State Hospital South

1 Full Time Funded Position – *Inactive for 2025-2026

General Information

State Hospital South (SHS) is a State of Idaho Department of Health and Welfare (DHW) adult inpatient psychiatric facility located in Blackfoot, a rural community.  The facility is fully accredited by the Joint Commission, certified by the Health Care Finance Administration (HCFA), and licensed by the State Hospital Licensing Agency.  SHS is licensed to serve 110 patients in its patient treatment facility and 42 residents in its skilled nursing home providing assessment, diagnosis, treatment and psychosocial rehabilitation services to mentally ill members of Idaho communities whose care could not be appropriately provided in a less restrictive setting.  Individuals served by SHS range in age from 18 years through adulthood and meet legal and departmental criteria for hospitalization.

The Internship Experience

SHS training provides an experience which prepares interns for doctoral-level independent practice of clinical psychology. Working within interdisciplinary teams, our training emphasis is providing psychological services to and gaining experience working with severely mentally ill adults. SHS training is designed to develop competencies in psychological assessment and diagnosis, psychological intervention, and forensic assessment. While at SHS, interns will be assigned to the Psychology Department of SHS and will perform various clinical duties on the General Adult Treatment Units and the Syringa Chalet Geriatric Nursing Care Facility. Additionally, the intern will participate in daily interdisciplinary treatment team meetings with psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, recreational therapists, chemical dependency counselors, dieticians, and other service providers. The intern will also consult with members of SHS administration, regional mental health providers, and patient family members regarding issues germane to the patients’ treatment and continued care.

As a facility of the Idaho Department of Health Welfare (IDHW), SHS operates in accordance with state and federal laws and executive orders pertaining to equal employment opportunity and antidiscrimination. IDHW is also committed to providing reasonable modifications to individuals with qualified disabilities. Located within the Department’s Human Resources unit, a Civil Rights Manager is responsible for overseeing and investigating matters related to disrespectful conduct in the workplace and civil rights complaints, to assist with taking immediate and appropriate corrective actions for your protection.

While at State Hospital South (SHS) interns will be expected to:

• Administer psychological testing and write up assessment reports.
• Provide group therapy at least four times per week.
• Act as behavioral consultants to hospital psychiatrists, clinicians, psychiatric NPs/PAs, recreational therapists, nursing staff, psychiatric technicians, and regional case workers.

Location

State Hospital South is located in Blackfoot. There is an abundance of things to do and places to visit within a short distance from Blackfoot. Yellowstone and Teton National Parks, Sun Valley and Grand Targhee ski resorts are all close by. Pebble Creek ski area offers intermediate and expert skiing within twenty minutes of downtown Pocatello. Camping, hiking, road and mountain biking, cross-country skiing and river sports are within minutes of Pocatello and offer uncrowded outdoor recreation. The area also offers blue ribbon trout fishing as well as numerous public and private golf courses and frisbee golf parks. The area is home to several rodeos and other cultural events throughout the year.

Contact Information

SHS Site Director & Supervising Psychologist: Anne Stegenga, PsyD, Staff Psychologist
Anne.Stegenga@dhw.idaho.gov

Supervising Psychologist: Tashina Keith, PsyD, Chief Psychologist
Tashina.Keith@dhw.idaho.gov