DSH - Patton: Internship and Fellowship Alumni
Back row from left to right: Mary Elizabeth Wood, Ph.D. and Jaime Anderson, Ph.D. Front row from left to right: Kenny Karyadi, Ph.D., Frederick Hives, Psy.D., Mihndan Ta, Ph.D., Sarah Hoff, Ph.D., and Andrew Perkins, Ph.D. (Missing from Picture: Cynthia Aguilar, Psy.D.)
Where are they now? Profiles from the 2015-2016 Internship and Fellowship Cohorts
Graduates of the Patton State Hospital Internship and Fellowship programs have a strong track record of successful career paths following their training at Patton. Former interns and fellows hold leadership positions throughout the country in various settings including forensic state hospitals, medical hospitals, private practices, correctional settings, Veteran’s Administration hospitals, and academia.
The profiles below provide a sample of the types of early career trajectories followed by our alumni, as they chronicle the career paths of an entire internship and fellowship cohort from the 2015-2016 training year. These profiles were written in August 2018, two years after completion of this training year.
Cynthia Aguilar, Psy.D.
Dr. Aguilar earned her Psy.D. in Clinical Psychology at the Indiana University of Pennsylvania. She completed her internship at Bruce C. Carter VA Medical Center in Miami, Florida with an emphasis in geropsychology and neuropsychology. Afterwards, she completed a 2-year postdoctoral residency in clinical neuropsychology at Patton State Hospital. Dr. Aguilar is currently a licensed psychologist in the state of California. Her clinical expertise includes adult and geriatric neuropsychological assessments, as well as assessments of monolingual and bilingual Spanish speaking patients. She currently works in the private practice sector and works with individuals with a wide range of neurocognitive disorders, including but not limited to differential diagnosis of dementia, brain injury, and a host of other medical/neurological conditions.
Jaime Anderson, Ph.D.
Dr. Anderson received her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Alabama upon completing her internship at DSH-Patton. Following completion of her internship, Dr. Anderson accepted a position as an Assistant Professor of Psychology at Sam Houston State University, where she is currently the director of the Assessment of Personality Psychopathology lab. Her research interests include the assessment of personality disorders, with a particular emphasis on the use of dimensional personality constructs in diagnosis and understanding outcomes. In addition, Dr. Anderson is a consulting editor for the International Journal of Forensic Mental Health and serves on the Continuing Education Committee for the Society for Personality Assessment.
Frederick Hives, Psy.D.
Dr. Hives received his Psy.D. in Clinical Psychology from John F. Kennedy University. He then completed a two-year neuropsychology postdoctoral fellowship at Patton State Hospital. Dr. Hives is currently a neuropsychologist with Kaiser Permanente, Fresno, where he conducts comprehensive evaluations with adolescents and adults. He receives referrals from primary care physicians, neurologists, and psychiatrists with a wide range of referral questions, including differential diagnosis of dementia, clarifying cognitive status following neurological insult or injury, determining the presence of learning disorders, and evaluating patients’ needs for supportive services. These evaluations include patients with varied presenting problems consistent with a large medical center, including neurodegenerative disorders, traumatic brain injury, persistent mood disorders, and other medical and psychiatric conditions.
Sarah Hoff, Ph.D.
Dr. Hoff received her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln upon completing her internship at DSH-Patton. Following internship, she completed Patton's Postdoctoral Fellowship in Forensic Psychology. Dr. Hoff went on to work as a staff psychologist at a state hospital in Nebraska for nearly two years performing competency to stand trial and criminal responsibility evaluations. Dr. Hoff now works at a minimum/medium security prison for the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services. Additionally, she performs forensic and clinical evaluations through a private practice, Hoff Forensic Consulting, LLC.
Kenny Karyadi, Ph.D.
Dr. Karyadi received his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Indiana University-Purdue University in Indianapolis upon completing his internship at DSH-Patton. Following internship, he completed postdoctoral training in neuropsychology at DSH-Patton. He is currently a clinical neuropsychologist at Loma Linda University Behavioral Health Institute.
Andrew Perkins, Ph.D.
Dr. Perkins obtained his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Arizona. After completing his internship at Patton State Hospital in the Forensic Psychology track, Dr. Perkins stayed on to complete a postdoctoral fellowship in Forensic Psychology. Dr. Perkins is currently a full-time lecturer at the University of Arizona, where he teaches clinical assessment, forensic psychology, child maltreatment, and abnormal psychology. He operates a private practice in the state of Arizona, where he conducts a wide array of forensic evaluations.
Mihndan Ta, Ph.D.
Dr. Ta received her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Seattle Pacific University upon completing her internship at DSH-Patton. Following internship, she completed a postdoctoral fellowship in Forensic Psychology at DSH-Patton, where she received additional training in conducting assessments regarding competence to stand trial, violence risk, sex offender risk, and mental state at the time of the offense. Dr. Ta is currently a licensed psychologist in California and serves as a Staff Psychologist at Richard J. Donovan (RJD) Correctional Facility in San Diego, CA. Her duties as part of the Clinical Support Unit (CSU) at RJD consist of providing crisis intervention and support regarding high treatment utilizers and high-risk patients (e.g., patients with chronic suicidal ideation, self-injurious behavior, behavioral problems, feigning or exaggerating mental health symptoms for secondary gain, and potential difficulties related to changes in level of care). Additionally, Dr. Ta is involved with the internship program at RJD as a clinical supervisor.
Mary Elizabeth Wood, Ph.D.
Dr. Wood received her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Alabama, with a concentration in Psychology and Law. Following internship, she completed the postdoctoral fellowship in forensic psychology at Patton State Hospital. She is currently an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where she conducts court-ordered forensic evaluations for adults and juveniles in Nashville, as well as privately hired forensic evaluations as a member of the Forensic Psychiatry Clinic. She also supervises psychology interns, psychiatry residents, and child psychiatry fellows. Dr. Wood has an active research program with a particular interest in investigating the needs and abilities of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities who have been involved in the criminal justice system. Her clinical interests focus on evaluations of adjudicative competence and mental state at the time of the offense, as well as a particular interest in evaluations specific to the death penalty context (i.e., capital mitigation, Atkins).