MIRECC / CoE
VA Interprofessional Fellowship Program in PSR and Recovery Oriented Services
Bedford
PSR fellows will become part of an interdisciplinary team of postgraduate fellows which may also include social work, nursing, psychiatry, vocational rehabilitation, and/or occupational therapy. Each fellow will select two programs to work in throughout the year. The primary placement will be a program that focuses on serving Veterans with serious mental illnesses. For the second placement, fellows can choose from a variety of inpatient, outpatient, or community-based programs. No specific emphasis is required for the second placement choice, and the options are designed to be flexible and offer the fellow opportunities to pursue individual professional interests.
The program placements provide the fellow with an environment to learn and to apply the principles of psychosocial rehabilitation while working with an interdisciplinary team of experienced professionals. All fellows will provide recovery services to Veterans with serious mental illness through the Program for Outpatient Wellness, Engagement, and Recovery (POWER). In addition, the fellow will be actively involved in recovery-oriented assessments, program development, consultation, and educational dissemination regarding psychosocial rehabilitation within the healthcare system and nationally via conference presentations. Opportunities for participation in research are also available in collaboration with the VISN 1 Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center (MIRECC).
The overall goals of the PSR fellowship are to provide training and clinical experiences for fellows so that they become grounded in the principles and values of PSR and incorporate them into their work with Veterans. In addition, fellows acquire knowledge of current PSR research and practices in order to become a skilled PSR practitioner capable of promoting change in the VA system (to act as “agents of change”).
Our Directors
Andrew D. Peckham, Ph.D.
Clinical Psychologist | VA Bedford
Research Investigator | VISN 1 New England Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center
Assistant Professor of Psychiatry | University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School
Professional Interests: Treatment of bipolar disorder; mechanisms of impulsivity and emotion dysregulation; cognitive remediation.
Claudia Kirschner, LICSW
Social Worker | VA Bedford
Professional Interests:First episode psychosis, couple's therapy, suicide prevention, and recovery-oriented care within an acute inpatient psychiatry setting.
The Fellowship Class of 2026 - 2027
Arielle Szafran, PsyD
Psychology Resident
Professional Interests:Geropsychology, the intersection of serious mental illness and aging, chronic medical and mental health conditions, decreasing stigma associated with mental illness and aging. My passions are centered around delivering trauma-informed and relation-centric support across long-term living and acute inpatient settings.
Grace Natoli, Psy.D.
Psychology Resident
Professional Interests:I enjoy group and individual therapy work, as well as psychological assessment, and I particularly enjoyed my experience at the State Hospital where I was able to hone my clinical and assessment skills working with individuals with SMI and in the forensic setting. I also have a passion for working with diverse individuals/ populations, particularly the LGBTQIA+ community, women, and younger adults. That being said, my work so far at the VA has consisted of working with adults and older adults with SMI in residential settings, which has helped me further develop my clinical skills.
Malia Clark,
Social Work Fellow
Professional Interests:pending
Additional Information
For more information on application process, deadlines, and training opportunities:
Download our Brochure: VA Bedford PSR Fellowship Description
Site Contacts
Andrew D. Peckham, Ph.D. | Andrew.Peckham@va.gov
Claudia Kirschner, LICSW | Claudia.Kirschner@va.gov
