service at CHA. If you are a psychiatry trainee at CHA, you would split a full-time position between the ACMF and work in some capacity in the larger psychiatry department at CHA.

 

I will be a psychology postdoc, but my dissertation won’t be finished yet when I start the fellowship.  Can I still apply for the fellowship?

Unfortunately, one requirement of the fellowship for psychology postdoctoral students is that the dissertation is finished before starting the fellowship year.  If the dissertation will not be completed by the start of the fellowship year, this would exclude you from being considered during the application process, as applicants with already completed dissertations will be prioritized by the department.   

 

Are there opportunities for nurse practitioners, licensed mental health counselors, or other allied mental health professionals to participate in the ACMF?

Currently, the fellowship exists only as a postdoctoral position for psychology, social work and psychiatry trainees.  However, we are interested in expanding the half-time fellowship option to other trainees at some point in the future. This is not yet a reality for the 2021-2022 fellowship year, though this might change.  Please check our website for updates.

 

I am not a trainee, but I am interested in the fellowship. Can I apply?

This fellowship may be a consideration for current CHA staff who might want to work at CHA half-time and do the fellowship half-time. However, the salary for the half-time fellowship would be at the trainee rate. Additional details would need to be negotiated. Please contact us if you are interested so that we can discuss further. 

 

Are there any required dates for me to be aware of during the fellowship year?

Yes, there are several critical dates, including multiple weekend commitments. The fellowship involves several required trainings (Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) and Mindfulness Training for Primary Care (MTPC)), which are offered through CMC and usually occur as multi-day trainings that include up to 3 weekends clustered in roughly September-December, depending on the year.  These usually are planned several months in advance, so please check the CMC website for specific dates, as they are in flux. 

There are also two required retreats as part of the Institute for Meditation and Psychotherapy (IMP) Certificate Program, typically in the fall and spring (last year they were in September and March), roughly 6 days and 4 days, respectively, including weekends.  The dates of these retreats are announced through the IMP website.

 

I already completed MBCT teacher training elsewhere.  Do I have to do it again?

As long as you have completed a full teacher training (typically ~40 hours) as part of an accredited MBCT training pathway and have documentation from that training pathway, then you would not need to take the training again. 

 

What specific mindfulness skills will fellows gain from this program?

By the end of the fellowship year, fellows will receive training in evidence-based mindfulness interventions and gain experience in applying these interventions directly to patient care.  Fellows would receive training in Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) and Mindfulness Training for Primary Care (MTPC), which follow the Mindfulness-Based Program pedagogy. MTPC also has some components from Mindful Self-Compassion.  

Fellows will gain experience in recruiting patients for groups, selecting which patients are appropriate, working with group dynamics, and leading mindfulness practices with different kinds of patients.  Fellows will also gain in-depth knowledge of the interface between meditation and psychotherapy, learn about the history of mindfulness and its origins, and understand specific clinical applications beyond just group-based treatment models through the Institute for Meditation and Psychotherapy certificate course.

If granted permission by respective fellowship training directors, and participation does not interfere with meeting minimum patient care requirements, fellows may also potentially be able to be a participate in other programs at CMC, such as Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) or Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC) courses, as well as most other courses at CMC during the fellowship year and attend trainings free of charge as event volunteers helping with setup, check-in and closing up.

 

How many supervisors would I have in the ACMF, and how do I get matched with supervisors?  Can I request a supervisor in advance?

Typically, you would have two primary supervisors as part of the ACMF.  One supervisor would be based within CHA, and advise on clinical care as it relates to mindfulness, address practical issues such as triaging patient needs and working with insurance, applying mindfulness to the clinical population at CHA, and support you in your learning and development as a mindfulness-based clinician. The other supervisor would be a mindfulness expert affiliated with CHA, with significant experience working outside of CHA clinically in mindfulness-based modalities, who could provide additional perspective on psychotherapy, different kinds of mindfulness-based work, and perspective on adapting mindfulness-based tools for different populations. 

Within the ACMF, fellows are matched with supervisors based on a variety of factors, including interests, schedule, availability, balance of perspectives — this can vary by year, but we always do our best to ensure that the supervisory/training relationship is strong, supportive, and well-matched.  

While you can request a particular supervisor, because of a number of variables, including institutional credentialing and legal requirements, we cannot guarantee who your supervisor will be in advance.  We believe that having supervisors with a variety of perspectives and connections to the clinical community at large also enriches the fellowship experience. You also will have contact throughout the year and build relationships with other faculty part of the Center for Mindfulness and Compassion, as well as the Institute for Meditation and Psychotherapy. If you have a particular interest, we may be able to help connect you with faculty mentors who have expertise in this area, but additional enrichment opportunities would be something you would need to manage in addition to your required fellowship time.  

 

What would supervision look like in the other half of my time, outside of when I am involved with the ACMF?

The answer to this question depends on how you are spending your time in the other half of the fellowship. If you are a psychology postdoctoral fellow, you would have supervision through Primary Care Behavioral Health. If you are a social work fellow, you would have supervision from the Outpatient Addictions Service. If you are a psychiatry fellow, this would depend on what particular half-time arrangement you have with CHA, and this would involve coordinating with the psychiatry residency training office to make sure that you fulfill typical requirements of a fourth year psychiatry resident.

 

What would a typical weekly schedule look like during the fellowship?  Are there evening commitments?

The fellowship typically requires a fellow to be available for 2 evenings a week.  One of those evenings is Wednesdays, when the Institute for Meditation and Certificate Course occurs, which requires online access (including individual learning, along with videoconferencing that can be done from home). The other evening will typically be either Monday, Tuesday, or Thursday--during which a fellow would co-lead either MTPC or MBCT, typically for 2-2.5 hours, during an 8-week stretch. Fellows are also asked to help co-lead 3-4 different day-long mindfulness sessions, which typically occur on Saturdays from 9–4 PM, roughly once every 3 months. Given the significant evening and weekend commitments of the fellowship, this is factored into the weekly schedule for fellows. There is typically some flexibility in arranging the fellow’s schedule to have one day where the fellow comes in late to the office or leaves early to offset the evening hour commitments.

The fellowship schedule has a cyclical nature, as there are periods where the fellow will be more heavily involved in recruiting patients for a particular group, which involves doing intakes and deciding which patients are clinically appropriate for the group, as well as reaching out to patients to engage them to attend/join the group. During other periods, the fellow will be doing less intakes, and spending time co-leading, developing group leadership skills, and receiving supervision as a group leader.  

There are also opportunities to work individually with patients, short-term, to help introduce mindfulness concepts, in order to help patients become ready to enter a group (or holding patients between groups on occasion). By the end of the year, the fellow will be comfortable with aspects of group recruitment, group leading, mindfulness techniques both in working with individuals and groups, as well as applying mindfulness to diverse clinical patient populations.  In addition to co-leading MTPC or MBCT, fellows will have opportunities to lead other groups depending on schedule and CMC’s needs, including advanced mindfulness groups for alumni who have completed 8-week programs, as well as introductory mindfulness groups for patients not yet ready to do an 8-week group. Fellows may have opportunities to work individually, short-term with some patients who have already been introduced to mindfulness, but who are stuck in some way in their practice or who are needing to process adverse experiences. 

Are there opportunities for research?

Yes. There are a number of research initiatives happening at CMC, and various opportunities for projects do arise. Fellows are encouraged to engage in a scholarly project during the fellowship year, in addition to being centrally involved in CMC’s clinical work with patients. If you have a very strong interest in research or want to be involved with any of the current projects underway at CMC (https://www.chacmc.org/research), you may contact our Operations Coordinator, Gabriella Conversano, directly at gconversano@challiance.org with your resume and cover letter to discuss this further. Fellows with a strong research interest may have the option of applying for the Harvard Integrative Medicine T32 Fellowship with CMC as the mentorship site post-fellowship. 

 

What qualities are you looking for in a potential future fellow?

Typically, fellows have a strong commitment to working with underserved populations, and bringing mindfulness into a community hospital based system of care. Ideal candidates enjoy being part of a growing team, have an interest in healthcare system improvement, psychotherapy, academic and leadership development, and being involved in research and innovative projects. For those interested in research in particular, there are opportunities for developing skills and experience towards becoming an independent investigator, which can happen in the other half-time with a research post-doc fellowship or after completion of the clinical fellowship year. Similarly, for those interested in healthcare system improvement and leadership development, there are opportunities for helping contribute to implementation of mindfulness-based interventions within a population-based health setting and creatively shaping how these services might be best delivered to a population.

How do I learn more about the application process?

Thank you for your interest in the Advanced Clinical Mindfulness Fellowship (ACMF). Please contact our Operations Coordinator, Gabriella Conversano, at gconversano@challiance.org or 617-806-8734 if you have any other questions.

Featured News: CMC was awarded a research grant titled “Neural and physiologic effects of self-compassion on chronic pain” from the Osher Center for Integrative Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital.  This grant provides seed funding for a pilot neuroimaging study examining self-compassion training for people experiencing chronic lower back pain.