Vail Health Behavioral Health

Interns at VHBH are engaged in a variety of behavioral health services offered through our organization with major areas of focus that strongly align with the areas of focus within CO-PIC: Behavioral Health Intervention, Community Consultation and Systems Collaboration, Supervision, and Psychological Assessment. VHBH is a leader and coordinator of several behavioral health collaborations, work groups, community-based initiatives, and is viewed as a central hub for the integration and coordination of all behavioral health resources, providers, and organizations within our community. Interns at VHBH have opportunities to engage in behavioral health systems collaboration at state and national systemic level through policy advocacy and leadership development with the Colorado Psychological Association. There are two specialty tracks available for interns at VHBH: integrated primary care (1 FT funded placement) and sports psychology (1 FT funded placement). 

VHBH- IntegratedCare & Outpatient Track (1 intern)

Interns placed with VHBH’s Integrated Care & Outpatient Therapy Track support the Integrated Behavioral Health program at Colorado Mountain Medical (CMM) and Vail Health Behavioral Health (VHBH) Outpatient Clinic. In the Integrated Care rotation, interns are embedded into the medical clinic supporting patients accessing primary care, dermatology, gynecology, endocrinology, urology, and pediatrics. Interns will field warm hand-offs from physicians, consult with medical staff, and provide brief, solution-focused interventions to patients, their parents, and families. Interns will also have the opportunity to attend physician meetings, build presentations for staff on treating behavioral health patients, and participate in the development of a specialty project related to primary care.

While rotating through VHBH Outpatient Clinic, interns primary clinical responsibilities include brief screenings and intervention including the provision of individual, family, couples, and group therapy with children, adolescents, and adults with a variety of presenting concerns. Interns may also receive referrals for solution focused, short-term work from the employee assistance program (EAP) for Vail Health employees. In the VHBH Outpatient Clinic, interns will also participate in the psychological testing program completing comprehensive biopsychosocial assessments and conducting neuropsychological batteries.

The Integrated Care & Outpatient Therapy Track also offers the unique opportunity to be involved in leadership roles in many Community Consultation Systems including but not limited to: Zero Suicide Committee, Rural Communities Opioid Response Program, Eagle County Crisis Response Debrief, Disaster Behavioral Response Committee, Critical Incident Debrief Team, and more. The Integrated Care & Outpatient Therapy also services the Latinx Community of Eagle County offering multiple opportunities for community engagement, bilingual service delivery, and program development.

VHBH- Sports Psych Track (1 Intern)

Interns placed in VHBH- Sports Psychology Track primarily provide services at Howard Head Sports Medicine (HHSM), a busy and dynamic Sports Medicine Clinic providing Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Brain and Balance Care, and Sport Psychology services as a part of the Vail Health healthcare system. Interns are placed at the Edwards and Vail Clinics, which are approximately 15 miles apart, thus interns are required to have access to reliable transportation to travel between sites. Please note: there are employee shuttles between sites that interns may use to go between clinics. 

HHSM’s use of sport psychology is aimed at helping eliminate stigma associated with the use of behavioral health and to increase access to behavioral health care by opening new doors within the healthcare continuum. Our vision is to imagine a day in Eagle Valley when we spend as much time, effort and resources on our behavioral health as we do our physical health. In addition to community collaboration and system consultation, HHSM is a part of a community Employee Behavioral Health Assistance program (EAP) that serves multiple organizations in the Vail Valley.

At HHSM, interns provide mental health, psychological assessment, and performance psychology services to HHSM patients and regular consultation to HHSM staff. Interns have opportunities to assist with psychological assessments used in the evaluation for pre-surgical screening and can expect to complete 8-12 full batteries during the training year. Interns are placed with a local sports team and spend 5-10 hours per week conducting sports intervention with their assigned team. A typical day at HHSM includes post-surgical patients in the morning, attending interdisciplinary treatment team meetings and/or providing interdisciplinary consultation, and then conducting psychological assessments and participating in supervision in the afternoons.