The Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities (BHDD) Office of Mental Health IS Currently Accepting Applications
Deadline 12/19/25
Unlock Your Full Potential.
The Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities (BHDD) Office of Mental Health offers a unique opportunity for psychology fellows to develop both breadth and depth of knowledge and skill related to forensic psychological practice, particularly in the area of forensic evaluation, alongside the Forensic Psychiatry Fellowship with the University of South Carolina School of Medicine. The American Board of Forensic Psychology (ABFP) accepted the postdoctoral fellowship program for their Five-Year Experience Waiver as of July 2018.
The fellowship offers extensive evaluation, diagnostic, and forensic experience through performing a variety of forensic evaluations in our Forensic Evaluation Services Department, to include competency to stand trial, criminal responsibility/capacity to conform conduct and Sexually Violent Predator (SVP) evaluations.
The fellowship also offers didactic and training experiences through a yearlong combination of practical experience coupled with educational (e.g., forensic readings) and training seminars (e.g., landmark cases) under the direct supervision of our training director, licensed forensic practitioners and the forensic psychiatry fellows and training staff.
Selection Criteria
The BHDD Office of Mental Health is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, gender, color, ethnicity, national origin, disability, age or sexual orientation.
Prospective fellows should have a Ph.D./Psy.D. in Clinical or Counseling Psychology from an APA-accredited program and should have completed an APA-accredited internship. All degree requirements are to be completed by the start of the fellowship. Previous forensic experience is strongly preferred, though not required.
We are looking for incoming fellows who have the following:
- The ability to conduct productive interviews and mental status examinations
- The ability to administer, interpret, and score commonly used psychometric measures
- The ability to write succinct and relevant reports that effectively incorporate extensive data sets
- The ability to communicate findings to audiences with varying familiarity with psychological knowledge
BHDD Office of Mental Health graduated its first Forensic Postdoctoral Fellows on August 30, 2019
The Fellowship focuses on training fellows in performing forensic evaluations through experiences gained in the Forensic Evaluation Services Department. The Fellowship has been accepted as an experience waiver site by the American Board of Forensic Psychology.
In collaboration with the Office of Mental Health Office of General Counsel and USC, this training covers interview techniques, diagnostics, and assessments related to evaluating competency to stand trial, criminal responsibility, and conducting sexually violent predator evaluations. Graduates of the program are prepared to practice as independent licensed psychologists, and trained in the art of courtroom testimony.