Psychology Internship

Application Requirements

The Psychology Internship selects prospective interns who are doctoral students during the current academic year and are currently matriculated in APA-approved clinical, counseling or school psychology programs.

Prospective interns must be in good standing and be cleared for internship training by the Director of Training of their respective doctoral clinical programs. Applicants must also have completed a combined total of 500 intervention and assessment hours before beginning their internship.

How to Apply

Applications must include least two letters of recommendation, preferably three. Supplemental materials such as sample reports, etc., are welcomed but not required.

When applying, applicants should indicate which track (pediatric or adult) they wish to pursue, as well as all areas of interest within their selected track from the available rotations.

See the program's listing in the APPIC directory for details.

For additional details on the Psychology Internship, including obtaining a current copy of the training handbook, email Deana Murray at dmurray4@pennstatehealth.psu.edu.

Application Timeline

Applications are generally due in November for the following academic year. Interns selected for interviews are notified in early December, and interviews begin in January.

Rotations

The Psychology Internship provides instruction and experiential training using one of two major tracks: adult or pediatric. The internship program offers the following rotations:

• Adult inpatient psychiatric program

• Adult outpatient psychiatric clinic

• ASD/autism division rotations (various clinics and groups for children, adolescents and adults)

• Child and adolescent outpatient clinics (child attention and behavior clinic, chronic illness clinic, child anxiety/CBT)

• Child diagnostic clinic (children and adolescents from birth to 18 years old)

• Child inpatient psychiatric rotation

• Comprehensive surgical weight loss (bariatric) program (adults and adolescents only)

• Consultation-liaison program (children, adolescents and adults)

• Drug and alcohol consultation/liver transplant rotation (minor rotation only)

• Eating disorders clinics (children and adolescents 8 to 16 years old)

• Neuropsychology (adult and geriatric neuropsychology, child and adolescent neuropsychology)

• Penn State Health Rehabilitation Hospital neuropsychology rotation (primarily adults)

• Sleep research and treatment center and sleep clinic (children, adolescents and adults)

Didactics

The Psychology Internship is geared toward providing exceptional instruction. In addition to required attendance in specific didactics, interns are highly encouraged to attend other elective, formal learning forums within the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health and in other departments (Pediatrics, Neurology, etc.), and more informal didactics within the medical center.

The following is a selected list of core didactics required for interns:

• Professional development seminar series (monthly)

• Research seminar series (monthly)

• Adult didactics seminar series (bimonthly)

• Pediatric didactics seminar series (bimonthly)

• Psychiatry Grand Rounds (first, third and fourth weeks of each month)

In addition, interns are required to attend a one-hour, biweekly didactic seminar series tailored to their specific rotation selected (e.g., outpatient psychiatry rotation, neuropsychology rotation) as follows:

• Pediatric neuropsychology didactic seminar series

• Adult neuropsychology didactic seminar series

• Eating disorders didactic seminar series

• Oncology/hematology and bariatric didactic seminar series

• Outpatient psychiatry didactic seminar series

• Inpatient psychiatric didactic seminar series

• Autism spectrum disorder didactic seminar series

Program Disclosures

As articulated in Standard I.B.2, programs may have “admission and employment policies that directly relate to affiliation or purpose” that may be faith-based or secular in nature. However, such policies and practices must be disclosed to the public. Therefore, programs are asked to respond to the following question.

Does the program or institution require students, trainees, and/or staff (faculty) to comply with specific policies or practices related to the institution’s affiliation or purpose? Such policies or practices may include, but are not limited to, admissions, hiring, retention policies, and/or requirements for completion that express mission and values.

Answer: No.

Internship Program Admissions

Briefly describe in narrative form important information to assist potential applicants in assessing their likely fit with your program. This description must be consistent with the program's policies on intern selection and practicum and academic preparation requirements:

The Psychology Internship will select prospective interns who are doctoral students during the current academic year and are currently matriculated in APA-approved clinical, counseling or school psychology programs. Prospective interns must be in good standing and be cleared for internship training by the Director of Training of their respective doctoral clinical programs. Applicants must also have a combined total of at least 500 intervention and assessment hours prior to beginning internship.

Our program allows for the selection and placement in specific rotations. Each intern selects a major track (Adult or Pediatric [and Adolescents]) within the program. Within each track, each intern chooses 2-3 clinical rotations each semester in Evaluation & Diagnosis, Interventions & Treatment, or Consultation & Liaison that achieve the core competencies. In addition, each intern selects one or more research projects to participate in throughout the entire tenure in the internship program to satisfy the Research and Scientific Endeavors core requirement. Within these core requirements, horizontal competencies are satisfied in other areas across all core competencies including ethics, cultural/individual differences, supervision, etc.

Each intern spends a minimum of 40 percent of their time weekly providing face-to-face patient-client services in their clinical rotations. In addition to these rotations, formal didactics encompassing a minimum of 4 hours per week (Professional Development Seminar Series, rotation-specific seminars, Adult Didactics Seminar Series, Psychiatry Grand Rounds, Research Seminar Series, etc.), individual supervision (minimum of 2 hours a week of scheduled, face-to-face individual supervision with a licensed clinical psychologist), plus 2 additional hours of group or additional individual supervision (minimum of 1 hour of group supervision), case conferences, and other activities are provided that support and engender the individual development of each intern as a professional psychologist.

Throughout all training activities, evidence-based assessment (APA Presidential Task Force on Evidence-based Practice, 2006), intervention and consultation guided by available empirical data are emphasized while providing interns forums that lead to their growth and professional development in depth areas of their choice. The reciprocal and bidirectional relationship and application between research and ethical practice is examined and monitored through the content of general and specific didactic seminars, case conferences, and journal clubs, as well as group and individual supervision through the year of training.

Applications must have at least three letters of recommendation. Supplemental materials such as sample reports, etc. are welcome but not required. Also, when applying please indicate which track (pediatric or adult) you wish to pursue as well as indicate all areas of interest within your selected track from the available rotations.

Does the program require that applicants have received a minimum number of hours of the following at time of application? If Yes, indicate how many.

• Total direct contact intervention hours:

  • Required: Yes

  • Amount: Combined total of 500 hours

• Total direct contact assessment hours:

  • Required: Yes

  • Amount: Combined total of 500 hours

Describe any other required minimum criteria used to screen applicants:

N/A

Financial and other benefit support for upcoming training year:

(Note that programs are not required by the Commission on Accreditation to provide all benefits listed.)

• Annual stipend/salary for full-time interns: $33,280.00

• Annual stipend/salary for half-time interns: N/A

• Program provides access to medical insurance for intern? Yes

If access to medical insurance is provided:

• Trainee contribution to cost required? Yes

• Coverage of family member(s) available? Yes

• Coverage of legally married partner available? Yes

• Coverage of domestic partner available? Yes

Other benefits:

• Hours of annual paid personal time off (PTO and/or vacation): 112

• Hours of annual paid sick leave: 0

• In the event of medical conditions and/or family needs that require extended leave, does the program allow reasonable unpaid leave to interns/residents in excess of personal time off and sick leave? Yes

• Options for dental, vision, professional insurance, disability and life insurance; PTO hours include vacation and sick time; program also provides one week of PTO to defend graduate program dissertation.

This table shows initial post-internship positions.

Aggregated tally for preceding three cohorts (2019-2022):

• Total number of interns who were in the three cohorts: 9

• Total number of interns who did not seek employment because they returned to their doctoral program/are completing doctoral degree: 0

Note: Each individual represented in this table should be counted only one time. For former trainees working in more than one setting, select the setting that represents their primary position.