Sleep Psychology

Number of positions: 1 practicum student
Average time commitment: 10-20 hrs/week, typically 9am-5pm, specific days/hours are flexible). Travel
to Henry Ford Health hospital sites is expected (i.e., Columbus Center in Novi and/or HF Main Hospital
in Detroit). Telemedicine with remote supervision by licensed psychologist may be necessary. This is a 1-
year placement (typically August 2026 – July 2027).
Primary Supervisors: David. A. Kalmbach, PhD, Philip Cheng, PhD, and Anthony N. Reffi, PhD

The Sleep Psychology Practicum offers a diverse range of clinical and research opportunities within the Sleep Research Center at Henry Ford Health (HFH). The Sleep Research Center is home to three programs of clinical research: (1) The Perinatal Sleep Health Institute, (2) The Center for Behavioral Circadian Medicine, and (3) The Sleep and Traumatic Stress Institute. These three programs are subsumed within a single training track, and students may have the opportunity to integrate into ongoing clinical trials within each program to develop knowledge and expertise in a variety of behavioral sleep medicine approaches. Clinical interactions for these experiences will take place exclusively in an outpatient setting via telehealth, with expectations for on-site training and supervision at Henry Ford Health’s Columbus Center in Novi, main campus in Detroit, or both (depending on the trial). Students’ time in each program is described below.

The practicum student will be working mostly within the Perinatal Sleep Health Institute, under the supervision of Dr. David Kalmbach. The Perinatal Sleep Health Institute was created to better serve pregnant and postpartum individuals at HFH by improving care for sleep disorders during peripartum. The practicum student’s primary responsibilities in this Institute center on delivering a mindfulness-based insomnia treatment for pregnant and postpartum women via telehealth. Practicum students will receive training in this novel evidence-based treatment in addition to one hour of scheduled weekly individual supervision (Dr. Kalmbach). The practicum student may also have the opportunity to work within the Center for Behavioral Circadian Medicine, under the supervision of Dr. Philip Cheng. The Center for Behavioral Circadian Medicine was founded to support clinical and translational science that makes behavioral health driven by circadian science widely accessible. The practicum student’s primary responsibilities in this Center will include delivering a novel intervention designed to target a core mechanism in Shift Work Disorder. Practicum students will receive training in this novel evidence-based treatment in addition to one hour of scheduled weekly individual supervision (Dr. Cheng).

The practicum student may also have the opportunity to work within Sleep and Traumatic Stress Institute, under the supervision of Dr. Anthony Reffi. The mission of this Institute is to advance our understanding of how sleep impacts recovery from traumatic stress to inform effective preventive interventions for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other posttraumatic sequelae. The practicum student’s primary responsibilities in this Institute will include (1) conducting pre-treatment clinical interviews to assess study eligibility (e.g., trauma history, psychosocial functioning) and (2) delivering cognitive-behavioral interventions focused on treating sleep disturbances early after exposure to interpersonal violence. Practicum students will receive training in these evidence-based treatments in addition to one hour of scheduled weekly individual supervision (Dr. Reffi).