Identifying, obtaining, and completing a predoctoral psychology internship: Research considerations.

The quality of clinical training is a critical factor to consider when selecting a psychology predoctoral internship placement. Yet, research activities are also an integral part of a scientist-practitioner training model. Pursuit of ongoing research training during an internship can impact an individual's professional development and productivity, both during the internship year and beyond. Although many published resources have outlined the steps to obtaining a predoctoral internship, few sources have offered adequate consideration of research goals and training. To address this gap in the existing literature, the present article offers a discussion of research issues relevant to the process of identifying, securing, and completing a predoctoral internship in applied psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Developmental stresses of psychology internship training: What training staff can do to help.

Discusses some of the major stresses of the internship year from the perspective of both a recent intern and an internship director. These stresses include adjusting to a new program, developing a sense of trust in the training staff, questioning one's competence as a psychotherapist, taking risks to learn new skills with different patient groups, accurately assessing one's own strengths and weaknesses, and planning one's professional life after the internship. It is suggested that the internship year can be viewed as part of the professional adolescence of clinical psychologists. Interns pass through the stages of the separation–individuation process, similar to that described by M. Mahler (1958, 1975). Staff can be helpful by being aware of the personal and professional developmental needs of each intern, encouraging them to take more initiative, reinforcing them for becoming involved in the overall activities of the center, and being willing to develop more collegial working relationships. (47 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Issues related to postdoctoral education and training in professional psychology: Results of an opinion survey.

Is professional psychology assuming adequate responsibility for advanced training in the profession? Although professional psychology has taken enormous strides in articulating standards for doctoral and internship training, postdoctoral education and training (PDET) have received much less attention, resulting in a lack of clear guidelines for managing the transition from training to independent practice. Professional psychology's practitioners, educators, and trainees were asked to provide their opinions on a number of PDET-related issues. Data are presented that include broad support for maintaining the postdoctoral training year. Implications address steps to assist advanced students in maximizing their postdoctoral training experiences. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Characteristics and perceptions of beginning doctoral students in school psychology.

A national sample of 251 1st- and 2nd-yr doctoral students in school psychology responded to a questionnaire measuring demographic characteristics, preferences among applied specialties in professional psychology, graduate program applications, anticipated internship setting, preferred client population, personal interests, professional goals, and satisfaction with current training. Survey responses showed a clear preference for working directly with children and adolescents following graduation, a high degree of correspondence between training program emphases and student interests and goals, and a moderate degree of student satisfaction with training experiences. Results are interpreted with respect to training trends and standards in school psychology, the relationship between school and clinical psychology, satisfaction of students in clinical and counseling psychology programs, and methodology limitations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Introduction.

In the articles presented in this issue, developments in professional psychology following World War II are described. Elizabeth B. Wolf recounts her experiences as a graduate student in clinical psychology in the period just before the "psychotherapy revolution" and gives us a glimpse of clinical psychology in action during the 1940s and how she bartered her way into an internship. Dr. Wolf, still active in clinical psychology training, also discusses the early evolution of clinical psychology training programs. Milton F. Shore chronicles the rise and fall of the community mental health movement in our country and addresses the strengths and weaknesses of these programs and psychology's contributions to them. Robert Perloff, who characterizes himself as an "applied generalist," relates how his training in industrial psychology set the stage for his role in the development of consumer psychology and led to his interest in knowledge utilization. Each of these reminiscences catches the enthusiasm and optimism that pervaded professional psychology in the postwar years. These articles challenge us to recapture that optimism and commitment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Practicum and internship experiences in school psychology: Recent trends in graduate training.

Describes a 1970 survey of internship and practicum experiences in school psychology to clarify how these experiences were perceived by universities and colleges throughout the nation. Of the 130 institutions contacted, 108 returned the survey and 96 reported having viable school psychology programs in the 1969-1970 academic year. Data reveal that (a) internship and practicum training experiences were still strongly tied to areas of intelligence testing, personality assessment, and child development; and (b) institutional training programs seldom stress educational content areas in their school psychology programs. Implications of data are discussed and illustrated graphically. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

From the ground up: Building a psychology of women internship track.

Where can a graduate student interested in a specialty track in the psychology of women apply for internship? Until recently, there was no American Psychological Association (APA)-approved internship site in the United States offering such an experience. In addition to the generalist training that typifies APA internships, the internship year also presents an opportunity for specialization. If internship sites are to produce psychologists well equipped to address women's unique mental health needs, then it is vital to create opportunities for trainees to specialize in the psychology of women while on internship. This article describes the development of a Psychology of Women Track as part of a predoctoral internship program, including the context of the track, the specific training experiences included in the track, and a conceptual model of psychology of women training that can be used at other internship sites. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The psychology internship marketplace today.

The most recent comprehensive information about internships in professional psychology was based on data from the 1979–1980 training year. To update this information, we collected data about internships from the 371 members of the Association of Psychology Internship Centers for the 1984–1985 training year. We examined the number of internship positions, current stipend levels, types and breadth of major supervised training experiences, types of academic programs from which applicants would be considered, number of staff, number of intern applications, and sources of internship funding. We found differences by APA approval status, geographical region, and type of internship setting. It appears that the marketplace for interns has expanded and that APA approval of both academic programs and internship sites continues to play a significant role in the process. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Development of professional identity in Black clinical psychology students.

Professional identity was conceived and explored via a sample of Black clinical psychology students. Theoretical perspective, values, and career goals were identified as the central aspects of professional identity. Sociopolitical professional identity (SPI) was of special interest; it was defined as a pattern of interdependence between sociopolitical values and other aspects of professional identity. SPI, which develops during the process of professional socialization (i.e., training), was predicted to occur more frequently in programs with a greater number of program resources relevant to work with culturally diverse populations. There was some evidence that significant and meaningful interdependent relations existed among the SPI variables, but there was no convincing evidence of an association between resource use and SPI. Nonetheless, the students used and apparently valued program resources such as Black faculty and culturally diverse training experiences. Other findings indicated that students were shaped by their training experiences, often in a way that reflected the dominant perspectives in clinical psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Doctoral internship training opportunities in clinical geropsychology.

What types of internship training opportunities are there for psychology graduate students interested in working with older adults? The authors summarize characteristics of 65 doctoral psychology internships self-identified as offering training opportunities in clinical geropsychology. The internships appear to have the resources, staff, training placements, and training experiences that are at least adequate, and in most programs, much more than adequate, for generalist training in aging. Internship programs at facilities of the Department of Veterans Affairs compose a major resource in clinical geropsychology training. Practical suggestions are offered to graduate students interested in obtaining geropsychology training during internship and to internship program directors who may want to offer such training. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Does the model matter? The relationship between science-practice emphasis in clinical psychology programs and the internship match.

[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 1(4) of Training and Education in Professional Psychology (see record 2007-18975-009). The biography for the third author was incorrect. It should read as follows: GREGORY KEILIN is an Assistant Director at the Counseling and Mental Health Center at the University of Texas at Austin and a former Chair of APPIC. He received his doctorate in Counseling Psychology from Colorado State University. His current research interests include supply and demand issues in professional psychology.] Academic training programs in clinical psychology vary in the emphasis that they place on science and practice, and this paper examines whether these differential emphases are linked to distinctive internship outcomes. In a study of 2,130 internship applicants from clinical psychology programs, differences were noted among practice-oriented programs, balanced science-practice programs, and science-oriented programs. Against a backdrop of some similarities, a differential emphasis on science and practice within academic training programs was related to significantly different internship match rates, as well as to successful matching in qualitatively different internship settings. Results provided qualified support for future work that might further address the relationship between academic training programs and outcomes in the field of clinical psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The case of clinical psychology: A search for identity.

Clinical psychology presents itself in a state of chronic anxiety, great ambivalence, insecurity, and self-doubt." Clinical psychology is confused concerning its identity. The "role of the internship in the training of clinical psychologists is a crucial one." It should provide a clear example of the role model the clinician will eventually be expected to assume. "Both academic departments and internship training centers must assume fully their responsibility for training clinical students in the role society demands of them." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On the expansion of professional psychology.

"My aim has been to discuss some of the effects which present-day training in clinical psychology may have upon the role and identity of professional psychologists; how the consequences of professional expansion and the interaction with other groups affect training programs in psychology; and how in turn the circumstances of the latter, by determining the range and quality of experiences, may affect the intellectual and professional orientation of clinical psychologists." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

College counseling center internships: Are APA-approved sites selecting candidates from non-APA-approved training programs?

The necessity of serving a year-long internship has become an important issue in the training of counseling psychologists. This is especially true for anyone who might be interested in obtaining employment in a college or university counseling center. This particular issue has serious implications for prospective interns who are being trained in non-APA-approved counseling psychology programs who wish to be employed in college and university counseling centers. Currently, there are 25 centers that have active counseling psychology internship training programs, and although only half of them are APA-approved now, the majority of them will be in the near future (Dorn, 1984). If nothing else, they will be facing a restrictive environment when it comes to the development of their professional careers as well as in obtaining an internship in a setting that will be more positively regarded by prospective counseling center employers. In an effort to fully clarify the issue of whether APA-approved counseling psychology internship sites in college and university counseling centers are selecting candidates from non-APA-approved counseling psychology training sites, a brief questionnaire was mailed to each individual who was serving an internship in one of the 13 fully or provisionally APA-approved college and university counseling center sites (APA, 1981) during the 1981-1982 academic year. The results of this survey indicate that although the majority of counseling psychology interns selected by these sites are from APA-approved training programs, intern applicants from non-APA-approved training programs do have an opportunity to serve an APA-approved internship in one of these sites. These results should not be interpreted optimistically, however. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Supplement to listing of APA-Accredited Doctoral and Predoctoral Internship Training Programs in Psychology.

Presents an update to the listing published in the December 1987 American Psychologist of APA-accredited doctoral programs in professional (clinical, counseling, school) psychology and predoctoral internship programs in professional psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The quest for an internship: Four students' perspective.

What are students' experiences in applying for internships? Although the preponderance of recent internship literature addresses marketplace issues and competitive strategies, narratives of the applicants' experiences have been largely absent. Using an interpretive approach, 4 recent internship applicants reflect on the process of applying for internships as it contributes to the development of becoming a psychologist. The authors highlight 3 values of professional practice—community, respect, and authenticity—that can inform the dialogue of internship reform and suggest practical implications for student applicants, internship training directors, directors of clinical training, and the Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The National Conference on Internship Training in Psychology.

The 1987 National Conference on Internship Training in Psychology was the first conference in the history of psychology to examine broad policy issues related to internship training in professional psychology. Delegates adopted a policy statement, which is printed here in its entirety. Core requirements for internship training were delineated, and implications of these policy statements are discussed. Perhaps most notably, the model of the one-year internship as the capstone of graduate education and training was considered to be outdated. A two-year supervised training experience was deemed necessary to produce an autonomously functioning professional psychologist. The need for another nomenclature was recognized. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Demise of the 3rd-year internship: The changing role of the internship in graduate training.

Current training in PhD clinical psychology stems from the 1949 Boulder conference on graduate education in clinical psychology. Among the detailed recommendations made by that committee were specific guidelines and goals for a clinical internship that was deeply embedded within the graduate training experience. Since that time, the academic and practical training of PhD clinical psychologists has become increasingly separated, to the point at which the clinical internship year almost universally occurs after the completion of graduate training. In this article the development of the current-day internship and the probable factors involved in the demise of the original 3rd-year model are examined. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Does the model matter? The relationship between science-practice emphasis in clinical psychology programs and the internship match": Correction to Neimeyer, Rice, and Keilin (2007).

Reports an error in "Does the model matter? The relationship between science-practice emphasis in clinical psychology programs and the internship match" by Greg J. Neimeyer, Kenneth G. Rice and W. Gregory Keilin (Training and Education in Professional Psychology, 2007[Aug], Vol 1[3], 153-162). The biography for the third author was incorrect. It should read as follows: GREGORY KEILIN is an Assistant Director at the Counseling and Mental Health Center at the University of Texas at Austin and a former Chair of APPIC. He received his doctorate in Counseling Psychology from Colorado State University. His current research interests include supply and demand issues in professional psychology. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2007-12635-001.) Academic training programs in clinical psychology vary in the emphasis that they place on science and practice, and this paper examines whether these differential emphases are linked to distinctive internship outcomes. In a study of 2,130 internship applicants from clinical psychology programs, differences were noted among practice-oriented programs, balanced science-practice programs, and science-oriented programs. Against a backdrop of some similarities, a differential emphasis on science and practice within academic training programs was related to significantly different internship match rates, as well as to successful matching in qualitatively different internship settings. Results provided qualified support for future work that might further address the relationship between academic training programs and outcomes in the field of clinical psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)