Department of Psychiatry

Division of Clinical Psychology

University of Colorado Denver
Center for Dependency, Addiction, and Rehabilitation (CeDAR)
Psychology Minor Rotation

The Center for Dependency, Addiction, and Rehabilitation (CeDAR) is a 30 day residential treatment center for individuals with addictive disorders, specializing in treatment of individuals who are dually diagnosed with both psychiatric and substance abuse problems.  Our patients often also have acute or chronic medical illnesses that further impact their treatment.  CeDAR emphasizes a bio-psycho-social-spiritual approach to treating addictions, and provides opportunities for training in treatment of these disorders in individual, group, spiritual, and family-oriented modalities.

Goals of the Training Rotation
• Provide training in treatment of substance abuse disorders in a residential setting
• Emphasize collaboration with other members of a multi-disciplinary team
• Perform psychological testing and neuropsychological screening as a part of multi-disciplinary evaluation
• Identify and make recommendations for further assessment or treatment of cognitive disorders related to addiction
• Become experienced in family-oriented interventions to address the chronic disease of addiction
• Introduce trainees to Twelve Step programs and the use of these techniques in wider practice

Objectives of the Training Rotation
• The psychology trainee will be trained in the administration and interpretation of psychological testing in patients with substance dependence and cognitive disorders.
• The psychology trainee will be trained in the treatment of addictive disorders in both individual and group modalities.
• The psychology trainee will participate in weekly interdisciplinary team meetings that include physicians, nurses, addiction counselors, family counselors, and spiritual counselors.
• The psychology intern will gain experience in developing individualized treatment plans that address the biological, psychological, social, and Twelve Step components of addictive and psychiatric illnesses.

Specific Training Activities

Required Activities

Psychological and Neuropsychological Assessments:  The intern will perform and interpret psychological testing for diagnostically difficult patients with co-occurring psychiatric, addictive, and cognitive disorders.  The intern will be expected to perform a minimum of two and maximum of four assessments each month.  These assessments may include intelligence testing, personality testing, and/or brief neuropsychological batteries.

Group Therapy:  The intern will co-facilitate one process or psychoeducational group related to addiction, depending on the intern’s personal interests and schedules.  The groups include:  Men’s Group, Women’s Group, Coping Skills Group, Co-Occurring Disorders Group, etc.

Multi-Disciplinary Treatment Planning:  The intern will attend the weekly multi-disciplinary treatment planning meeting to learn about treatment issues for individual patients and gain experience in working within a larger team.  This meeting occurs on Thursdays at 1:00 p.m.

Optional Activities

As time and individual interests permit, interns will be given the opportunity to work more closely with patients in providing individual therapy in a variety of modalities including cognitive-behavioral therapies, individual coaching of dialectical-behavioral techniques, supportive therapies, and insight oriented therapy.

Opportunities also exist for more in depth training in the Twelve Step and family oriented treatments for addiction. 

Optional Courses
Ongoing weekly seminars offered by the Addiction faculty are available on a variety of addiction related topics.

A Twelve Step Seminar is offered October thru February to provide an introduction to Twelve Step Principles and use of these principles in treatment.

Theoretical Approaches

The staff members at CeDAR integrate a Twelve Step Facilitation model of addiction treatment with a more traditional medical model for treatment of psychiatric and addictive disorders.  As each patient receives an individualized treatment plan, opportunities exist to work in a variety of clinical approaches in both individual and group modalities.

Supervisors
Laetitia Thompson, Ph.D.:  Board certified neuropsychologist and associate professor in departments of psychiatry and neurology, University of Colorado Denver – School of Medicine.  Interests involve research to understand brain-behavior relationships and adult neuropsychological assessment of a wide range of disorders, including understanding the effects of addiction on mental functioning.

Sandra Loftin, M.D.:  Instructor, Department of Psychiatry, UCHSC.  Completed training in Adult Psychiatry and Addiction Medicine at UCHSC Department of Psychiatry, areas of interest include women’s issues in addiction, integration of Twelve Step principles, and insight-oriented therapy.