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 current state of brief therapy training in American Psychological Association-accredited graduate and internship programs.

Did your graduate education include training in the types of therapy most in demand today? The present study surveyed training directors at graduate and internship sites accredited by the American Psychological Association to ascertain if their programs offered training in brief therapy. With response rates of 87% and 78%, respectively, the authors found that almost all internship sites and a simple majority of graduate schools provide some brief therapy training. The brief therapy teachers and supervisors in these settings were also surveyed with regard to course content, educational methods, amount of supervision, and problematic training issues. It is the authors' position that given the nature of the emerging marketplace, clinical training programs should include brief therapy as part of their curricula. Specific recommendations for increasing trainees' and professionals' knowledge base in this area are presented. (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)     

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)     

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)     

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)     

Forests, grazing areas, water supplies, and the internship imbalance problem: Redefining the paradigm to implement effective change.

We are frustrated with the internship imbalance. Twenty years ago, those of us involved in academic training programs prepared students in our doctoral programs for the internship application process by meeting with them for an hour and giving them a few pointers. Now, the focus on securing an internship seems to pervade all aspects of doctoral education. We listen to students worry that they don’t have sufficient hours, assessment experience, or diverse practicum placements. As the Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers (APPIC) Match approaches, we meet with students more frequently, helping them to prepare their applications and carefully construct their list of internship sites. We devote time helping students to complete the APPIC Application for Psychology Internship (AAPI), prepare for interviews, and rank sites. Those of us who are involved in internship training programs spend extensive hours reviewing hundreds of applications in Phase I and Phase II of the APPIC Match. We respond to applicant concerns, questions, and anxiety. And all of us try to provide support and consolation, as well as some understanding about “what went wrong” to those students who aren’t matched. When we have a moment, we look beyond the students in front of us and worry about the future of our profession. How is it possible that we’ve gotten ourselves into this mess? Hatcher’s (this issue, pp. 126 –140) article (a manifesto, if you will) has the potential to point us in a new direction. Our hope is that each of you, like us, will view Hatcher’s article as the beginning of a paradigm shift in terms of how we characterize this problem and its potential solutions. His innovative and bold view of how the professional training community can work collaboratively to reorganize has the potential to effectively impact the internship imbalance and the quality of the profession as a whole. By likening the internship imbalance to a resource management issue similar to what has been encountered in regard to other resources such as crops and forests, Hatcher provides us with an opportunity to rise above our own positions to draw upon existing, evidence-based approaches to cooperative solutions that can benefit all involved. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Redesigning internship training programs: A cost-efficient point of view.

Decreased funding for mental health services and training may lead to an increase in unpaid psychology internship positions and a decrease in the total number of positions and sites. An alternative is to view psychology internship training from a cost-efficient point of view and redesign programs to make them financially self-supporting by varying stipend level, hours of direct service/week, and supervision ratio. Programs can emphasize different values of training by varying these parameters. This perspective could be applied to various training sites. (4 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Preparing psychologists for managed care settings: Enhancing internship training programs.

Do internship programs prepare new professionals for success in today's behavioral health care marketplace? Managed care has quickly affected internship training programs and has dramatically altered the delivery of mental health services. but training programs have been slow to adapt to these changes. For example, instruction in business concepts and training in clinical and professional issues unique to managed care are discernible deficiencies in contemporary internship training programs. This article presents strategies to remedy training deficits in order to produce psychologists who are capable of meeting current market demands. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Training in the use of psychotherapy outcome assessment measures at psychology internship sites.

American Psychological Association accredited psychology internship training programs (N = 407) were surveyed concerning their attitudes, beliefs, and practices with regard to outcome assessment measures. Results indicated that 47% of surveyed sites use outcome measures for assessment, and 66% used these measures for diagnostic purposes. In addition, 79% of respondents supported using outcome assessment measures to evaluate client progress, 61% supported training interns in the use of outcome assessment measures, and 87% felt outcome assessment measures would increase in importance in the future. The discrepancy between support for outcome assessment measures and actual use is discussed and recommendations provided. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Fostering scholarly productivity through academic and internship research training environments.

How can training programs foster counseling and clinical psychologists' scholarly productivity? This study examined the impact of academic and internship research training environments (RTEs) on the scholarly activity of 223 early career professionals. Results supported the construct validity of the Internship Research Training Environment scale through cross-validation and confirmatory factor analysis. Findings revealed differences in perceptions of the internship RTE and scholarly productivity as a function of academic training philosophy and internship training philosophy. Finally, results suggested that academic and internship RTEs could influence research interest and scholarly productivity indirectly by enhancing research self-efficacy and research outcome expectations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Getting a foot in the door: The written internship application.

The predoctoral internship is one of the final clinical training requirements that graduate students must fulfill before obtaining their degree. The written portion of the application can be crucial in determining whether an individual will be viewed as a desirable intern candidate. This article offers guidelines for developing a written application that accurately and thoroughly conveys who the applicant is in a manner that is more likely to capture the attention of prospective internship sites. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The impact of managed health care on predoctoral internship sites: A national survey.

Little empirical research has identified the impact of managed health care (MHC) on various types of predoctoral internship sites. Thus, the authors examined (a) the extent to which MHC affected such sites, (b) the types of sites most affected by MHC, and (c) internship training directors' (ITDs') perceptions of MHC's influence on specific issues in their sites. Overall, ITDs indicated that MHC had generally little impact on internship agencies to date. However, ongoing monitoring of MHC's effects on internship sites is warranted. (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)     

Training activities and styles of beginning supervisors: A survey.

Used the Psychotherapy Supervision Questionnaire to assess activities and difficulties of 75 psychotherapy supervisors (aged 23–57 yrs) with 2 yrs or less experience in supervision. 29 Ss were employed in university graduate school programs; the remaining 46 were employed in predoctoral internship sites. There were expected differences in the level and the number of trainees supervised by the 2 groups, and they differed markedly in their theoretical orientations, with Ss from internship sites placing greater emphasis on psychodynamic approaches. All Ss reported frequent difficulties with perceived trainee resistance, with understanding the presented material, and with suggesting interventions. 32% had no formal training for supervision prior to beginning supervision. An overwhelming majority expressed interest in receiving more training in supervision. (5 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Being bolder with the Boulder model: The challenge of education and training in empirically supported treatments.

A number of factors interfere with the realization of the scientist–practitioner model of training in applied psychology. Resistance to empirically supported treatments (ESTs) may arise from both academic faculty and internship supervisors who have an investment in approaches of longer standing but with less empirical justification. A possible problem with ESTs, however, is that they typically derive from studies that use treatment manuals, which, originally developed to define the independent variables in psychotherapy research, have become central in graduate training. Because manuals can constrain clinician behavior and because they are almost always associated with categorically defined diagnostic categories, one can lose sight of the idiographic analysis of single cases. Reliance on manualized treatment can discourage functional analysis of the complexities of individual cases. Achieving some synthesis of this dialectic poses a significant challenge to the continuing development of the science and profession of applied psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Preinternship preparation in psychological testing and psychotherapy: What internship directors say they expect.

What levels of preinternship training in testing and psychotherapy do internship directors expect students to have as they enter internship? This study addressed the question by surveying internship directors of all members of the Association of Postdoctoral and Internship Centers and asking them to specify the numbers of testing and psychotherapy experiences they believe an intern candidate should have prior to entering the internship. The results demonstrate similarities and differences in director expectations and have implications for preinternship students, graduate programs, and internships themselves. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

To apply or not to apply: That is the intern applicant's first question.

What are the variables influencing intern applicants' decisions to apply to particular internship training programs? This single-site study investigated the decision-making process of 106 potential intern applicants who decided not to apply to an internship program. Results indicate that a variety of factors (e.g., postponing internship training, sense of limited fit with the program or location, financial or partner concerns) influenced the potential applicants' decisions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Training in projective testing: Survey of clinical training directors and internship directors.

Eighty-nine percent of directors of doctoral programs in clinical psychology accredited by the American Psychological Association (APA) and 84% of directors of APA-accredited internships responded to similar surveys on expectations, attitudes, and practices in the instruction of projective techniques. Directors of internship programs appeared to value projective techniques more than did directors of doctoral programs, and they expected students to have more experience with these techniques than is typically provided in doctoral programs. The two groups also differed significantly in where they believed the responsibility for correcting this imbalance should lie. In addition, 15% of directors of doctoral programs did not believe that training in projective techniques should be required, whereas only 4% of directors of internship programs expressed this view. This study documents the disparity between the average amount of training in projectives provided to students in doctoral programs and the proficiency expected of those students in their internships. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)