Pediatric and Child Clinical Psychology Postdoctoral Fellowships

This is an account from a 2025-2026 pediatric psychology fellow.

Monday 

My week starts with two individual outpatient therapy sessions at the Gary Pavillion, the building that houses many of the Pediatric Mental Health Institute’s patient activities and the home base for my fellowship. It’s on the main Anschutz campus but in its own building. The postdoc parking garage is a two-minute walk to the building, and the postdoc office is on the bottom floor of the same building. I’m able to arrive at work about 15 minutes before my first appointment, stop by my desk to check e-mails and messages, and then head upstairs to start my day.

My first patient is a tween with OCD in therapy for exposure and response prevention. Because of my role as the anxiety and OCD postdoc, I am lucky to have a caseload with presenting concerns directly related to my training goals and areas of interest. I also have an individual training goal to complete my trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy (TF-CBT) certification, which I began last year in my internship. My supervisor helped ensure I have a patient presenting for trauma treatment on my caseload. I deliver TF-CBT in my second session with a teen patient, then have some unscheduled time to write my clinical notes, respond to emails and complete any other administrative tasks.

The afternoon continues with an intake appointment for the anxiety Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP). Working at the IOP is one of my favorite aspects of my training this year, so I’m glad I get to conduct intakes for the program. I feel I can contribute equally to the team and learn more about the clinical decision-making for this higher level of care. I head down the hall from this intake to clinical supervision with my primary supervisor, Ben Mullin, PhD, who is also Director of Outpatient Clinical Services for the Pediatric Mental Health Institute and Director of Colorado Anxiety and OCD Program. I appreciate that Dr. Mullin scaffolds our supervision to my developmental stage as a postdoc-level trainee. I have prepared both clinical and professional development questions I want to focus on this week, and I lead our supervision discussion.

The day ends with two more individual outpatient therapy sessions, as I’ve structured my schedule to have the majority of cases on Mondays per my personal preference. I see a teen with OCD and then have a parent session for a teen with social anxiety disorder. I had time throughout my day to stay on top of my clinical notes, so I wrap up the day right around 5 p.m.

Tuesday 

Tuesday starts with the intern intake clinic, a clinic where I get to serve as a postdoc supervisor who is umbrella-supervised by two licensed psychologists (both of whom were formerly anxiety and OCD postdocs here, too!). I precept with the intern before their intake appointment, helping them plan the structure of the intake and key points to address based on the patient’s presenting concerns. We then get to watch the intake live through video set up in the room, and my supervisor and I have the unique opportunity to send in-the-moment feedback to the intern. Later in the week I’ll provide written feedback on the intern’s note and eventually on their full intake report. Intake clinic was not a required aspect of my training, but I jumped at the opportunity when it was offered, as another training goal of mine this year is to supervise. I’ve really enjoyed the supervision training, as well as the opportunity to get to know the interns.

I then head upstairs for didactics. Didactics this year have been a nice mix between clinical topics and professional development, making me feel like the time spent in didactics each week truly contributes to my training. This week we have a presentation from University of Colorado Anschutz human resources and the Mental Health In-Chief, teaching us about the pathway from postdoc to faculty. I am especially grateful for the information I learn in this meeting, as I am planning to apply for an outpatient psychologist position here. Didactics are followed up immediately by grand rounds, and this week we get to hear from a psychologist who is an expert in eating disorder treatment. Tuesdays are also special because all the postdocs are together for didactics and grand grounds. We love to see each other, so it’s a nice chance to catch up with everyone.

The afternoon continues with two individual outpatient sessions. The first is a telehealth session in which I deliver supportive parenting for anxious childhood emotions with a parent, a treatment that is new to me this year. The second is an in-person session with a teen with contamination-related OCD, and we complete several exposures together around the building.

I end the day co-leading our exposure-only group therapy for kids with OCD and anxiety, called Building and Sustaining Exposures. I co-lead with another one of my supervisors, and today we decide to head over to the main hospital to guide patients to complete exposures together. I guide one patient to complete an exposure of laying on the floor in the main atrium and another to complete an exposure of asking a silly question to the employee at the hospital cafe. The group ends at 5 p.m. and I quickly touch base with my supervisor before heading home.

Wednesday 

Wednesday starts with my final two outpatient therapy sessions of the week (8 total). I deliver ERP with a teen with moral-based OCD and then a combination of CBT and ACT with a child with social anxiety. I have enjoyed how much I have been able to focus my training in the anxiety and OCD specialization this year and the flexibility I have in learning new treatment modalities or seeing clinical presentations new to me.

The afternoon is a mix between some unscheduled time and two virtual meetings, so I have the flexibility to take a walk on the Anschutz medical campus, grab a coffee at one of the coffee shops or grab lunch from my favorite fancy salad place. I also use this time flexibly for other tasks and clinical notes.

The first afternoon meeting is for the anxiety and OCD clinic, also called the Colorado OCD and Anxiety Program. Every other week is a presentation from a clinic member on recent research or clinic administrative matters. This week I am presenting some recent research findings I’ve been working on to gather feedback from the team. The second meeting is the anxiety consult group, which is a great time to hear case presentations from other providers learning to provide anxiety and OCD treatment or discuss recent research on anxiety treatment.

The day ends with the IOP from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. This week I lead two parent meetings before jumping into exposure time with the patients. I love working in the IOP because I get to see patients with a higher level of acuity and get creative with conducting group and individual exposures. I also get the unique opportunity to directly watch other licensed providers deliver treatment, deal with challenging behaviors and share their knowledge in this group setting. I also find Wednesdays to be some of my most fun days because I love collaborating with the other providers and doing game-based exposures with the patients. IOP ends at 6 p.m. so I head home right when group ends.

Thursday 

Thursday morning starts with the provider team meeting for IOP. We discuss any intakes to consider for admission, review each patient’s progress towards treatment goals and brainstorm upcoming exposure ideas. Participating in this meeting is one of the many ways I feel included and valued as a postdoc trainee, as I feel that my team members want to hear my ideas and value my input.

I have a telehealth session with the same family who I met on Monday for the IOP intake to provide feedback on diagnoses, and if appropriate for IOP, orient them to the program and set treatment goals. Today I also have a consultation and assessment scheduled with a patient currently in the partial hospital program. Consultation is another one of my favorite aspects of my training year. I get to complete one-time assessments with patients who often have unique presentations of OCD, or to help distinguish when symptoms may appear like OCD but are not. Providers on both the partial hospitalization and inpatient units reach out to me throughout the year, and it’s fun to collaborate with the providers and interact with higher levels of care.

My day ends with IOP again. On Thursdays I co-lead the parent accommodation reduction group during the first half of the program, which means I get to solve problems with families and facilitate interesting group discussions. After parent group, I complete individualized exposures with patients. Today I guide patients to write down an intrusive thought, walk around the hospital wearing a colorful wig and give a speech to the group about their obsession. I love how much hands-on time I have for exposures; I have grown so much in my confidence delivering ERP this year.

Friday 

Friday is a work-from-home day! My supervisor offered this option at the start of the year and it has been a great way to end my week. My Fridays are full research days, so my day is unstructured apart from research supervision in the afternoon with Dr. Mullin. Throughout the year I’ve been collecting, cleaning and analyzing pre- and post-treatment data from children in our IOP, and I have a goal of submitting some of these findings to the International OCDF Foundation conference as a poster presentation. In the morning I run analyses and write-up the abstract, then review it with my supervisor. In the afternoon I finalize the submission and wrap up my day.

Weekend 

A wonderful aspect of my fellowship is that my work gets to stay at work. Because I have time throughout my week to stay on top of my tasks, I get to fully enjoy my weekend and disconnect from my to-do list. I love exploring all the coffee shops in Denver, so I start my Saturday at the new coffee shop and bookstore combo that just opened up a few blocks from me. I treat myself to a new book to go read in City Park, which is a short walk from my apartment. Even though I am coming from the northeast and have enjoyed plenty of parks, I’m still amazed by how huge the parks are in Denver. City Park has a small lake with a fountain that I walk around, and sometimes I can see the elephants in the adjoining zoo from my walking path!

Later in the day, I meet my mentor to see a musical at the performing arts center. All the postdocs get to participate in this mentorship program, which pairs us with mentors in psychology who share some aspect of our personal or professional identity. The program also gave its mentor-mentee pairs funding for an activity of our choice, so my mentor and I chose to see a show that relates to our shared identity. I meet my mentor downtown for food before the show, which is a 10-minute drive from my apartment.

On Sunday I take advantage of how close I live to such beautiful outdoors and I drive about an hour and half to the mountains for a day hike. Even when it’s hot in the city, the mountains are always cool in the mornings. I fell in love with hiking in the northeast and am continually blown away by how incredible the landscapes and mountains are in Colorado. I relax at a restaurant for some post-hike snacks before heading home.

This is an account from a 2025-2026 pediatric psychology fellow.

Monday 

I start my week with a morning cystic fibrosis (CF) clinic. We typically see children with CF every three months, and clinic visits can last more than two hours. Although clinic is scheduled for only a half day, it is often busy. There can also be downtime between patients, which I use to coordinate care and catch up on administrative tasks, though that can be challenging because our team genuinely enjoys connecting with one another.

One of the biggest reasons I chose this fellowship was the collaboration among disciplines. I have worked in settings where psychology felt co-located rather than fully integrated into the medical team. Here, psychology is truly part of the interdisciplinary care team.

Our CF team includes pulmonologists, respiratory therapists, nurses, dietitians, social workers, physical therapists and psychologists, and everyone works closely together to provide comprehensive care. Today I saw four patients with referral questions related to transitioning to adult care, treatment adherence, procedural distress and coping with a chronic illness. After clinic, I finished documentation and debriefed with my supervisors, Dr. Emily Muther and Dr. Emma Lyons, about questions that arose during the morning.

Monday afternoons begin with interdisciplinary rounds for any patients admitted with CF. Representatives from the outpatient CF team meet with the inpatient pulmonary team to coordinate care. After rounds, I met with a patient hospitalized for a pulmonary exacerbation to support coping with an extended hospitalization. Most admissions last around two weeks while patients complete IV antibiotics. One aspect of this fellowship I especially appreciate is the variety of referral questions despite working within a single medical population. Every day presents new clinical challenges and opportunities to strengthen my skills as a pediatric psychologist working on an interdisciplinary team.

I finished the afternoon with administrative work and time dedicated to my research project before driving home. Denver traffic can be busy, but the mountain views and a good podcast make the commute worthwhile.

Tuesday 

I start the morning by walking my dog. One of my favorite things about Denver is how walkable many neighborhoods are and the abundance of beautiful parks. Then we had another morning CF clinic. Today I met with the parents of a three-month-old infant who had recently been diagnosed with CF. Psychology had not yet met with the family, so I introduced our role on the care team. While our clinical social workers primarily support parental coping, we make a point to introduce psychology early and normalize our involvement throughout a family's journey. I also worked with a family whose five-year-old was struggling with pill swallowing.

At 11 a.m. I left the clinic early to go to our didactics. This week, two postdocs gave their case presentations. I love didactics and grand rounds on Tuesdays as it is great to get continuing education while connecting with other postdocs in person. Since Children’s Colorado is such a large hospital, we don’t always see each other so these meetings can also be a great way to catch up. Sometimes after didactics and grand rounds I return to the clinic. However, today I had some time to work on my research project. I also had a virtual outpatient session with a patient's parents to work on picky eating.

After work I met up with a mentor. This mentorship was started by Dr. Jess Kenny as a way to connect postdocs with a psychologist that does not have a supervisory role. My mentor was so helpful in navigating Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology (EPPP), job applications, job interviews and professional and personal goals. We also received funds to connect and explore Denver. We decided to use some of our funds for a cooking class. We were able to make pasta and an incredible lava cake! This mentorship has been a highlight of this year and such a unique aspect of this fellowship.

Wednesday 

Today I had an all-day clinic at one of our satellite offices. These full day clinics are not frequent but I enjoy them immensely. It’s great to be able to follow the same patients and families throughout the year at these clinics. I also feel because we share one clinic space instead of two offices at the main campus it can be easier to communicate with various team members. I was able to take my lunch break outside because North Campus has a really nice outdoor eating space with mountain views.

In between seeing patients and writing notes I worked on reading and writing up questions for our post doc book club. This year we are reading “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.” I really appreciate all the various team building and learning opportunities this fellowship has. For instance, earlier this year we were able to go to the capital to help lobby for continued funding of various mental health programs as part of the Youth Mental Health Action Day.

Thursday 

Thursdays are my admin day, so I work from home. I enjoy having a day off from commuting and spending extra time with my dog. I also always get myself a fancy coffee from my local coffee shop before beginning all the meetings. My morning starts with CF psychosocial rounds. These rounds include psychologists and clinical social workers. During rounds we connect about a particularly challenging case that occurred the week before. We then have the CF weekly team meeting where we discuss new CF diagnoses, inpatients, research and any updates. This week we also did kudos, so every team member went around and gave kudos to various team members. After this meeting we have rounds for Monday and Tuesday of next week.

After a couple of hours of meetings, I have some admin time. Today I worked on our plan for the family education night in August. These education nights are for families to learn more about research, programs and topics families have identified as being important. For this education night, we will be presenting on procedural and medical anxiety.

In the afternoon I have supervision, which varies each week. Some weeks are more focused on discussing interventions for patients seen in clinic and outpatient, other weeks are focused on discussing research and others we process challenging cases. I then had a virtual outpatient appointment that was focused on generalized anxiety and identity development.

Friday

Fridays we have a morning clinic. Today we have patients both at the Anschutz campus and the Colorado Springs campus. This means we coordinate seeing patients in person and virtually. It can be busy and sometimes hard to bounce from one clinic to the next. However, I feel the teams are both so understanding. We also had a breakfast potluck in clinic this morning to celebrate June birthdays. I love how engaged the team is.

After clinic I met with a child who has been working on procedural anxiety related to blood draws, G-tube changes and nasal sprays. While all the children I see in the outpatient setting have CF, there is such a wide variety of referral questions from procedural anxiety to parent-focused behavioral interventions to identity development with a chronic illness. Some patients I see for short term care while a few patients I have been working with for most of the year. Due to the large age range and the complexity of CF, I have really been able to hone a lot of outpatient skills this year. A nice part about morning Friday clinic is I can usually leave earlier in the afternoon to beat the Friday evening traffic and finish up admin at home.

Weekend

I love Colorado! In Denver there are tons of fun markets, shops, restaurants, coffee shops and museums to explore. I am also a very outdoorsy person, and Colorado is perfect for that. On Saturday I took my dog for a long hike up near Lake Dillon. Afterwards we enjoyed a cute local coffee shop and then that evening I met up with family for a cookout. Sunday, I went for a morning trail run and then spent the afternoon at my local farmer’s market. Again, there is always some market or event going on in Denver or the surrounding areas. Also, Colorado boasts around 300 days of sunshine a year meaning the weekends are often filled with wonderful weather to enjoy. 

This is an account from a 2025-2026 pediatric psychology fellow.

Monday

I start my week by catching up with the Young Mother’s and Families Clinic (YMFC) team and reviewing the patient list for the morning. A mom who I previously saw for a mood consult is coming in with her toddler, and I want to make sure to follow up on how they are doing. Our first appointment is a two-week-old, and the family is new to the clinic. The PCP gives me updates after meeting with the family, and I enroll the family in HealthySteps, a program dedicated to early childhood health.

Next, I check-in with the mom I previously saw as part of her child’s well-child check. Her child has some language delays, so we talk about strategies to promote language development, and their PCP places a referral for Early Intervention. Then, I chat with mom about how she is doing, and she asks to be scheduled with the psychiatrist who works in the clinic.

After I write my notes, I have supervision and we talk about my upcoming grand rounds presentation based on research I have done in the YMFC. Finally, a mom scheduled for a birth control visit has a positive PHQ-9 and the PCP asks me to check in. We talk about what is going on and I schedule her to see me the following week for therapy.

Between the Child Health Clinic (CHC) and the YMFC there are a lot of psychology trainees, and we like to have lunch together when we can. Today it is warm and sunny, so we eat lunch outside and other CLIMB (Consultation Liaison in Mental Health and Behavior) team members join.

I spend Monday afternoons in the CHC. I have a short-term visit scheduled with a teenager I previously saw for a consult. We talk about goals for therapy and identifying emotions. As I am writing my therapy note, the attending supervisor assigns me to a consult for a child who was diagnosed with ADHD at today’s visit. I meet the family and talk about strategies to manage ADHD and steps to request an IEP at the child’s school. By 5:15 the clinic is wrapping up, and I head home to walk my dog. It is still sunny, so we go to one of the many parks in the area!

Tuesday

I’m not in clinic on Tuesday mornings, so I have time to plan for my long-term therapy sessions at home. Mid-morning I head over to main campus for didactics with the other fellows. I show up early and go to our office space to catch up with the other fellows. After didactics, I listen to grand rounds as I drive to the Health Pavillion and eat my lunch. Tuesday afternoons are back-to-back therapy in the YMFC, but in between sessions the psychology extern shows me pictures of one of the medical assistants’ adorable newborns.

Wednesday

Wednesday mornings are busy in the YMFC, so I do a lot of HealthySteps visits, including a graduation for a three-year-old at their well child visit! In the afternoon, I round with the CLIMB team in CHC and am assigned two consults. I see a school-aged child who has been experiencing anxiety and chronic headaches. The family speaks Spanish so one of the clinic's medical interpreters joins the visit. We discuss headache hygiene and practice relaxation techniques. The family says they are interested in therapy, so I consult the clinic’s behavioral health navigator. Together we look up therapists near the family’s home and her list of current wait times to ensure the family can get care soon.

Later, I see a family who wants tips for toilet training their toddler. We discuss strategies and collaborate on how to best incorporate them considering the family’s context. I send the family home with handouts we have in clinic and let the family know that I will write up what we talked about in my note so they can reference it in the future. Documentation in our clinic has recently become more streamlined because we now have access to templated recommendations the CLIMB team created for common things we talk about in visits. I copy and paste the toilet training recommendations and personalize them to include specific examples discussed in the visit, then I am done for the day.

I check out with the supervising psychologist and drive to a potluck at a friend’s house near Cherry Creek State Park.

Thursday

Thursdays are my admin day, so I work from home. My day starts by joining the CLIMB team weekly meeting virtually. This week one of the other fellows is doing a clinical case presentation. Twice a month on Thursdays we have a lunchtime YMFC psychology meeting and today we are learning about substance use. Later in the afternoon I have supervision for CHC, and I talk with my supervisor about transitioning to my faculty role next year.

Friday

Fridays are normally my full day in the CHC, but this morning the fellows are volunteering at Food Bank of the Rockies. I’m extra excited because the Harris fellows, who I work with in CHC, will also be there! After, we all grab lunch then I head back to the Health Pavillion for the afternoon.

I see an adolescent with a history of trauma that I have seen in the past. We check in about safety, and she shares that she has been experiencing passive suicidal ideation. I do a risk assessment, and we complete a safety plan together. We then talk to her caregiver about the plan and how to make the environment safe.

I then see a mom who is here for her child’s 2-month well child check because she had a positive postpartum mood and anxiety screener. We talk about her mood, provide therapy referrals and enroll the family in HealthySteps. After work, a co-fellow and I walk our dogs at a nearby park.

Weekend

Saturdays are hiking days, and my dog and I have explored trails all over the Denver area and beyond. Saturday afternoons typically consist of chores and grocery shopping. On Sunday mornings I hang out with friends and then prepare for the week ahead!

This is an account from a 2025-2026 pediatric psychology fellow.

Monday

Mondays are mostly a work-from-home day on my current rotation schedule. I start the morning slowly by taking my dog for a walk, making a good cup of coffee and breakfast, and enjoying the Colorado sunshine on my back porch. Then I settle into my home office, make my to-do list for the week and get ready for my first meeting.

At 9 a.m., I meet with my research mentor, Deanna Swain, PhD, and our senior qualitative analyst, Carly. We're in the final stages of launching a new research study, so our meetings have been filled with everything from refining interview guides to reviewing recruitment materials and making sure that every detail of the study protocol is ready to go.

Afterward, I join a short school consultation meeting over Zoom for a child I recently evaluated. These conversations are incredibly helpful because they give me another perspective on how a child is functioning across settings and often help refine my recommendations for both families and school teams.

Next comes supervision with one of my primary mentors, Elizabeth Coan, PsyD. We spend the hour talking through therapy cases, discussing recent evaluation cases, and touching base regarding how my job search is going and what support I need. One thing I've really appreciated about this fellowship is how accessible supervisors are and what a variety of supervisors you get. And even outside of supervision, there are always so many other providers around who are always willing to talk through a tricky case or provide some professional guidance.

The afternoon is reserved for report writing, therapy prep and getting ready for the week's evaluations. It's also a good opportunity to eat lunch, throw in a load of laundry and periodically remind my dog how cute she is.

Around 3 p.m., I head to the hospital (only about a 12-minute drive for me). After a quick stop in the physician lounge for some caffeine (and usually some string cheese), I join the team for Facing Your Fears, an exposure-based group for autistic youth with anxiety and their caregivers. Our team includes two supervisors, an intern and me. Before families arrive, we review the session plan, divide responsibilities and troubleshoot any anticipated challenges. A typical group includes reviewing homework, introducing new skills, splitting into parent and child groups, and then wrapping up together. During the second half of this 14-week treatment, we spend much of the session doing real-world exposures throughout the hospital. One child might be practicing ordering a drink independently while another is working on asking a stranger for directions. It's incredibly rewarding to watch families gain confidence over the course of the program.

After group, we debrief and divide up documentation. Then, I head over to a local dance studio for a fun evening dance class to wrap up the day!

Tuesday

Tuesdays are a much more active day. The morning starts with a few hours of administrative time before I head to campus. At 11 a.m., our postdoc cohort gets together for weekly didactics. We love getting to see each other every week and these relationships are such an important part of my training experience. Didactic topics vary throughout the year and cover all sorts of helpful and interesting clinical and professional development topics, but this week we're learning about preparing our CVs for the faculty job market.

Then at 12, I log on to grand rounds virtually and listen in as I walk over to main campus and prep for my afternoon clinic. On Tuesdays, I'm in our Flex Team Clinic, an interdisciplinary autism evaluation clinic for school-age children and adolescents. The team includes two psychologists, one developmental behavioral pediatrician and me. By this point in fellowship, I'm trusted to lead evaluations independently while my supervisor observes behind a two-way mirror and provides support as needed. It's been one of my favorite aspects of training — the balance between autonomy and close supervision and feedback has helped me grow tremendously over the year.

Over the course of the afternoon, I prep the family for the visit, administer cognitive, autism and psychological assessments, and spend several hours getting to know the child and his family. Depending on the child’s needs, we typically take a few breaks and might even have time to explore some of the fun amenities of the hospital — such as going to the tween zone where we can play virtual reality video games or taking a break in the sensory room. At the end of clinic, our team comes together to discuss diagnostic impressions and make a plan for the feedback that’s scheduled a couple of weeks from now.

If I still have some energy left, which I usually do, I head over to the Anschutz campus gym for a fun Zumba class. One of the perks of fellowship has been having access to such a great recreation center that includes group fitness classes, a sauna, steam room and hot tub. It’s conveniently located a short walk from the hospital and we get a steep discount as fellows!

Since I have the Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology (EPPP) coming up in a few weeks, I finish the evening with a few hours of EPPP studying. Thankfully, the fellowship provides access to PsychPrep, which has made preparing for the exam much less overwhelming than I expected.

Wednesday

Wednesday mornings are usually my favorite because they're Training Clinic days, I drive up to our North Campus in Broomfield (about a 35-minute drive) and meet with the team at 8:30 a.m. before the patients arrive. This clinic has become one of my favorite learning experiences because of its tiered supervision model. Our team includes two psychologists, me, an intern and an extern. This week, I'm supervising our extern while still receiving supervision myself. Together, we plan for the evaluation, discuss our testing approach and work through the case while checking in with my supervisor throughout the morning. It's been a fantastic opportunity to begin developing supervision skills while still having plenty of support and feedback.

After clinic, we debrief as a team, discuss our diagnostic conceptualization and divide up report-writing responsibilities before heading our separate ways. I drive back to Denver to meet a mentor for lunch. This mentorship program pairs fellows with non-evaluative mentors who share aspects of our personal or professional identity. My mentor is also an early-career bilingual psychologist, so our conversations frequently revolve around career development, balancing clinical work and navigating the job search. Having someone outside my immediate supervision team has been such a valuable source of support throughout fellowship.

Once I’m back home, I spend some time documenting the morning's evaluation before hopping onto a professional development meeting with another psychologist who previously trained at Children's Colorado. My mentors have consistently gone out of their way to connect me with folks who might be good professional connections — sometimes it’s just to have a helpful conversation about a different career path but sometimes they may actually have a lead on a job opening.

I wrap up the day with cardio kickboxing at the campus gym and another evening of EPPP studying.

Thursday

Thursday starts with a quiet morning dedicated to report writing and preparing for therapy. At 9:30 a.m., I meet with the parent of a child I'm seeing for parent management training. Rather than following a traditional manualized course of treatment, we've taken a more consultative approach — building on strategies the family already knows while collaboratively troubleshooting ongoing challenges.

Afterwards, I write up my note then go back to working on reports from the last couple of weeks. Typically, I try to finish a first draft of a report within a week of the evaluation but no later than the date of the feedback, which can be anywhere from one to three weeks post-evaluation.

Around noon, I join a training meeting in preparation for the Youth Mental Health Action Day. In a few weeks, our cohort will spend the afternoon at the Colorado State Capitol meeting with legislators and advocating for mental health initiatives. This will be a great opportunity to get hands-on advocacy experience and learn more about how state legislature can affect our work and our patients. 

Afterwards I drive over to a local restaurant for a quarterly Justice Equity Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI) program meeting. As one of the goals of JEDI is to increase our awareness and knowledge of diverse perspectives, we try to have our meetings at local spots that highlight an aspect of diversity. The restaurant we went to is the only American Indian-owned restaurant in Denver and specializes in Native American Cuisine. Over a delicious lunch, our trainee group chats with our JEDI mentors about our progress towards our goals, challenges we’ve encountered and goals we hope to focus on in the quarter ahead.

Afterwards, I head to campus to find a quiet spot to work on reports and other admin tasks for a few hours. That evening, I stick around campus to attend the Autistic Mentors Educational Panel. This is an optional event put on by one of my mentors, Dr. Coan, alongside a group of autistic self-advocates and mentors. The group’s mission is to promote understanding and acceptance of autism and neurodiversity. For a couple of hours, the current cohort of autistic mentors share their personal narratives around their diagnosis and lived experiences. It’s a beautiful, touching and very educational event that is open to all members of the community and serves as a sort of final project for the teens and young adults in this group.

Friday

I spend Friday mornings in the Bilingual Clinic, which has easily been one of the highlights of my fellowship. As a bilingual trainee, it's incredibly meaningful to provide evaluations directly in Spanish and work with families in their preferred language, all while receiving excellent supervision in Spanish. This morning we're evaluating a hilarious 10-year-old with questions about autism, ADHD and learning differences. While the developmental-behavioral pediatrician meets with the parents, I spend the morning working directly with the child, completing cognitive and autism assessments while building rapport along the way.

After clinic wraps up around noon, our team discusses the case over lunch before I head home to finish out my day. That afternoon I have a telehealth parent management training session with a mom I’ve been working with for a few months. We have a super productive session tailoring a behavioral reinforcement plan for her kid, and mom seems excited and optimistic about giving it a go this coming week. I use the remainder of the day to wrap up notes and admin tasks that absolutely must get done before the weekend. In an assessment-heavy fellowship, there will always be an outstanding report to work on. But one thing I've appreciated about this fellowship is having protected administrative time built into the schedule, making it much easier to stay on top of documentation. Today, like most Fridays, I am able to wrap the day up a little early and shut my laptop off by 4 p.m.

This evening, a few of us from the postdoc cohort are getting together for a happy hour at one of Denver’s many local breweries. As we've all started applying for jobs and interviewing, these get-togethers have become equal parts celebration, support group and brainstorming session.

Weekend

One of the biggest perks of living in Colorado is how easy it is to spend weekends outside. This Saturday, I'm heading to the mountains with some new friends (Denver is so friendly!) for a snowshoe-and-fondue adventure. We start at a local winery, hike through the snow (snowshoes are provided), take in beautiful mountain views and end the afternoon with a wine tasting and bottomless fondue.

Sunday is a little less glamorous. I get back on track with my EPPP study schedule and spend a few hours working through a practice test and reviewing the items I got wrong. At this point, since I’m only a couple of weeks out from the exam, my preparation mostly consists of practice exams, reviewing missed questions, breaking down content I’m still struggling with and listening to lecture recordings while doing chores around the house.