Contact Information

If you are interested in more information about Occupational or Recreational Therapy affiliations, please contact:

Occupational Therapy and Therapeutic Recreations Students

• Student Manual
• Student Orientation

Therapeutic Recreations Students

• Leisure Development Interventions
• TR Intern Application (PDF format)
• Therapeutic Recreation Interns – Student Orientation

Psychology Training Opportunities

Western State Hospital proudly offers training opportunities in Clinical Psychology for students and recent graduates. Training opportunities for graduate and undergraduate students are more general in nature with focused training opportunities for post-doctoral fellows. See below for a brief description of current training opportunities and contact information.

Undergraduate Students:

• During their time at WSH, undergraduate students have the opportunity to shadow a Clinical Psychologist completing their duties on the unit or elsewhere in the hospital. This can include participation in group therapy and treatment team meetings as well as observation of forensic evaluations and neuropsychological evaluations. Individual training experiences vary depending on the supervisor with whom you are assigned. Units include civil admissions, forensic admissions, and long-term care (mixed forensic and civil).
• Western State Hospital coordinates with James Madison University students participating in the Department of Psychology Field Placement course. Please contact your professor for this course regarding placement.
• All other students, please contact Anna Lacey at anna.lacey@dbhds.virginia.gov to inquire about possible placement opportunities.

Graduate Students:

• Graduate students have the opportunity to participate in activities listed above for undergraduate students but also take a more active role in the treatment process fitting with their level of training. This often includes facilitating groups, engaging in individual therapy with patients, and completing documentation. As with undergraduate students, graduate student training experiences will vary based on supervisor.
• Western State Hospital currently coordinates with James Madison University, University of Virginia-Gilmer, and University of Virginia-Curry doctoral programs for practicum placements. For students from these programs, please contact your training director.
• All other students, please contact Anna Lacey at anna.lacey@dbhds.virginia.gov to inquire about possible placement opportunities.

Post-Doctoral Fellowships:

Western State Hospital currently offers three post-doctoral fellowship training opportunities in coordination with the University of Virginia. See below for links to the UVA website.

• Forensic Psychology Post-Doctoral Fellowship
• Neuropsychology Post-Doctoral Fellowship
• Behavioral Psychology Post-Doctoral Fellowship

Social Work Training Opportunities

WSH is a state psychiatric facility and our mission is to provide individualized treatment in a recovery focused environment.  Individuals in treatment may represent a number of special populations. Common psychiatric disorders of individuals treated at WSH include schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, bipolar disorder and major depression. Units that a student may be placed on include:

• Admission Units: acute care, short term treatment
• Extended Care Units: for those with severe and persistent mental illness
• Forensic Units: evaluation and treatment of those with legal charges or currently in jail needing psychiatric treatment
• Medical Acute Care Service: treatment of those with SMI as well as medical conditions

Western State Hospital offers training opportunities in Social Work for undergraduate and graduate students.  Current contacts are with James Madison University, Virginia Commonwealth University, Eastern Mennonite University, Mary Baldwin University, Radford University, Arizona State University, and University of Denver.

Social Work Brochure

Please contact Jessica Lockatell at jessica.lockatell@dbhds.virginia.gov to inquire about possible placement opportunities.