Current Fellowship Opportunities

Quillen College of Medicine

Institute for Integrated Behavioral Health

Design Your Own Postdoctoral Fellowship in Integrated Care

The Institute for Integrated Behavioral Health at East Tennessee State University’s Quillen College of Medicine offers postdoctoral psychology fellows a unique opportunity to train at the forefront of integrated primary care. Our fellowship emphasizes evidence-based, team-based models of care in rural and underserved Appalachian communities, preparing fellows for impactful careers in clinical service, leadership, and academic medicine. 

Established in 2020, the Institute has a history of integrating Behavioral Health Consultants into Quillen College of Medicine primary care residency clinics in Pediatrics, Internal Medicine, Family Medicine, and OB/GYN, and expanding behavioral health services to high-need community and College of Nursing sites.  

ETSU has partnerships with regional health systems serving communities throughout Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia. This partnership provides opportunities for ETSU trainees and faculty to engage in clinical care, education, and collaborative initiatives across the region's healthcare system.

For this application cycle, we have received funding to support the integration of Fellows into primary care clinics affiliated with ETSU as well as in partner health systems across the region.  Regardless of clinical site, the Institute for Integrated Behavioral Health will remain the sponsoring organization and will administer the Fellowship program, including the Fellow's postdoctoral training, supervision, didactics, and ongoing evaluation. Opportunities may be available for Fellows to transition into permanent positions in the region following successful completion of the Fellowship. 

We are especially interested in recruiting fellows with an interest in starting their careers in Northeast Tennessee. We stay current on the region’s need for behavioral health providers and leaders and work with fellows from their first day to help connect them with permanent positions in this part of the country. We also provide an evolved experience that focuses on developing your skills in leadership, community engagement and working in a policy/advocacy role. 

For questions or a copy of the program handbook, please contact Dr. Jodi Polaha, Director, Institute for Integrated Behavioral Health polaha@etsu.edu.

Apply for the Postdoctoral Fellowship   

Major Tracks:

  • FAMILY MEDICINE
    • Potential clinical sites include ETSU Health Family Medicine Clinics and/or Family Medicine clinics of regional partners. These clinics serve a rural, high needs, and medically complex patient population. Given the Family Medicine setting, BHCs gain experience training as true generalists working with a wide range of patient demographics ranging from infant to older adult, and a diverse array of presenting concerns, including traditional mental health symptoms, chronic health management, substance use treatment, smoking cessation, and health behavior change. 
    • Engage in program development and aid in developing routine clinic pathways for screening brief treatment.
    • Hone skills in motivational interviewing for health behavior change.
    • Gain experience working with a range of interprofessional health care professionals, including medical residents, nurses, clinical pharmacists, and social work team members. Collaborate with other professionals through routine patient care and participate in focused treatment clinics, sucha as hospital follow-up visits, complex pharmacy consultation visits, and substance use treatment appointments. 
    • Train residents, medical students, and other interprofessional learners, participate in teaching behaviorial health didatics and contribute to behaviorial health education through clinical practice alongside team members.
    • Engage in leadership and development activities. 

    Direct questions to Track Supervisor and Institute Faculty, Dr. Alex Melkonian; melkonian@etsu.edu 

  • OBGYN
    • Provide generalist BHC services to ETSU Health OB/GYN clinics and/or OB/GYN clinics affiliated with regional partners. Opportunities may exist to work with low and high-risk obstetrics, general gynecology and in-house MAT obstetrics clinic. 
    • Provide training for medical students, residents, and other interprofessional learners including opportunities for research activities. 
    • Engage in leadership and development activities including supporting the wellbeing of the interprofessional team.
    • Opportunities may exist to provide behavioral health services in the Perinatal SUD Clinic. This clinic engages with patients on buprenorphine for the treatment of OUD as well as other substance use disorders to assist patients in meeting their treatment goals and having healthy babies.  

    Direct questions to Track Supervisor and Institute Faculty, Dr. Jessica Turner; turnerjh@etsu.edu 

  • INTERNAL MEDICINE
    • Function as a core member of the primary care team while providing generalist Behavioral Health Consultant (BHC) services at ETSU Health Internal Medicine clinics or Internal Medicine clinics affiliated with regional partners, consistent with a Primary Care Behavioral Health model of care.  
    • Build systems to better support patients’ and health care teams’ management of mental health and lifestyle/behavioral factors contributing to poor health in an older, medically complex population. Collaborate with primary care, subspecialty (currently, Rheumatology and Endocrinology), and embedded psychiatric providers. 
    • Become a clinical educator, teaching residents, medical students, and other interprofessional learners (nursing, pharmacy, psychology and others) key behavioral health and team-based care competencies, while engaging in clinical work.    
    • Engage in leadership, quality improvement, and program development opportunities consistent with your interests and clinic needs.  

    Direct questions to Track Supervisor and Institute Faculty, Dr. Jodi Polaha; polaha@etsu.edu 

  • PEDIATRICS 
    • Grow as a pediatric focused clinician:  Advance your generalist BHC skills by serving children, adolescents, and their families in pediatric primary care. Clinic sites may be at ETSU Health Pediatrics and/or pediatric primary care clinics affiliated with regional partners.
    • Grow as an educator:  Train residents, medical students, and other interprofessional learners. Learn key “microteaching” skills to establish yourself as an effective clinical preceptor.  
    • Grow as a leader:  Engage in leadership, advocacy and program development activities in the ETSU Department of Pediatrics with mentorship tailored to your needs and goals.  
    • Work in a warm and supportive environment where psychology is valued, and your training goals are prioritized. Opportunities for advanced training in behavioral, acceptance and commitment therapy, and cognitive behavioral approaches.  

    Direct questions to Track Supervisor and Institute Faculty, Dr. Matthew Tolliver; tolliverr@etsu.edu

Minor Tracks: 

  • ADDICTION MEDICINE
    • Expand your expertise while extending services to patients with Substance Use Disorder and Behavioral Addictions by engaging with those in need (read: everybody) of BHC services in the Addiction Medicine Clinic, housed in the ETSU Department of Family Medicine Johnson City Clinic.  
    • Reap the benefits of working in an evidence-based, compassionate, energized and integrated environment with Board Certified Addictionologists, addiction medicine fellows, nurses, licensed social workers, and Certified Peer Recovery Specialists.  
    • Facilitate in person and virtual groups, individual therapy, couples’ counseling, and family counseling.  
    • Train residents, fellows, and other interprofessional learners in this innovative model of care. Option to participate in ETSU’s nationally recognized interprofessional education program.  
    • Engage in leadership and development activities within the Fellowship and in coordination with the Addiction Science Center.  

    Direct questions to: Dr. Joyce Troxler; troxler@etsu.edu and Jodi Polaha: polaha@etsu.edu 

  • RESEARCH/EVALUATION/ADVOCACY
    • Conduct locally impactful research in coordination with several ongoing projects evaluating the PCBH model of integrated care.  
    • Facilitate SUD research with interprofessional teams in one of our major track offerings. 
    • Learn how to use data and stories to advocate for healthcare/integrated care to local and state government. 
    • Collaborate with national experts in recovery science at ETSU’s Addiction Science Center. 

    Direct questions to Institute Director, Dr. Jodi Polaha, polaha@etsu.edu 

  • COMMUNITY-BASED RECOVERY PROGRAMS 
    • Provide behavioral health services to individuals with substances use disorder in one of the community-based recovery programs in our region. ETSU Health is well-connected to a wide range of community-based recovery programs including treatment programs, recovery court, and recovery housing.  Specific programs can be determined based on Fellow’s interest and program availability.  

    Direct questions to Institute Director, Dr. Jodi Polaha, polaha@etsu.edu 



  • PROGRAMS FOR INCARCERATED INDIVIDUALS  
    • Provide behavioral health services to incarcerated individuals in the Washington County jail, including those with substance use disorder. 
    • Work in close collaboration with facility staff and the medical team. 
    • Engage in program development and growth within this innovative and vital program. 
    • Gain supervision from a respected expert in mental health for incarcerated individuals. 

    Direct questions to Institute Director, Dr. Jodi Polaha, polaha@etsu.edu 



Why ETSU?

We provide an evolved experience that focuses on developing skills in leadership, community engagement, and working in a policy/advocacy role.  We don’t fit you to our needs – we fit our opportunities to your needs and you can mix and match the training tracks to design the adventure that will launch your career.

Institute Faculty include research, policy, and health system innovators with strong track records in publishing, implementation and sustainment of novel programming, and local advocacy.  Our team has a servant-leader orientation, lives our values around work-life balance, and prioritizes a work culture of connection and support.

Life in Our Region

Fellowship Benefits

  • Stipend: $61,000
  • Fellows receive health, dental, vision insurance, short term disability, basic life insurance, voluntary term life insurance, voluntary accidental death, dismemberment insurance, 401k and professional development stipend.

View Fellowship Benefits Information