Mental Health Internship - Training Program

Predoctoral Psychology Internship

Training Program

The training program includes a broad range of clinical and educational experiences designed to assist interns in their professional identity development as providers of psychological services. As such, the internship is structured with training as its primary goal (rather than being driven by a service provision agenda) where interns are provided the opportunity to digest knowledge through ongoing didactic components, as well as develop, integrate, and synthesize their professional skills through direct clinical work and meaningful supervisory relationships.

The internship program is designed to graduate interns that are: 
 

1.  Prepared to assume the professional/ethical responsibilities associated with becoming an entry level psychologist.
2.  Skilled at selecting and utilizing clinical interventions. 
3.  Are proficient at psychological testing.
4.  Have a foundation of training and experience in forensic psychology.
 

Following our site visit in 2002 our internship is fully accredited by the American Psychological Association. 

The 2006-2007 internship year will begin on Wednesday, July 5, 2006 and will end on Tuesday, July 3, 2007. Interns typically work 40-45 hours per week to satisfy all clinical and agency requirements, thus affording interns a 2000-hour internship (the minimum required for licensure). Interns are expected to provide a minimum of 14 face-to-face client contact-hours per week. As the agency uses a 45-minute therapy hour as a standard (with 15 minutes following for case notes and related paperwork), this generally translates into a caseload of approximately 16 to 18 clients who are typically seen on a weekly basis. Therapy constitutes approximately thirty-five percent of intern time at UCMHD with additional opportunities for more therapy experience at the discretion of the intern and her/his supervisors. 

Psychology interns are regular members of the team to which they are assigned and therefore attend both team and agency-wide staff meetings. Our doctoral interns work closely with other members of their units as well as with staff members from other units when appropriate or necessary. These staff members include psychologists, social workers, psychiatrists, psychiatric nurses, counselors, and helping professionals from other disciplines, depending upon the particular unit. Within this interdisciplinary model, UCMHD interns are an integral part of the professional mission of their team, as well as the agency, and are accorded the same dignity and privileges given to the agency's professional staff. 

In Addition to a team assignment interns participate in the program's core training. The internship's core training includes various sub-rotations, assessment, forensic training, and an integrative seminar designed to teach the broad and general aspects of community mental health.

This internship experience is also designed to promote the development of intern competency in providing coordinated services between UCMHD and other professionals outside the agency, such as neurologists, pediatricians, family physicians, speech therapists, teachers, school psychologists, Department of Social Services caseworkers, and other professionals as deemed appropriate for a given therapy case. A growing aspect of intern case management responsibilities (mirroring that in the private sector) is contact with managed care agencies. An increasing percentage of UCMHD clients have insurance benefits allocated by these entities. In response to this trend, UCMHD has employed a managed care coordinator to assist with managed care issues. Thus, while interns will be exposed to a managed care environment, they are not usually burdened by a large time commitment to deal with these issues. In terms of training opportunities, the increased emphasis in this area of client care and the intern exposure to preparation of reviews for requested therapy services will be most helpful for those who plan on pursuing a professional career focused on providing clinical services to a diverse and disenfranchised population.

Internship Requirements

Listed below are the cite-specific requirements for completion of the 12-month internship program at UCMHD.

  • Orientation - Interns are provided with an in-depth orientation program designed to assist them in (1) becoming familiar with the responsibilities and requirements of the internship program, (2) understanding day-to-day routines within the agency, (3) beginning to develop supportive relationships with members of their cohort and, (4) navigating the shift from student to professional clinician.
  • Hours - Interns are required to complete 520 Face-to-Face contact hours (includes psychotherapy, testing batteries, Tuesday testing proctoring, clinical consultations)
  • Psychological Testing - Each intern is required to complete a minimum of 8 batteries by year�s end. This requirement is intended to provide each intern with an ongoing assessment component of the internship. Interns attend a weekly, 90 minute, testing seminar in which they are assigned testing cases as well as instructed in the use and interpretation of testing instruments.
  • Family Court Evaluations - Each intern is expected to conduct Family Court evaluations (comprised of clinical interviews, collateral contacts, MMPI-2/MMPI-A/ APS interpretation, and report writing). Those interns working with families and children typically perform evaluations regarding "Persons in Need of Supervision" (PINS) and "Juvenile Delinquency" (JD) matters. Issues in these cases range from school attendance to serious felonies. Interns assigned to units in which they work primarily with adults typically perform domestic violence evaluations as well as Drug and Alcohol evaluations for Family Court and New York State Supreme Court. These evaluations are often ordered by the Court when there is a concern that substances may be interfering with parenting ability. Interns may assist a Licensed Psychologist in Custody and Visitation or Abuse and Neglect cases. Similarly, interns may elect to assist in "Competency To Stand Trial" evaluations.Interns are also trained to perform sex offender risk assessments and may be required to complete them undersupervision.                                                                              
  • Interns are required to attend a 2 hour weekly seminar designed to introduce them to forensic work through both didactic instruction as well as skill building via case review and discussion. This seminar runs from July until October. The experience of conducting evaluations for Family Court and the consequent exposure to the role of psychologists in the legal system are very specialized and marketable training opportunities that are often not available in other internships. It is our experience that an introduction of this nature -- early experience with forensic work -- requires interns to think about the practice of psychology from a different perspective and deepens their understanding of the complexities inherent in generating psychological evaluations and reports.

  • Psychology Grand Rounds � Interns are expected to rotate along with the entire psychology staff in the Psychology Grand Rounds schedule, case presentations from clinical forensic practice and are scheduled several times per month.
  • Process Group - Interns attend a weekly 1-hour peer support group designed to provide a safe and confidential space in which to share experiences and struggles as well as assist each other in navigating the emotional and intellectual rigors of the internship.
  • Group Work - Interns are expected to facilitate or co-facilitate one or two weekly therapy groups throughout the year. This typically occurs by either joining an existing group at the clinic or by designing and generating a new group of one's own. Interns may also be expected to co-lead specific groups that are central to the mission of the psychology department. Each intern will be assisted both during the orientation process as well as during weekly supervision in establishing her/his group interests and in getting started with the work. 
  • Proctoring - Interns are responsible for providing proctor coverage for weekly group administration of the MMPI-2, MMPI-A, and APS. This coverage occurs on a rotating basis.
  • Clinical-Training Seminar - Interns attend a 90 minute didactic core-training seminar series that is held weekly. These training sessions are conducted by staff or outside professionals on topics of clinical and/or professional relevance and are designed to promote professional growth and competence. Each intern is also asked to present a seminar on a topic of her/his choosing as part of this series. Typically, these seminars tend to be associated with each intern's dissertation topic. 
  • At the intern's request or at the supervisor's recommendation, an intern may become involved in the work of other units in order to gain additional experience or to develop a more broad-based professional background. However, this opportunity is limited as our training program attempts to provide a cohesive experience in one specialized population rather than a rotation through the various populations served at the agency.

    The Psychology Staff at UCMHD are especially committed to intern training and supervision. As interns quickly experience, the investment and interest in cultivating professional identity and development of our doctoral interns is a particularly valued part of our job.


Internship Program Information | Application Materials