PRE-DOCTORAL INTERNSHIPS IN PSYCHOLOGY

Brown Bag11/14/11

Agenda

Overview of pre-doctoral internships APA accredited vs. non-accredited

internships APPIC Application process APPIC hours tracking

Pre-doctoral internships

1 year full-time training experience required for doctoral degree in applied psychology

(e.g. school, clinical, counseling)

Usually your last year of PhD program

Many different setting options Hospital, clinic, community mental health,

school district, residential treatment facility, etc)

Purpose of pre-doctoral internships ”…to provide a systematic program of

supervised, applied psychological training… Internship training will provide for the

integration of scientific, professional, and ethical knowledge, attitudes and basic skills to professional practice...

The person who completes the internship training is an individual who has demonstrated the capability to function autonomously and responsibly as a practicing psychologist" (Belar et al., 1987, p. 4)

APA, APPIC, & other internships 3 internship options:

APA-accredited APPIC (& CAPIC) but not APA-accredited Non-accredited and non-APPIC (i.e., create-

your-own)

Which to pick? Depends on career and life goals APA-internships are strongly recommended!

Advantages of APA internships Outstanding training opportunity!! Many post-docs & jobs require APA

internships Licensure process is MUCH easier

Less paperwork and documentation needed Hours will meet licensure requirements for all

states Have an intern cohort Paid & full-time Guarantees certain protections for interns

Possible barriers to completing an APA-accredited internship

“Internship Crisis” (Match imbalance) Currently 3000+ students apply each year Nearly 25% do not match Major issue in the field of psychology

Cost to apply, interview, & move Need to move to another state

Currently no APA internships in WA state for school psychology applicants

School Psychologists & APA Internships

Good news: over 130 APA-accredited sites (nearly 1/3 of total sites) have focus on child clinical and/or school psychology AND accept applications from school psych students!

When to Apply?

After general exams After accruing enough hours

Approximately 800 hrs intervention & assessment

200-300 hrs supervision Generally in 5th year (or 4th year with

substantial experience and progress towards dissertation)

Must present dissertation proposal prior to leaving for internship!

Timeline for Match Process

Applications due ~Nov Hear from sites by Dec 15 Interview in Jan (& maybe Dec) Phase 1

“Rank Order List” due early Feb Results in late Feb

Phase 2 “Rank Order List” due Mid-March Results late March

Internships begin July-Sept

Examples of internship programs Recent graduates from our program

have completed APA-accredited internships at: Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (USC) Dallas Independent School District Salesmanship Club Youth & Family Centers

(Dallas) Boystown (Omaha)

What to do now (1st & 2nd year) Start keeping track of hours!! (next slides) Start thinking about possible

areas/populations in which you’d want to pursue additional practicum training & hours

Hours Tracking

Keep track of all clock hours spent: Face-to-face with clients

Assessment (parent interviews, testing, feedback)

Intervention (individual therapy, group therapy) 50 min. client hour = 1 hour of intervention time

Consultation (with teachers, parents) Supervising others (e.g. as an advanced

doctoral student)

Hours Tracking

Keep track of all clock hours spent: In supervision (i.e. being supervised)

Face-to-face hours Record whether it’s individual or group

In “support activities” Scoring and report-writing (assessment) Consultation with other professionals Didactics & grand rounds

Hours Tracking

What experiences count? All practicum hours for which you receive

formal academic credit OR are program sanctioned by your graduate program as relevant training or work experiences

Hours MUST be supervised by licensed provider

Remember to record face-to-face client hours separately from “other” (support) hours

Examples of hours that WOULD count

1st year school-based practicum All 2nd year practicum courses 3rd year masters-level internship 4th & 5th year advanced practica, TA-ing All years: any additional supervised

practicum or clinical research opportunities that you participate in, as long as training director (Jim) is aware of & approves the experience

Examples of hours that WOULD NOT count

Working as a school psychologist (not in a training capacity)

Any other WORK where you are not receiving training/supervision

Also keep track of…

Type of setting in which you’re completing hours (program-based clinic, hospital, community

mental health clinic, etc.) Client diversity characteristics

(ethnicity, gender, disability, sexual orientation)

Number of “integrated reports” written Number of administrations of each test

For more info

Read APPIC document about hours & application http://www.appic.org/Portals/0/downloads/AAPI_O

nline_Instructions_2011-2012.pdf

Sample of what types of hours you’ll need to fill in:

http://aecp.oise.utoronto.ca/cp/practicum/documents2/documents2/APPIC%20Form-Tracking%20Hours-Summary%20of%20Practicum%20Experiences10.pdf

Erin’s website: http://uwschoolpsyc.weebly.com/index.html

Methods of tracking hours

Excel spreadsheet Example from Dr. Jones

Software e.g. Time2Track.com – but costs ~$40/yr

What to do later on (3rd year +)

1) Sign up for Match News & Intern Network listserves http://www.appic.org/E-Mail-Lists/

Summary-of-APPICs-E-Mail-Lists 2) Check out directory listings of internship sites

http://www.appic.org/directory/search_dol_internships.asp

3) Read the APAGS book

What to do now (1st & 2nd year) Start keeping track of hours!! Start thinking about possible

areas/populations in which you’d want to pursue additional practicum training & hours

Relax - Remember that 75% of applicants DO match! And this number is even higher for PhD

students Think of the pre-doctoral internship as a

great opportunity to receive further training!