Mindful Psychology Associates, PC, (MPA) is a small group practice in downtown Evanston, IL, founded in 2004 by Jennifer Contarino Panning, Psy.D. MPA offers individual, group, and couples psychotherapy, intake assessments, crisis counseling, and community outreach including speaking and training presentations. We serve the Northwestern University undergraduate and graduate student community, as well as children ages 10 and up, teens, and adults living in the North Shore and throughout Illinois.
We specialize in college student mental health, trauma, eating disorders, depression, anxiety, perfectionism, and LGBTQ+ issues. MPA has a strong emphasis on training the next generation of clinicians since 2016 with six postdoctoral fellows who have completed or are almost done with their training at MPA, in addition to a newly-formed advanced therapy practicum program for Psy.D./Ph.D. students. Our training psychologist team have more than 50 years of combined clinical experience!
At Mindful Psychology Associates, we help people grow—this includes our clients as well as our staff. We aim to create a working environment dedicated to clinical excellence, burnout prevention, team support, trauma informed care, innovation, humility, and openness. Clinicians at MPA have flexibility to schedule clients around their preference (with at least two in-person days a week and four evening slots).
In addition to flexibility, we greatly value support and view support (both clinical and personal) as a primary way to prevent burnout. At MPA, support includes an administrative, scheduling, and billing team so our clinicians can completely focus on clinical care. We take our clinical work seriously but ourselves, not so much! We enjoy collaborating with each other for consultation as well as team gatherings, such as a summer BBQ and holiday party.
We are an anti-racist, pro-science, pro-reproductive rights, anti-diet practice who values the worth and identities of all humans. We embrace diversity in our clinicians in whatever way that may mean for the individual, and encourage clinicians to bring their whole selves to work.
Postdoctoral Fellowship
Mindful Psychology Associates’ (MPA) psychology postdoctoral fellowship year is intended for graduates of a Psy.D. or Ph.D. program in Clinical or Counseling Psychology who wish to:
- further hone and develop their clinical skills,
- continue to gain expertise in existing clinical areas that MPA provides (or develop an additional treatment focus that would be appropriate for MPA clientele),
- adhere to APA ethics,
- receive excellent clinical supervision and collegial support,
- and complete the required hours to sit for the EPPP exam to apply for Clinical Psychologist licensure.
The postdoctoral fellowship year is a year of growth and increasing autonomy as the year progresses and the fellow demonstrates appropriate skill development and clinical decision making.
We are hiring one to two postdoctoral fellows for the 2024–2025 training year. Qualified candidates are interested in working with young adults/college student mental health, as well as either strengthening one of our current treatment areas (trauma, eating disorders, RO-DBT, LGBTQ+ concerns, substance abuse) OR developing a new treatment area which would be a good fit for the practice. For fellows interested in gaining skills in supervising other clinicians, opportunities are available for secondary supervision of a extern or provisionally licensed clinician, providing group supervision to externs, and/or providing a didactic training seminar (which is available for all staff to attend).
Given Illinois’ 1750 postdoctoral hours requirement for licensure, the postdoctoral fellowship will most likely extend beyond 12 months. At the end of the fellowship, contingent on positive growth and agreement with MPA mission and values, we encourage postdoctoral fellows to stay after their post-doc hours are accrued and seamlessly transition to a Staff Psychologist position.
Sample Weekly Schedule
- 25 hours of direct clinical hours (intakes, individual/group psychotherapy)
- 1–2 hours of individual and/or group supervision, supervision as needed for emergencies and other emergent concerns
- 5 hours for documentation, consulting with other professionals, and other administrative tasks as needed
- 1 hour staff meeting or professional reading
- 3 hours marketing, networking, or special projects (blog post writing, social media posts, etc.)
- 4 hours professional reading, clinical preparation, etc (may be used for studying for EPPP)
We strive to have fellows aim for work-life balance and therefore encourage supervision to also be used to discuss issues related to balance and self-care. For fellows who have experience in eating disorders, supervision towards a Certified Eating Disorder Specialist (CEDS) designation is available.
Qualifications
Applicants must have a Ph.D. or Psy.D., have successfully completed their predoctoral internship, and possess solid clinical skills, including knowledge of mindfulness-based practices and trauma informed care, humility, collaborative focus, strong communication skills, openness, and vulnerability. We require approximately 25 clinical hours per week. Currently all MPA staff are working a hybrid model, offering both in-person at our downtown Evanston location (to fully vaccinated clients) and telehealth services. All MPA staff are required to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19.
Preferred candidates will have experience with college students/young adult mental health, crisis intervention, intensive outpatient services, trauma modalities, such as ART, EMDR, or brainspotting, skills-based interventions such as: DBT/RODBT, ACT, ERP, eating disorder treatment, and motivational interviewing.
Salary/Benefits
- $52,000 annual salary (to continue as long until fellowship hours are accrued and licensure is achieved)
- Blue Cross/Blue Shield PPO group health insurance policy (including dental and vision plans), premiums covered at 100% during postdoctoral fellowship
- Professional liability insurance
- Short term and long term disability insurance
- Paid Time Off and sick leave
- $50 monthly stipend towards phone use and parking
- $250 annual education stipend to cover continued training or licensure costs
To Apply
Please submit a cover letter, CV, graduate school transcripts with expected graduation date noted, anticipated start date, and three letters of recommendation from those familiar with your clinical work to hello@evanstonpsychologists.com.
We look forward to hearing from you!
