Postdoctoral Fellowships

About Us
Atlas Behavioral Health is a growing private practice in Chicago that provides outpatient therapy to adults, children/adolescents, couples, families, and groups. At Atlas, we value creating an inclusive and diverse space, promoting a collaborative and supportive work environment, committing to social justice efforts, and engaging in ongoing self-reflection and continuous growth. Our practice strives to be anti-racist, to consciously build a team that possesses a multitude of perspectives and positionalities, and to support more marginalized clinicians in concerted ways. We aim to build a strong connection to the Humboldt Park community in which we are oriented. We have built into our financial model the ability for each full-time therapist to have two pro bono slots to reach more people in need of service.

Work Culture
At Atlas, we aim to create and maintain a collaborative environment in which clinicians feel fairly compensated for their work and can build strong relationships with colleagues. We strive to create a protective environment to prevent burnout, while understanding how taxing our work can be and the importance of time outside of work. We work to accomplish this through the cultivation of warm and supportive spaces (in individual and group supervision), as well as building strong relationships among staff to allow for vulnerability, openness, humor, creativity, and fun. Clinicians will typically consult with each other in the hallway in between sessions or take the time to connect or laugh. At Atlas, we value firm work-life boundaries, work to hold each other accountable to these boundaries, and create systems that support this.

The Position
For the 2024-2025 academic year, we are looking to hire 2 full-time postdoctoral fellows. We hope to find clinicians who are diverse in their background, identity, training, and clinical expertise. Clinicians of color, LGBTQ+ clinicians, and Spanish-speaking clinicians are highly encouraged to apply.

Schedule
This is a full-time position (caseload of 24+ client hours per week). We work from a hybrid model; all clinicians are required to be in the office two days per week and can choose to work from the office or from home on other scheduled days. The hybrid model was crafted to create a sense of connectedness through being in the office together (and making consultation easier), while also offering the flexibility of working from home.

Fellows work 40 hours each week; time is distributed as follows: 28 client slots (likely see 24-26 clients), 4 hours of supervision and training, and 8 hours for administrative time and professional development. At the successful completion of their fellowship year, clinicians will have completed 2,000 hours total of which 1,200 are direct service hours. This amount greatly surpasses the minimum needed for licensure in the state of Illinois.

To begin the year we ask fellows to provide at least 6 “primetime” slots– “primetime” meaning high demand times either after 5pm on weekdays OR at any time on the weekend. These 6 slots can be spread out in any way that works for the fellows. We realize the importance of having time for yourself, and we try to balance this with ensuring caseload/hours are reached as well as wanting to be able to offer therapy to those who are not able to make daytime appointments (i.e., those in school or those who work full in-person jobs). However, as the year goes on, we are open to talking with fellows about shifts in their schedules.

Methods of Fellow Evaluation
Fellows are evaluated at the 45-day and 90-day employment marks. Subsequently, Fellows are evaluated at the 6-month employment mark and one-year employment mark. Evaluations have two parts: 1) a synchronous conversation between the Fellow and supervisor on: Fellow’s strengths, Fellow’s areas of growth, and any other notable feedback; 2) a review of written and standardized Fellow evaluation form (evaluation on core competencies of the fellowship) completed by supervisors.

Due Process Procedures
Due Process procedures are implemented in response to concerns raised by a supervisor or other staff member regarding a Fellow. Atlas has created a Postdoctoral handbook that includes definitions and detailed step-by-step due process and grievance procedures.

Compensation
Post-doctoral fellows are paid according to an annual stipend of $60,000. This amount is divided across 24 pay periods (paychecks distributed twice each month). Please note this amount is prior to taxes and prior to any other deductions (i.e., health insurance premiums).  

Benefits
You will be given the option to enroll yourself for medical (BCBSIL), dental (Delta), and vision (Delta) insurance. Atlas pays 60% of your individual monthly premiums for any/all of the three options above. You also will have the option to enroll partners and dependents; however, Atlas does not contribute to their monthly premiums.

Time Off
Given the pay structure is an annual stipend, you have the flexibility to take days off during the course of the year and still meet the hour requirements. Specifically, Fellows are given 40 hours of sick time, 40 hours of paid time off, and federal holidays. Fellows are also encouraged to continuously discuss their work schedules with supervisors in order to find a balance between their professional and personal lives.

Licensure at Completion
Successful completion of the post-doctoral fellowship program will fulfill and markedly surpass the minimum supervised practice requirements for licensure as a clinical psychologist in the state of Illinois. For information on licensure in Illinois, please visit https://idfpr.illinois.gov/profs/psych.asp.

Professional Development
Atlas reimburses up to $250 per year of professional development costs in order to promote and support clinicians' ongoing learning.


Amenities Provided by Atlas

• Fully furnished office space (waiting area, secured offices, kitchen, and conference room) and all office supplies including clinician refreshments (water cooler, coffee, tea, and snacks).

• Individual supervision for at least 2 hours per week ( 1 hour with each supervisor, additional time as needed)

• Weekly group consultation/supervision

• Weekly in-house didactic/training

• Atlas pays for 100% of liability/malpractice insurance premiums.

• Billing support (e.g. insurance billing, coordination of benefits/eligibility, claims submission)

• Opportunities to facilitate clinical services including group therapy

• Electronic medical records system (with secure HIPAA-compliant video for telehealth)

• Marketing and the provision of marketing materials

• Referral system; we work with you collaboratively to build your caseload to ensure that you are connected to the clients you wish to serve.

Who would be a good fit?
A clinician who is relational, open, curious, self-aware, fun, and social justice-minded. We are looking for someone that is organized, values ongoing learning, and is committed to continuous growth. At Atlas, we believe that valuing learning and growth involves frequent, reciprocal feedback rooted in honesty and mutual respect. Clinicians likely to excel at Atlas are those who process and use the therapeutic relationship in their work intentionally and appreciate spaces to continue exploring this aspect of their clinical work. 

Additionally, clinicians who recognize the importance of developing a conscious self-awareness of one’s positionality and consistently interrogating how their positionality may impact and/or inform clinical practice would be a good fit at Atlas. Clinicians who hold notable privilege are especially expected to be actively engaged in anti-racist, LGBTQ-affirming, and generally anti-oppressive practice, with the recognition that this is a lifelong and action-oriented process.


Hiring Process
After receipt of your materials, we will follow up with you directly. If we believe we may be a good fit, we will set up a time to talk with you. The goal of this conversation would be to get a sense of who you are, provide you with more details about us, and answer questions about the position. From there, we will talk you through the next steps of the interview process. We consider the interviewing process a mutual process so you get a good sense of who we are – because it is essential you find a good fit too!