The Predoctoral Internship: Is Current Training Anachronistic?

The historical context of the predoctoral internship system is contrasted with the current state of graduate training. The internship system emerged because psychology students often acquired insufficient clinical experience during graduate training in the mid-20th century. However, modern graduate training typically involves extensive supervised clinical contact prior to internship. Moreover, traditional internships exact significant financial, psychological, and personal costs from students. The authors conclude with a discussion of recent progress in the internship process, promising alternatives to traditional internship training (i.e., elective internship training, distributed clinical training, and the affiliated internship model), and implications for the profession. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Rotational Versus Nonrotational Internships: Let's Look at Reality.

Comments on the original article by Robert Langston that focuses on the value of a nonrotational clinical psychology internship (see record 1987-98336-047). The current authors suggest that, while making the case for a nonrotational internship, Langston has presented an inaccurate picture of the current state of internship training, and they seek to point out three fallacies inherent in Langston's view of the current training. As they do so, they assert that the many issues regarding professional training in psychology are hardly settled. They do suggest, though, that it is essential to relate their own ideas to existing criteria and evidence of current training practice, in order to effectively make decisions regarding necessary changes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Internship Training: Do Models Really Matter?

During the past 50 years, a number of models of training (scientist-practitioner, practitioner-scholar, clinical scientist) have been developed. This study examined how these models are conceptualized and implemented at internship and postdoctoral training programs. Surveying 248 internship programs (42% response rate), the authors found that the model name (i.e., scientist-practitioner) was not related to how programs were conceptualized or how their training was implemented, raising questions about accreditation requirements. Implications for training sites and the American Psychological Association Committee on Accreditation are explored. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The integration of HIV training into internship curricula: An exploration and comparison of two models.

Psychologists are becoming increasingly involved in HIV disease prevention and intervention. Developing the competencies to work effectively with this population requires dedicated educational commitment. It can be challenging to get HIV experience during graduate school, and few programs have faculty devoted to HIV endeavors. The authors propose the internship year as a reasonable time to develop HIV competencies within a broader internship curriculum. To explore this idea further, the authors examined two internships that offer specialized HIV training. To increase psychology's capacity to provide HIV training, recommendations are proposed for the application of these models to other internship sites. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Unique internship structures that expand training opportunities.

Internship is a vital component of professional psychology training. This article describes a variety of internship structures that have developed outside the more traditional ones. Complex relationships with the academic program, specific elements of philosophy of training, emphasis on diversity and social responsibility, and responsiveness to changing demography in clients and students are noted. The authors suggest implications for the viability of a variety of internship structures, the content and methods of quality assurance within the context of competency evaluation, tailoring internships to the needs of students, and the issue of stipends and resources. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Applying for the predoctoral internship: Training program strategies to help students prepare.

The predoctoral internship signifies the culmination of applied training in professional psychology. With the increasing supply and demand gap, securing an internship has become competitive and has resulted in many students employing a wide variety of steps in an attempt to ensure a successful internship application. However, little is known about how academic training programs assist students in applying for an internship. The purpose of this study was to describe what activities training programs engage in to prepare their students for the internship application process, and to better understand students' perception of their preparedness to apply as well as to understand their experience applying. The results suggested that training programs prepared students well for general aspects of the process but did not adequately prepare them for the more specific tasks related to the application process. Results also suggested that while the students didn't find the application process confusing or difficult they found it stressful and anxiety provoking. Suggestions for programs to inform and assist their students in preparing for applying are presented as well as recommendations for future research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Clinical and counseling psychology doctoral trainnees: How students perceive internships.

The authors examined applicants' perceptions of internship site types by specialty affiliation (clinical and counseling psychology). Multidimensional scaling analyses suggest that clinical psychology students focus their attention on internship site prestige, future job opportunities, opportunities for research, degree of client psychopathology and physical illness, and their overall comfort in working with the client population associated with the site type. Counseling students focus on fewer attributes, including site prestige, quality of supervision, degree of client physical illness, and comfort in working with the client population. Specialty affiliation also accounted for systematic differences in internship site preferences. Results are discussed with regard to internship supply-and-demand issues, and implications are offered for student applicants, academic training directors, and internship training directors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perceptions of Multicultural Training in Predoctoral Internship Programs: A Survey of Interns and Training Directors.

Multicultural training at internship sites is a critical component in the preparation of doctoral-level psychologists, so the quality of this training is of the utmost importance. In the following study, the authors examine multicultural training from the perspective of predoctoral interns and training directors at counseling center sites that offer a major or minor rotation in multicultural therapy. Results suggest that perspectives vary between interns and training directors and that there is a great difference in the type of criteria used by each site as evidence of a major or minor rotation. The need for more standardized criteria to define major and minor rotations and suggestions for the Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers, internship training directors, and prospective interns are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

What we know about predoctoral internship training: A 10-year update.

Ten years ago (Stedman, 1997), I published a review of the extensive body of work related to all facets of the internship enterprise. The current review highlights many positive accomplishments of the last 10 years, including establishing the match, the uniform internship application format, the quantification of selection variables, and a deeper understanding of the training pathway. However, serious problems have surfaced, including the shortfall of internship slots and the impact of economic forces leading some to question the continuing relevance of internship as it currently exists. These issues call for deliberation and decision making by the profession, guided by research, both current and yet to be conducted. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Program disparities in unmatched internship applicants.

Predoctoral internship represents an important capstone in the training of clinical and counseling psychologists. However, in the past decade there has been growing concern over the number of applicants to internship who have not been matched to an internship site. We investigated the scope of the internship match problem by assessing program-level contributions to the number of unmatched internship applicants. Results from analysis of the 2000–2006 internship match report indicated that 15 programs (less than 4% of the total number of programs under analysis) contributed over 30% of the unmatched applicants for that same time period. Suggestions are made for implementing new policies aimed at limiting future internship site supply–demand disparities and ensuring quality internship placements. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Internship year in clinical psychology training as a professional adolescence.

The internship year in clinical psychology training has been described as a "professional adolescence." During this time the trainee is involved in consolidating a professional identity through the integration of previous experiences and the application of knowledge to clinical work in a novel situation. Through presentation of personal experiences and observations of a clinical psychology intern, elements of the internship year are compared with the identity process of adolescence. Particular emphasis is placed on issues of competency as they arise throughout the internship year. Aspects of the internship experience that facilitate development of a professional identity are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Training Psychology Interns in Primary Behavioral Health Care.

This article describes a training program for primary behavioral health care (PBHC) for clinical psychology interns. The authors discuss the rationale for integrating mental health into primary care and the need for additional training programs at the predoctoral internship level. A review of relevant literature suggests that effective functioning in primary care requires competence in (a) generalist psychology, (b) health psychology, (c) interdisciplinary team functioning, and (d) skills specific to primary care. The authors advocate for a relatively intensive training program to address these areas. Common intern training difficulties observed during 3 years of program implementation are discussed. Practical, lessons-learned recommendations that address these problem areas provide guidance for others seeking to develop a PBHC training program. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Geropsychology training in Canada: A survey of doctoral and internship programs.

The Canadian Psychological Association emphasises the importance of diversity training for doctoral and internship programs, and age is an important aspect of diversity. Yet, little is known about training capacity in clinical geropsychology in Canada. To address this issue, the authors surveyed directors of clinical training in all accredited clinical and counselling psychology doctoral and internship programs in Canada. Responses from 92% (n = 43) of these programs indicated that there are no doctoral programs in Canada with a formal concentration in geropsychology; however, 40% of internships offer a major rotation in geropsychology and a further 48% offer a minor rotation. Training activities are largely focused on the diagnosis and assessment of mental health problems, with relatively less attention to therapeutic interventions. Data are presented on the availability of geropsychology resources (e.g., faculty/clinical supervisors, courses, practicum, research opportunities) and the perceived need for geropsychology training. Recommendations for enhancing geropsychology training capacity in Canada are reviewed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Training in religion/spirituality within APA-accredited psychology predoctoral internships.

With the vast majority of the U.S. population reporting allegiance to a particular faith tradition, it is important that psychologists have the experience and training to work with clients from a wide variety of religious/spiritual perspectives. In order to assess the current level of training in religion/spirituality for predoctoral interns, 139 American Psychological Association (APA)-accredited predoctoral internship sites completed a Web-based survey. Religion/spirituality is most often addressed in internship training when clients bring it up, and religion/spirituality is processed further in the context of supervision. Relatively few internship sites provide more formal training in religion/spirituality. (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)     

Internship placements: Similarities and differences between clinical and counseling psychology programs.

Internship matches among students within clinical (n = 2,130) and counseling (n = 450) psychology doctoral training programs were examined for a complete cohort of intern applicants. The overall rates of successful internship matching, as well as the rankings of those matches, were similar for the 2 specialties. The settings of those internship matches revealed significant differences, however. Clinical psychology students matched at higher rates to a range of medical facilities, for example, whereas counseling psychology students matched at higher rates to counseling center settings. These and other differences were examined in relation to the historical and enduring differences between the 2 specialties and their implications for education, training, and practice within the field of professional psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

APA-approved predoctoral internships for doctoral training in clinical and counseling psychology: 1977.

Lists the internships for doctoral training approved by the American Psychological Association Committee on Accreditation for 1977. The current criteria for accreditation of internship training programs no longer make the distinction between clinical and counseling internship programs; therefore, the separate listing of approved programs by professional specialty has been dropped. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Using workforce analysis to answer questions related to the internship imbalance and career pipeline in professional psychology.

This article defines workforce analysis and reviews the ongoing call for the field of psychology to address workforce analysis issues in a systematic manner. The American Psychological Association's progress in developing a workforce analysis capacity is traced, and the authors focus on how workforce analysis can be used to answer a series of questions regarding career pipeline issues, the supply of students and demand for internship training positions, and employment opportunities in professional psychology. The authors conclude that professional education and training issues can only be fully understood in the context of a databased approach to workforce demands for psychologists. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)