Psychologist – Developmental Pediatrics (PhD)

Role Overview

Psychologist – Developmental Pediatrics (PhD) at Sidra Medicine. The role is based in the Outpatient Clinic and serves children and adolescents with neurodevelopmental disorders.

Role Purpose

Provide specialist psychological assessment, behavioral evaluation, and evidence-based psychological interventions for children and adolescents with neurodevelopmental disorders. Formulate and implement formal psychological treatment plans and offer expert consultation to multidisciplinary team members contributing to patient diagnosis and care.

Key Responsibilities

Assessment & Diagnosis

• Conduct specialist psychological intakes and comprehensive behavioral assessments for children and adolescents with neurodevelopmental disorders.
• Perform psychological, psychoeducational, and neuropsychological testing.
• Administer and interpret clinical diagnostic tools including ADOS-2, ADI-R, and CARS-2.
• Review relevant school and medical records to understand cases comprehensively.
• Compose written reports detailing psychological and behavioral assessment findings.

Treatment Planning & Intervention

• Formulate and implement formal psychological treatment plans for patients.
• Deliver evidence-based psychological treatments for neurodevelopmental disorders such as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), including co-morbid psychological problems such as Anxiety.
• Offer Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and other evidence-based psychological interventions.
• Implement or seek certification in social-interaction focused and play-based therapy interventions for children and adolescents with neurodevelopmental disorders, including those focused on functional emotional developmental capacities (e.g., DIRFloortime®).
• Provide group therapy interventions including social skills training for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and group parent education programs.

Family Support & Counseling

• Provide specialized clinical psychological input to families.
• Deliver parent counseling on evidence-based parenting strategies and behavioral management of children with neurodevelopmental disorders.
• Counsel parents on appropriate educational placement, therapy interventions, and ability-friendly programs based on diagnostic assessment outcomes.
• Communicate directly with schools and school staff when applicable and with parental written consent.
• Familiarize families with various educational systems available in Qatar, public and private school options, healthcare systems, and local community resources.

Consultation & Collaboration

• Provide specialist psychological advice, guidance, and consultation to other professionals contributing directly to patient diagnosis and treatment planning.
• Work as a collaborative member of a multidisciplinary team comprising physicians, psychologists, speech language pathologists, occupational therapists, and nurses.
• Engage in peer consultation and multidisciplinary meetings to improve clinical care and maintain professional standards.

Professional Development & Leadership

• Keep abreast of current literature, developments in clinical psychology, counseling, developmental psychology, and neuropsychology through colleague discussion and participation in professional organizations and conferences.
• Provide clinical supervision based on scope and experience to improve clinical skills and professional development of students, trainees, and early career colleagues.

Cultural Competence & Compliance

• Deliver psychological services with cultural competence appropriate to a wide variety of ethnic, linguistic, and religious populations.
• Adhere to Sidra's Code of Conduct and Conflict of Interest policies.
• Promote and adhere to Sidra's Values.
• Perform additional duties as assigned in response to evolving organizational needs and opportunities.

Qualifications & Experience

Education

• Doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology (Ph.D., PsyD, or DClinPsyD).

Clinical Training

• Three years of supervised clinical work experience and/or a total of 4000 hours of supervised clinical experience (whichever applies) as part of pre-doctoral and post-doctoral training.

Experience

• 5+ years' experience as a practicing Licensed Clinical Psychologist.
• 3+ years in a job position fully or partly dedicated to working with children with neurodevelopmental disorders such as Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Certification & Licensure

• Current license in country of origin as a Clinical Psychologist.
• Eligible for licensure in the State of Qatar.
• Experienced and certified in the use of clinical diagnostic tools such as ADOS-2, ADI-R, and CARS-2.

Skills & Competencies

• Proficiency with Microsoft Office suite.
• Fluency in written and spoken English.
• Ability to compose comprehensive written reports of psychological and behavioral assessments.
• Direct communication with schools and school staff regarding patient care.
• Knowledge of various educational systems available in Qatar and local community resources.
• Delivery of evidence-based psychological interventions and parent counseling.
• Group facilitation and therapy delivery.
• Multidisciplinary collaboration and peer consultation.
• Cultural competence in serving diverse ethnic, linguistic, and religious populations.
• Professional commitment to ongoing learning and skill development.

Additional Information

• Reporting relationships may vary in response to evolving organizational needs and opportunities.