PRE-DOCTORAL INTERNSHIPS IN PSYCHOLOGY Brown Bag 11/14/11

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 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  hrs supervision  Generally in 5 th year (or 4 th 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 (1 st & 2 nd 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  1 st year school-based practicum  All 2 nd year practicum courses  3 rd year masters-level internship  4 th & 5 th 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  nstructions_ pdf nstructions_ pdf  Sample of what types of hours you’ll need to fill in:  uments2/APPIC%20Form-Tracking%20Hours- Summary%20of%20Practicum%20Experiences10.pdf uments2/APPIC%20Form-Tracking%20Hours- Summary%20of%20Practicum%20Experiences10.pdf  Erin’s website: 

Methods of tracking hours  Excel spreadsheet  Example from Dr. Jones  Software  e.g. Time2Track.com – but costs ~$40/yr

What to do later on (3 rd year +)  1) Sign up for Match News & Intern Network listserves  Summary-of-APPICs- -Lists  2) Check out directory listings of internship sites  s.asp s.asp  3) Read the APAGS book 

What to do now (1 st & 2 nd 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!