Psychologist (PhD), Provincial Preschool Autism Services

Nova Scotia Health and IWK Health•Halifax, NS

5d•CA$54 - CA$73•Hybrid

About The Position

IWK Health is a respected academic health sciences centre providing tertiary and primary care for two million children, youth, adults and families each year across the Atlantic region. We have a team of approximately 4000 employees, physicians, volunteers and learners at sites across Nova Scotia. People build careers with IWK Health with our focus on training and mentorship opportunities. We recognize each other’s talent and celebrate our successes. We collaborate in modern facilities or virtually from home, align our work to our values, and enjoy access to enhanced benefits and wellness programs. We are proud to support our patients, families and communities and are grateful for the generous donor support we receive. Promoting an anti-racist environment, and calling out discrimination as we work and provide care, is important to us. We are located in Mi’kma’ki, the unceded and ancestral territory of the Mi’kmaq people. Working in Mi’kma’ki and providing care to those across Atlantic Canada is a shared privilege with the original inhabitants who have lived here for many thousands of years prior to colonization. There are 13 First Nation communities across Nova Scotia, and more than 50 historic African Nova Scotian communities who also have a long, deep, and complex history dating back over 400 years. We have the highest percentage of people with disabilities in the country. Nova Scotia has the highest proportions of transgender and non-binary people than any other province or territory in the country. We are active in our work to eliminate discrimination, but have more work to do to build that trust, acknowledge our biases and reduce the barriers our diverse communities face. We want IWK Health to be a safe and supportive space of equity and belonging in the care we provide and the employment we offer. We welcome all interested persons who self-identify as Indigenous, Black/African Nova Scotians, Persons of Colour, Immigrants/Newcomers, Persons with Disabilities, 2SLGBTQIA+ to apply to support our goal for our workforce to be representative of the patients, families, and communities that we care for at all job levels. Provincial Preschool Autism Service The Provincial Preschool Autism Service (PPAS) is a partnership between IWK Health (IWK), Nova Scotia Health (NSH), Hearing and Speech Nova Scotia (HSNS) and Autism Nova Scotia (Autism NS). It provides person and family-centred services to preschoolers across Nova Scotia who are suspected of or have a diagnosis of autism. The goal of the service is to provide an efficient, sustainable, and integrated continuum of health services that follows a needs-based model responsive to the individual needs of children and their families. Services include a range of interventions and supports available for children and families. Service streams include: Clinical intake and care coordination Family and health professional education QuickStart NS parent coaching toddler program Autism diagnostic assessment Interprofessional autism interventions (focused interventions based on care pathways and manualized comprehensive programs), A 12-month intensive intervention for children with the greatest social communication and behaviour needs (formerly EIBI) Transition to school supports Services and programs are flexible and able to be scaled up and down based on the needs and progress of each child and their family. There is a comprehensive scope of services that can be matched to best meet the needs of preschool-age children. The goal of all interventions is to empower caregivers to teach and support their child’s development. The Opportunity Reporting to the Manager of Provincial Preschool Autism Services, the clinical psychologist position is responsible for completing clinical diagnostic assessments of children who are suspected of having a diagnosis of autism. The role may serve both preschool and school age children (note the Provincial Preschool Autism Service will also coordinate diagnostic assessments for school age children). Multiple strategies are underway to enhance access to autism assessments province-wide while intervention services are being enhanced and the Psychologist will play a key role in providing high quality, evidence-based assessment services to children and their families. All psychologists will work as part of a broader provincial team to support autism diagnostics and collaborate as part of an integrated service delivery model for the Provincial Preschool Autism Service (PPAS). As a result, Psychologists may/will also support PPAS clinical interventions through direct clinical service for families, caregiver education, or clinical consultation and collaboration with families and interprofessional team members as part of PPAS intervention services (i.e., interprofessional teams, intensive service, care coordination, etc). Team members completing Diagnostic Assessments are part of the Provincial Preschool Autism Service and are integrated with existing autism diagnostic services provincially. Diagnostic assessments will be coordinated provincially through a provincial clinical intake service and a provincial waitlist. Diagnostic services are supported by provincial clinical leadership and the goal is to reduce variations in access to autism assessment for families, meet standard wait time benchmarks, and support all clinicians to maintain professional competencies. Depending on expertise and experience and/or skills developed through the course of employment with PPAS, the psychologist will work with various teams to provide direct, consultative, or collaborative services with interprofessional autism intervention teams and with families to provide foundational education, caregiver coaching, care coordination, and transition to school-based intervention services. The proportion of time dedicated to each activity will vary by position and community, depending on needs of the team and families.

Requirements

Doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology (PhD / PsyD).
Minimum of one year of full-time predoctoral residency in relevant area (e.g., Clinical Child Psychology, Pediatric Health Psychology, Forensic Psychology).
3 – 5 years of doctoral training that includes academic training, research training including a dissertation, a minimum of 600 completed clinical practicum hours, and a full year residency program.
Registration or eligibility for registration with the Nova Scotia Board of Examiners in Psychology (NSBEP) that includes a minimum of one-year post-doctoral supervision.
One-year post-doctoral supervision involves monthly meetings with a Ph.D. Psychologist to evaluate core competencies (i.e., assessment and evaluation, intervention, research, application of ethical standards, interpersonal relationships, report preparation and record management, and knowledge of key legislative acts relevant to the practice of psychology) and work towards criterion-based goals.
Completion of yearly continuing education requirements.
Training and experience in the use of standard autism assessment instrument, specifically the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedules-2 (ADOS-2) and other related autism assessment and cognitive assessment instruments is required.
Clinical experience and flexibility in assessment procedures is required to accommodate wide individual variability in presentation and respond to the limitations of available tools and evidence.
Theories and methods of psychological diagnosis, assessment, and intervention.
Specialized knowledge in development and psychopathology, biological bases of behaviour, personality theories, and interpersonal relationships.
Rapport building with diverse populations, integrative report writing, diagnostic formulation, assessment and intervention, development of treatment plans and evaluation of outcomes / reassessment across the course of treatment, research methodology and statistical skills for outcome evaluation and program evaluation.
Ability to integrate research and client information from diverse sources, combine this information into a coherent case formulation and treatment plan and communicate the formulation and plan to diverse individuals.
Ability to provide mentorship and clinical supervision.

Nice To Haves

Competencies in other languages an asset.
Supervised training will be provided by the employer for candidates who meet all other job requirements but do not have specific autism diagnostic experience.

Responsibilities

Completing clinical diagnostic assessments of children who are suspected of having a diagnosis of autism.
Serving both preschool and school age children.
Providing high quality, evidence-based assessment services to children and their families.
Supporting autism diagnostics and collaborating as part of an integrated service delivery model for the Provincial Preschool Autism Service (PPAS).
Supporting PPAS clinical interventions through direct clinical service for families, caregiver education, or clinical consultation and collaboration with families and interprofessional team members as part of PPAS intervention services.
Providing direct, consultative, or collaborative services with interprofessional autism intervention teams and with families to provide foundational education, caregiver coaching, care coordination, and transition to school-based intervention services.