Catalight’s Postdoctoral Program Inaugural Year: Success, Learnings and Trainee Experience

Recent Catalight postdoctoral graduate Catie Allen, Ph.D., saw firsthand the tremendous need for timely autism evaluations and diagnoses during her previous clinical internship, which was focused primarily on counseling children and adolescents who were victims of trauma.

“We would have a lot of children come in with neurodevelopmental disorders, both diagnosed and undiagnosed,” said Dr. Allen, who completed her doctoral program in counseling and psychology at the University of Central Arkansas, before joining as one of Catalight’s first postdoctoral students.

The trauma-focused clinic where Dr. Allen completed her predoctoral internship lacked the ability to provide clinical assessments. As a result, patients were referred elsewhere for diagnostic evaluations, which delayed the initiation of their treatment and counseling.

It bothered Dr. Allen that the kids would typically need to spend a year or more on waitlists for neurodevelopmental assessments.

Determined to bridge that gap, she specifically sought roles that would give her that type of training and experience. “I wanted to make sure I wasn’t going to have to turn patients away because they have a developmental delay or autism.”

Enter the Catalight postdoctoral training program, which was created last year to train the next generation of psychologists to perform autism evaluations to help address the high demand for psychologists trained in this area. By fostering growth in this area of need, Catalight’s work supports closing the care gap in timely access to diagnostic assessments.

Addressing a Nationwide Shortage in Autism Evaluators 

As autism prevalence rates have skyrocketed, the number of qualified diagnosticians has not risen to meet the increased need for assessments and treatment.

“We know that there’s a huge need for this in terms of the increased number of diagnosticians who do this work and do it well,” said Catalight Vice President of Diagnostic and Psychological Assessments, Nina Rudnick, Psy.D. “Additionally, we see that access to autism evaluations is mainly centered around urban areas. But there are people who live in more rural areas and others for whom English is not their first language or do not speak English at all, who are being lost in the shuffle.”

The inaugural program had a total cohort of six psychologists working under Dr. Rudnick and Diagnostic Evaluation Training Manager, Ashley Hazel, Ph.D. From 2025 to 2026, the program will expand to a cohort of eight trainees and will add a supervisory clinician.

“We’re really focused on not just speeding up the time to get an evaluation, but also the representation of who is performing those evaluations, their understanding of autism and how they connect with populations and communities that are diverse geographically, socioeconomically, linguistically and culturally,” Dr. Rudnick said. “We need to be putting the person we’re evaluating first.”

Individuals who receive their doctorate degree in psychology, clinical psychology, counseling psychology, and developmental psychology must undertake 3,000 supervised hours to become a licensed psychologist. By completing Catalight’s full-time, postdoc program, trainees satisfy those supervised hours while earning an annual stipend.

Specialized Training for Pivotal Moments 

As part of the autism evaluation process, the postdocs are trained not only to identify the signs and symptoms highly associated with autism, but also the strengths the patient exhibits both within the evaluation and that their parents see at home or outside the testing environment. In addition, the program trains the postdocs to do a differential diagnosis, which is important in making an accurate diagnosis and a critical skill set many psychologists do not have.

“I’ve learned that every child really is unique, and autism can present in so many different ways,” said Dr. Allen, whose motto after training with Catalight has become: I’m the expert in my field, but you’re the expert in your child. “Families all have one thing in common: They’re pushing for the best for their child.” 

On a weekly basis, Catalight postdocs receive two to three hours of individual and group supervision, one to two hours of didactic training in developmental disabilities, evaluation procedures and clinical adherence to best practices. They receive clinical practice experience that includes direct testing, consultation, feedback sessions with parents, intake assessments, and opportunities to provide direct evidence-based therapeutic services.

“That moment, after reviewing all the information provided to us and the assessments that we administer, where we say, ‘your child meets the diagnostic criteria for autism’ is very profound and pivotal in families’ lives,” said Dr. Rudnick. “I see what we do as a privilege and an honor, and I really hope that all of our clinicians can feel that in their work every day. Supporting families through this process is so important and our clinicians need to know that they are valued and cared for at the end of the day.”

A “Beautiful Experience” 

For Dr. Allen, the mother of two toddlers who values work/life balance, the postdoc program has been professionally and personally rewarding.

“It’s been a beautiful experience,” she said. “A lot of it has given me insight into how I might approach certain situations differently, given what I know now.” 

Dr. Allen graduated from the year-long program in August and is preparing for board licensing. 

Having their first postdoc grads move toward licensure is extremely gratifying and affirming, Drs. Rudnick and Hazel shared.

“To see their growth over the year, where they started with just observing evaluations, to working alongside us, then completing portions of evaluations with our support to now where we are the observers, consulting and confirming our clinical agreement is really amazing,” Dr. Hazel said. “It gives me confidence that we’ve accomplished what we set out to and that we’re helping prepare the next generation of clinicians to go out on their own and make an impact.”

Beyond gaining tremendous confidence in her ability to perform autism assessments, Dr. Allen said the most fulfilling part of being in this field is recognizing you’re making a difference in someone’s life and in the lives of their families.

Looking Ahead 

In addition to adding two trainees and one clinical supervisor to this year’s cohort, Catalight will be working to gain accreditation for the postdoc program with the Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers (APPIC) and American Psychological Association (APA).

Once she gains licensure, Dr. Allen hopes to continue doing this kind of work and has applied for a position at Catalight.

“It’s been an amazing learning experience. I have loved it,” she said. 

Postdoc trainees applying to work at Catalight is perhaps the biggest compliment the program can receive, Dr. Ashley Hazel said.

Just as Drs. Rudnick and Hazel focus individually on the kids and families they serve, they approach the postdoc program through that same lens.

“We look at how we can meet the needs of the individual postdoc, support and guide them and help them launch,” Dr. Rudnick said. “Whether they join Catalight after licensure or follow a different path, we really want to leave a positive mark and to have been a great experience for them.”