Department of Psychiatry

Division of Clinical Psychology

Predoctoral Internship

We offer specialty training that reflects a general commitment to public service psychology for special need populations who are typically underserved. The program offers exposure to a diverse group of consumers of mental health services as well as to a variety of intervention strategies and approaches.

Program Goals:

• Training in health services psychology devoted to underserved clients
• Development of a professional identity which includes a scholarship-based approach to clinical work
• Breadth of training through exposure to a major specialty and minor focus areas
• Training in ethics and values appropriate for a doctoral level psychologist
• Multidisciplinary learning experiences for additional career development

Program Objectives:

• Development of clinical and scholarly skills in an area of practice which meets the needs of underserved populations and is focused in the public sector
• Development of a range of skills pertinent to working with this population (direct treatment, assessment, consultation, psycho-educational, patient advocacy, etc.)
• Development of the ability to relate scholarly psychological theory and research to the clinical work in the trainee’s specialty area and to other areas of interest to the trainee
• Development of ethics, values, and a professional identity which reflect a commitment to that specialty area and to psychology as a whole
• Development of breadth of training and ancillary skills through clinical and scholarly training
• Development of sensitivity to and clinical skills for working with diverse populations (including issues of culture, ethnicity, gender, age, socioeconomic status, physical disability, urban-rural settings, as well as  a diversity of psychological problems)
• Development of productive and collaborative relationships with faculty and fellow trainees which enhance the learning experience and form a basis for collaborative professional work in the future
• Development of the capacity to accurately evaluate one’s strengths and weaknesses as a psychologist and the ability to use this knowledge to guide one’s practice, use of consultation and scholarly resources, and one’s professional development.