Departments and Services: Surgical Psychology

UF Health Surgical Psychology – Jacksonville and its team of surgeons and support staff is a key component of UF Health Surgery – Jacksonville.

In 1983, the UF Health TraumaOne program was the first trauma service in the state of Florida and remains the only adult and pediatric Level I trauma center in Northeast Florida and Southeast Georgia. It serves more than 4,000 injured patients each year.

In 1995, the Surgery Department added a psychological consultation service to assist with the mental and emotional support needs of trauma patients and advance their recovery while still in the hospital. The program has grown over the years to include a second faculty member along with the psychology resident.

In 2019, the psychological services program expanded to include a new outpatient clinic dedicated to treating the mental and emotional impacts of traumatic injury or other major physical maladies requiring surgical intervention. The program has two licensed psychologists, both of which are faculty with the University of Florida College of Medicine – Jacksonville, as well as an additional psychology post-doctoral fellow. The program serves as a model for collaborative care in trauma/critical care and highlights the integral role of mental health within surgery.

Kamela Scott, PhD, is the director of UF Health Surgical Psychology – Jacksonville, and a professor of surgery. She developed the first formal, in-patient psychological services program for trauma in the US.

Brian Celso, PhD, transferred to Surgery from the Department of Psychiatry, where he previously worked for the past 12 years to improve the mental health and wellbeing for patients within our community. Dr. Celso has been affiliated with the Trauma program at UF Health Jacksonville for more than 20 years through various research initiatives and quality improvement studies. He directs the outpatient clinic, offering clinical and research experience to UF Health Surgery – Jacksonville, both on an in-patient and out-patient basis.

Post-doctoral fellowship

A post-doctoral fellowship in trauma and medical psychology provides training and supervision in medical psychology. Each year, one fellow is accepted into the program. The fellowship starts in September and provides 2000 hours of post-doctoral training.

This program follows the Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers (APPIC) guidelines for post-doctoral fellowships nationwide. In addition, our program has a 100% job placement rate post-fellowship completion and a 100% pass rate for the Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology (EPPP) National Psychology licensure exam.

• Learn more about the post-doctoral fellowship in trauma and medical psychology

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