Multiple role relationships during internship: Consequences and recommendations.

Although the American Psychological Association's (1992) Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct mandates that most types of multiple or dual relationships be avoided, such relationships have been found to be quite prevalent (R. D. Glaser & J. S. Thorpe, 1986; K. S. Pope et al, 1979; Pope et al, 1987). This article examines a variety of dual role relationships that occur specifically during the internship year between interns and staff members or supervisors. A variety of such multiple roles are explored including sexual, social, therapy, and business relationships. In addition, the impact of these relationships on the individuals involved, others in the agency, the agency itself, and the profession is considered. Recommendations regarding these issues are also provided for internship training sites. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Applicant characterization of the most desirable internship training program.

One month after Uniform Notification Day, 148 predoctoral internship applicants (49% return rate) were asked to rate their first-, intermediate-, and last-choice sites on 25 variables related to internship program characteristics. Results showed that 8 variables clearly differentiated all three types, and 11 variables differentiated first from last choices. These first-choice characteristics and their implications for program construction and applicant site comparisons are discussed. (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)     

An exploratory assessment of APA internships with legal/forensic experiences.

Surveyed all American Psychological Association-approved internship programs to request information on training experiences in their programs that expose the intern to the interface between psychology and law. A listing of the various types of legal/forensic experiences available for specific sites is presented. The scope of the experiences and the need for qualitative assessment of them is discussed. (10 ref) (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)     

A decision-making technique for choosing a psychology internship.

Anew method, the paired-comparison ranking technique, is proposed for assisting with internship selection decisions. This technique is discussed in terms of its ability to minimize the effects of decision frames (cf. D. Kahneman & A. Tversky, see record 1981-31998-001) as internship sites are selected. The technique is also compared with M. C. Jacob's (see record 1988-15125-001) internship decision grid. The paired-comparison ranking technique requires a greater number of choices to be made about internship sites and may require internship applicants to think more deeply about their alternatives. Specific instructions and a detailed example are provided to illustrate how to complete and interpret the paired-comparison ranking technique. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An exploratory survey on empirically supported treatments: Implications for internship training.

Is training in empirically supported treatments (ESTs) necessary for internship? Are all internship sites embracing EST training equally? An exploratory survey reports training practices and attitudes toward use of ESTs in internship sites accredited by the American Psychological Association. Training practices during an internship year varied across type of setting, but only 28% reported offering more than 15 hr of training. Lack of managed care demands, flexibility in session limits, and perceived mismatch between client needs and treatment options were reasons endorsed for not doing more training and supervision with ESTs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

APA-accredited internships: An examination of the supply and demand issue.

Psychology graduate students have been worried for several years as questions have circulated about the internship imbalance between the number of students seeking internships and the number of available internships. This project examined the issue of supply of and demand for internship slots at sites accredited by the American Psychological Association (APA). Data were provided by 99% (437 of 442) of the internship sites and 85% (245 of 289) of the APA-accredited professional psychology doctoral programs. Results confirmed speculations about the internship imbalance, or the bottleneck effect. Cumulative effects of the deficits are expected. (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)     

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)     

Internships for doctoral training in clinical psychology approved by the American Psychological Association.

"On the recommendation of the Committee on Evaluation, the Educational Training Board with the concurrence of the Board of Directors of the American Psychological Association has approved for doctoral training in clinical psychology the internships offered by the agencies listed." Each internship facility is designated by a letter to indicate which of 3 types of internship it provides. (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)     

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)     

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)     

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)     

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)     

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)     

Size and myosin heavy chain profiles of rat hindlimb extensor muscle fibers after 2 weeks at 2G

METHOD: The effects of 14 d of continuous centrifugation at approximately 2G on the hindlimb extensor musculature of male rats were studied. RESULTS: The mean body mass of centrifuged rats was 17% smaller than age-matched controls. In centrifuged rats, the mean absolute masses of the soleus and medial gastrocnemius (MG) were similar to control, while the mean relative masses (expressed as milligram muscle mass/gram of body mass) were larger than control. Based on a battery of monoclonal antibodies for specific myosin heavy chains (MHC), the soleus of centrifuged rats had a lower percentage (68 vs. 74%) of fibers expressing type I MHC only and a higher percentage (15 vs. 10%) that co-expressed type I and IIa MHC's. The MHC composition of fibers from the deep portion of the MG was unaffected by centrifugation. The MHC compositions based on SDS-PAGE gel electrophoresis for each muscle were similar in the two groups. Mean fiber size of each fiber type in the soleus was unaffected by centrifugation. In the MG, the fibers, expressing only type IIb MHC were smaller in the centrifuge compared to control rats. CONCLUSION: Although 2 weeks of chronic centrifugation at 2G resulted in a cessation of body growth, there was essentially no effect on the muscle masses or fiber size in either a slow or fast extensor muscle. These data suggest that periods of centrifugation may be beneficial in maintaining extensor muscle mass in an animal that is not growing at a normal rate e.g., during chronic unloading.     

A survey of APA- and non-APA-approved internship programs.

A survey questionnaire eliciting information on the number of internships offered, average salary of interns, selection criteria, and percentages of work time was sent to 294 American Psychological Association (APA)- and non-APA-approved internship sites. Results of this study and the new criteria for accreditation indicate that students from approved doctoral programs have a definite advantage in the internship marketplace. Sufficient evidence exists, however, to conclude that students from non-APA-approved programs may be encouraged to risk competing for APA-approved internships. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Internship selection: Inclusion and exclusion criteria.

As an internship applicant, do you know what internship agencies look for to select or exclude you from further consideration? In a survey, the authors examined exclusion and inclusion criteria used at 402 internship sites accredited by the American Psychological Association (APA). The 249 respondents (62%) rated fit between applicant goals and site opportunities as the most important inclusion criteria. Four exclusion criteria (lack of completion of orals, lack of APA status of doctoral program, poor fit between applicant goals and site opportunities, and incomplete doctoral course work) were most commonly used to eliminate applicants from consideration. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)