Mission

The mission of the NCC Forensic Psychology Post-Doctoral fellowship is to provide in-depth training to active-duty officers that will foster development of advanced skills as forensic psychologists. Advanced skills include objectivity and self-confidence in delivering expert testimony, ability to perform comprehensive assessment and analysis of criminal defendants, and substantial knowledge of the interplay between the legal system and the psychological realm. Upon successful completion of the fellowship, fellows will be prepared to be forensic subject matter experts for their local region as well as for courts-martial throughout the world.

Vision

The Postdoctoral Fellowship Training Program in Forensic Psychology is committed to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center’s philosophy of providing high quality services to past, present, and future warriors and to all those entrusted to our care. The Postdoctoral Fellowship Training Program is designed to promote consistent quality and excellence in education and training. The program strives to provide the highest quality forensic education and consultation to the local, national, and international consumers of forensic psychological services.

Aims

The training mission of the program is accomplished through professional modeling and didactic instruction based on the best ethical practices of forensic psychology and thorough knowledge of the broad and developing science undergirding this rapidly expanding field. Education and training of sufficient depth and breadth will be provided to ensure advanced competency, technical expertise, and proficiency in the specialty practice are of forensic psychology. The program strives for excellence in the training, practice, and advancement of forensic psychology.

Our program conducts weekly didactics sessions on the breath of civil, criminal, and military-specific forensic mental health every Friday from 8:30 – 11:30 a.m. We routinely have guest speakers from civilian and other federal institutions on topics such as consultation to law enforcement, threat assessment, and developments in federal law.

• One year: At WNRMMC Center for Forensic Behavioral Sciences, in Bethesda, Maryland, with regular temporary duty globally conducting criminal and civil evaluations, providing expert testimony, or receiving specialized training at military installations.

• Six months: At Clifton T. Perkins Hospital, a maximum-security forensic hospital in Jessup, Maryland, run by the Maryland Department of Mental Health, alongside fellows from the University of Maryland Forensic Psychiatry Fellowship.

• Six months: At the National Security Agency (Rotating through 3 different sections.

There are no formal elective rotations during the fellowship.

Forensic psychology applies rules and regulations based on specific jurisdiction.  Our fellows have formal instruction and experience in the military criminal justice system, learn and apply relevant rules of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, and learn about military-specific appellate court holdings. Our fellows attend a 5-week criminal law course at the U.S. Army’s Judge Advocate General Center & School in Charlottesville, Virginia, learning fundamental of military law alongside military attorneys as a program requirement.

Fellows attend a 5-week criminal law course at the U.S. Army’s Judge Advocate General Center & School in Charlottesville, Virginia, learning fundamental of military law alongside military attorneys as a program requirement.

During January-February each year, fellows participate with the Defense or Trial Counsel Assistance Programs, serving as an expert witness during mock courtroom exercises overseen by senior military litigators. This training provides the opportunity to practice skills required of forensic expert witnesses in a simulated environment.

Fellows routinely oversee general psychiatry residents, medical students, and are assigned progressively greater responsibility for liaison with courts and attorneys through the year.

Fellows identify, design, and implement quality improvement projects, especially interprofessional team-based projects routinely. Examples have included improving consultation vetting, standardizing external training presented to clients, and developing educational supports to enhance learner engagement with complex materials. Partnered with faculty.

Fellows are encouraged and able to attend professional society conferences in the fields of psychology, forensic psychology, and educational leadership. They routinely interface with senior officers or officials from military and other government agencies while supporting interagency training.

All NCC Forensic Psychology fellows train at:

• WRNMMC Center for Forensic Behavioral Sciences
• Clifton T. Perkins Hospital Center in Jessup, MD
• National Security Agency on Fort Mead, MD

The knowledge base upon entry into the fellowship will ordinarily include doctoral level competency in the following substantive areas:

General Psychology Core

• Statistics and methodology
• Learning, cognition, and perception
• Personality and social psychology
• Biological basis of behavior
• Life span development

Generic Clinical Core

• Psychopathology
• Psychometric theory
• Interview and assessment techniques
• Intervention techniques
• Professional ethics

U.S. Army 73B psychologists interested in applying for the fellowship can obtain instructions for application from the Long-Term Health Education and Training Program, Medical Service Corps, U.S. Army. The fellowship is announced in a MILPER message that is published annually, usually released between October-December each year. Interested applicants can check the Human Resource Command website for the release of the LTHET MILPER instructions. Notifications will also be sent by the National Training Coordinator. Deadline for application can vary. 73Bs incur a 2-year active duty service obligation for a 2-year fellowship program The fellowship starts on 1 July, late starting dates must be approved by the Program Director and Psychology Consultant. First, fill out the Medical Service application and email the National Training Coordinator of your intent to apply. Include Army Physical Fitness Test/Army Combat Fitness Test requirements and proof of compliance. Applications must be electronically signed and submitted for Commander signature (must be O-5 or O-6). When you receive your application back, then you submit any waivers, if required, and sign and submit your application to your Career Manager. Once your application is received the National Training Coordinator will inform the Program Director, who will contact you to schedule an interview.

Prior to this interview the applicant should send the following materials to the Fellowship Program Director:

• Letter of interest
• Curriculum Vitae
• Officer Record Brief
• Two letters of recommendation
• Three most recent Officer Evaluation Reports
• Graduate school transcripts
• Two anonymized samples of evaluations, preferably with a forensic focus, if available

After the interview the program director submits the Suitability for Forensic Postdoctoral Fellowship Memorandum to the Psychology Consultant. When you receive your application back from your Career Manager, submit the application along with your last 3 OERs, APFT/ACFT Card or proof of compliance with Army Directive 20-06/most recent Army physical fitness guidance, Body Fat Composition Worksheet, if required and CV to the Psychology Consultant. If the applicant is requesting a waiver, the application must be sent back the Career Manager, After the interview with the Program Director the Psychology Consult will review the Suitability Memorandum from The Program Director and use this information along with other application information to Concur or Non-Concur with your LTHET application. The Psychology Consultant’s Concurrence or Non-Concurrence will be visible to the LTHET Board. The LTHET Board makes the final selection.

As of July 2021, the Postdoctoral Fellowship in Forensic Psychology expanded access, permitting applications from psychologists serving on active duty in the U.S. Navy. The fellowship application and selection process for Navy psychologists mirrors the application and selection process for Army psychologists, though differences do exist in the parallel process of how each branch of service allocates and selects officers to attend specialization training. Regarding the Navy application process, all fellowship opportunities are announced annually through a Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery notice. This notice describes all training opportunities for Naval Officers for Duty Under Instruction Degree and Non-Degree programs. Applicants must forward an application letter to the Commanding Officer, Navy Medicine Professional Development Center via the applicant’s commanding officer and specialty leader. The BUMED notice details timelines for their application process, inclusive of multiple steps before, and after, applying to the forensic fellowship. Once received, the Navy Specialty Leader for Psychology coordinates submission of applications from interested psychologists with the Program Director for the Forensic Fellowship. These applicants submit an application packet similar to Army applicants; however, being a different branch of the Armed Services, there are different names for similar documents.

The application packet includes:

• Letter of interest
• Officer Service Record
• Last three Fitness Reports
• Curriculum Vitae
• Copy of graduate school transcripts
• Two letters of recommendation
• Two anonymized sample reports, preferably with a forensic focus

Once the materials are reviewed, a telephonic or remote video interview is scheduled and conducted. The Program Director submits a Memorandum regarding the suitability of each candidate for the fellowship to the Specialty Leader. If the candidate is qualified the Director also submits a Forensic Conditional Acceptance Letter to the candidate, who in turn, sends this to the Specialty Leader. All final packets are reviewed annually at the Navy Medical Service Corps DUINS selection board, convened by The Commander, Navy Personnel Command Selections are based on the quality of application, command endorsement, professional performance, promotion potential, physical readiness, and assignability. All selected officers receive full pay and allowances commensurate with their grade and rank throughout the fellowship and incur a 3-year service obligation for attending.

Fellowship interviews for the NCC Forensic Psychology Post-Doctoral program are conducted by multi-person panels of our faculty, staff, or current fellows. Applicants should be prepared to discuss their background, training, and specific interest in military forensic psychology.

• The Forensic Psychology Post-Doctoral Fellowship begins on July 1st. Military Fellows are paid at their current rank and grade, with annual salary plus allowances starting at $90,050.
• Interns also receive all military benefits and allowances, which include health and dental care for fellows and their family members; paid annual leave, sick leave and federal holidays; and use of on-post facilities.
• Other benefits include paid attendance at least one national meeting. Visit our Admissions, Support and Initial Placement data page for more information.

Program graduates of Forensic Psychology can become board certified through the American Board of Professional Psychology. This exam is offered quarterly. To become fully board certified, applicants are eligible to take board certification exam 9 months after their board sample is accepted. To be eligible to take specialty board exams, graduates must complete all pre-requisites required by the. American Board of Professional Psychology. The ABPP website has information on prerequisites and instructions for registering for the boards. Boards can be taken during fellowship or after.

NCC Forensic Psychology fellows are expected to provide guest lectures to military attorneys on the breath of psychological and forensic mental health topics. Fellows supervise general psychiatry residents, interns, and medical students at WRNMMC. By the second year, fellows are expected to routinely educate junior military attorneys and general psychologist on the intersection of mental health and military law & policy.

Each of the faculty have advanced training and experience in forensic psychiatry or psychology in high-security and military-specific settings. Additional specialty training and experience by faculty include forensic psychometry, risk assessment, threat assessment, special duty evaluations, civil disability analysis, feigning, analysis of false confessions, testimony before appellate courts, and support to various administrative review boards throughout the federal government.

Fellows have significant face-to-face time with all members of our core faculty providing career development, work-life balance, and military-specific mentorship.

Fellow well-being is a priority to enable safe & competent care when working in clinical settings. Our program dedicates specific time to fellows to ensure access to our on-site gym and we informally host off-site retreats for team building and to provide a whole-person perspective on the individual needs of each trainee.