APA Accredited Internship in Professional Psychology
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Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) Predoctoral Psychology Internship Program provides comprehensive training in college mental health including experience with intakes, assessments, on-call coverage, crisis intervention, suicide assessment and management, brief counseling, individual and couples counseling, group psychotherapy, consultation, case management, and working with a diverse and gifted student population. Predoctoral interns work as part of a multidisciplinary staff.
Accreditation
The Psychology Internship Program at CAPS is fully accredited by the American Psychological Association.
For further information, you may contact the APA Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation.
Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation
American Psychological Association
750 First Street, NE
Washington, DC 20002-4242
Phone: (202) 336-5979 or (202) 336-6123 TDD
Website: https://www.apa.org/ed/accreditation/
Email: [email protected]
CAPS is fully accredited by The International Association of Counseling Services (IACS). The Predoctoral Psychology Internship Training Program is a member of Association of Postdoctoral and Internship Centers (APPIC).
Philosophy and Goals
The Predoctoral Psychology Internship Training Program at Counseling and Psychological Services at Vaden Health Center, Stanford University is based upon a Scholar-Practitioner training model that incorporates current psychological theory and science with experiential learning. It is intended to help Interns grow and develop as generalist psychologists. At CAPS, Interns gain extensive clinical experience with a diverse range of students and presenting problems.
Throughout the training year, experiential learning is informed by the theory and science of psychology in supervision and didactic training seminars. The internship follows a sequential, developmental training process, building upon the knowledge and skills that each Intern already possesses and offering opportunities for developing and refining additional clinical skills. The goal for our Interns is to facilitate their professional development from graduate student to skilled psychologist.
Upon arrival, Interns begin to assess their professional goals for their training year with guidance from the Training Director and Clinical Supervisors. Interns have the opportunity to identify clinical interests and theoretical models as training foci and are given training and supervision opportunities in identified areas. The training year provides ample opportunities for Interns to apply theory to practice. Supervision is regarded as a supportive, mentoring relationship to enable Interns to develop professional autonomy and competence. The evaluation process thus plays an essential role in the professional development of Interns throughout the year. In addition, Interns are able to broaden their knowledge and skill base by exposure to the variety of theoretical perspectives and intervention approaches that our multidisciplinary staff brings to the program. Lastly, CAPS offers opportunities for Interns to gain experience with a diverse range of students within a multicultural and diverse organization.
By the end of the training year, Interns will have developed competence with: intake interviewing, clinical assessment, crisis intervention, on-call services, brief and long-term therapy, individual psychotherapy, couples counseling, assessment, case management, brief treatment of eating disorders, motivational interviewing with substance use, and working with LGBTQ student community, providing structured workshops and outreach programming, consultation, professional ethics, and counseling a diverse and gifted student population.
Consistent with our training program's goal to train ethical, competent, and professional psychologists, there are opportunities during the year for personal exploration and self-reflection. Interns are encouraged to appropriately explore historical and personal data that may influence their clinical practice and to continue to reflective, introspective skills that aid in their development as professional psychologists. We strive to create an atmosphere in which interns feel safe to explore such issues in training groups and in supervision. Supervisors provide mentorship and consultation to trainees to support their exploration and professional development. Supervisors may consult with one another about trainees when appropriate. CAPS internship program functions in a manner consistent with American Psychological Association (APA) Ethical Standards (7.04 Student Disclosure of Personal Information).
Intern Training Goals
Goal 1:
To develop competence in ethics and legal matters.
- Interns will demonstrate knowledge of APA ethical principles.
- Interns will demonstrate knowledge of the laws and regulations related to the practice of professional psychology.
Goal 2:
Interns will develop clinical skills required for professional practice in psychology.
- Interns will demonstrate the ability to conduct initial assessments, develop case conceptualizations and treatment plans, and make appropriate case dispositions.
- Interns will demonstrate the ability to work within a range of therapeutic modalities.
- Interns will demonstrate the integration of theory and research into clinical practice.
Goal 3:
Interns will develop the skills to effectively respond to crisis situations.
- Interns will demonstrate the consultation, collaboration, and documentation skills necessary to effectively assess all safety and risk factors.
- Interns will demonstrate the ability to manage on-call duties effectively including consultation with other staff members and university representatives.
- Interns will demonstrate the ability to effectively handle disposition and follow-up with crisis situations.
Goal 4:
Interns will demonstrate the ability to consult and collaborate with an interdisciplinary staff, the campus community, and off-campus community.
- Interns will demonstrate the ability to consult and collaborate with peers, supervisors, and administrative professional staff.
- Interns will demonstrate the ability to consult and collaborate with faculty, administrators, student support staff, other student affairs professionals, and the Stanford Medical Center.
- Interns will demonstrate the ability to consult and collaborate with other mental health professionals, agencies outside of the university, and families when appropriate.
Goal 5:
Interns will develop skills for working with individual and cultural diversity.
- Interns will demonstrate the ability to examine their own attitudes, assumptions, behaviors, and values in working with individual and cultural diversity issues.
- Interns will demonstrate the ability to provide services sensitive to individual and cultural differences.
- Interns will demonstrate the ability to seek consultation and to pursue further learning regarding diversity issues.
Goal 6:
Interns will develop a professional identity as a psychologist.
- Interns will demonstrate the ability to interact professionally with peers, supervisors, administrative and professional staff.
- Interns will demonstrate professional responsibility with case management, documentation, and time management.
- Interns will demonstrate professional maturity.
Goal 7:
Interns will demonstrate the ability to provide consultation, education, outreach, and liaison.
- Interns will demonstrate the ability to support the work of others in the university and provide professional guidance to others.
- Interns will demonstrate competence in facilitation and presentation skills.
- Interns will demonstrate the ability to participate in community activities and establish relationships with other university colleagues.
Direct Clinical Services
Weekly Clinical Activities
Interns manage 16-20 hours of clinical work per week. This includes weekly intakes and assessment, one weekly 8 hour shift of on-call coverage that includes emergency appointments, consultations, referrals, short-term individual, couples, or group psychotherapy, and two long-term fee-paying students. In the summer, interns do up to two weeks of 24-hour on-call service.
Direct Service
Interns provide initial assessments and brief therapy for registered Stanford University undergraduate and graduate students. Interns also have the opportunity to provide longer-term therapy for a full year with two students. In addition, Interns gain experience with couples, groups, and referring students for medication or to outside therapists for open-ended therapy. Interns interface with other staff on and off campus regarding student mental health care. Interns also discuss their treatment plan in ongoing supervision and gain greater experience and competence in their clinical interventions.
Initial Assessments
Interns establish a therapeutic relationship and assess the appropriateness of the student’s presenting problem to a brief treatment model versus longer term therapy. Interns also develop skills conducting assessments for a range of presenting issues, providing crisis intervention, conducting differential diagnosis, referring for medication evaluation, and engaging in collaboration with other sources. Interns also rotate through a series of specialty tracks where they gain assessment skills with eating disorders, motivational interviewing skills, and competence working with gender and sexual identity.
On-call
All interns provide one weekly 8 hour shift of on-call crisis service to the student population. During on-call, Interns meet with students, professors, Resident Advisors, Resident Fellows or Resident Deans to consult, triage, or assess students for safety issues. In addition, Interns may take phone calls and provide referrals and triage over the phone. In the case of a crisis involving potential harm to self or others, Interns consult with a senior staff back-up. Interns gain experience with crisis assessment, management, and hospitalizations. During the summer, each intern is responsible for up to two weeks of 24 hour on-call service with senior staff back-up.
Crisis intervention
Interns have a range of opportunities to mange crises in the course of their ongoing therapy with students. Interns consult with staff if a student presents as a danger to self or others or is gravely disabled. In addition, Interns may join staff in speaking to various academic departments or resident halls when critical incidents arise.
Outreach
Interns participate in various types of outreach to the Stanford community during their Internship year. Outreach encompasses preventative work and may include responding to an event on-campus. Interns may present to student groups or at community centers on particular topics (e.g. depression, anxiety, or stress management) or they may go and speak to an on-campus group to help students to deal with the effects of a suicide, a sexual assault, or a national disaster.
Consultation
Interns provide consultation to faculty, staff, Resident/Graduate Deans, or students. This consultation may occur over the phone or in person. Interns also participate in community activities and establish relationships with other university colleagues.
Training and Supervision Activities
Clinical Supervision
Interns attend two hours of Clinical Supervision weekly. In individual supervision, Interns are encouraged to develop reflective, introspective clinical and case conceptualization skills that aid in their development as professional psychologists. Interns are given an opportunity prior to the beginning of the Internship to request their supervision preferences and needs. An attempt is made to match Interns to supervisors based upon these preferences. The clinical supervisor carries responsibility for case management, acquainting the Intern with the operations of the agency, training requirements, mentoring, and moral support. Ongoing and reciprocal feedback is an important part of supervision. Interns switch supervisors mid-year to diversify their supervisory experience. Evaluations occur mid-year and at end-of-year.
Secondary Specialty Supervision
Secondary specialty supervision is designed to provide Interns with specialized supervision for the assessment and management of eating disorders, the assessment and management of substance abuse through motivational interviewing, and working with student who identify as members of the LGBTQ community. Interns meet as a group with their supervisor in these specialty areas weekly for two hours. Secondary supervision rotates quarterly.
Didactic Seminars
The didactic seminar meets weekly for two hours. This is a topical seminar where presenters focus on topics that are particularly relevant to college mental health. Individual seminars are organized around clinical, cultural, pharmacological, and treatment model themes. Seminar topics may include:
- Orientation to Mental Health in a University Setting
- Crisis Intervention and Counseling
- Brief and Short-Term Therapy
- Psychopharmacology
- Anxiety and Depression in University Students
- Couples Therapy
- Termination
- Multicultural and Diversity Issues
Diversity Seminar
Interns work as part of a multicultural organization and gain experience with a diverse student population. Interns meet during winter quarter to explore how their own cultural beliefs and values may impact interactions with one another and their clients.
Professional Development Seminar
This seminar meets weekly and is facilitated by the Training Director. Both Predoctoral Interns and Postdoctoral Fellows attend this meeting. This meeting is intended to provide a weekly check-in with the Training Director and a venue for trainees to support and learn from each other. Trainees may seek support for applications, review each others’ CVs, do mock interviews, process challenges, and provide each other feedback to support each other’s professional development.
Case Conference
Each week, Interns attend a one hour case consultation facilitated by a CAPS staff member. This seminar provides Interns with an opportunity in peer consultation and supervision.
Mental Health Promotion and Risk Reduction (MHPRR) Seminar
This seminar meets weekly to provide support and supervision for activities related to consultation, education, liaison, and outreach. All Interns will demonstrate competency in mental health promotion and risk reduction by creating and executing consultation to the campus community, educational programming, liaison, and outreach services to the Stanford community. In addition, Interns will gain knowledge and experience in program evaluation by completing a program evaluation project.
Professional Development Seminar
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Professional Development Seminar
Intern Group Meeting
The Interns' Group Meeting is run by the interns themselves. It provides opportunities for Interns to form bonds with each other, to set their own agenda for the meetings, to process their training experience, and to provide mutual support.
Friday Staff Meeting
Each week, Interns attend a one hour staff meeting. There is both an administrative and educational component to these meetings.
Team Meeting
Interns are part of a multidisciplinary (psychiatrists, psychologists, licensed clinical social workers, and marriage and family therapists) team that meets weekly for case conference, support, education, and administration.
SAMPLE SCHEDULE |
||||
Direct Services Activities |
Fall | Winter | Spring | Summer |
Individual therapy / Initial Assessment | 16 |
16 | 16 | 16 |
Intakes |
2 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
*Group therapy | (2) | (2) | (2) | (2) |
| Outreach | Varies |
Varies |
Varies |
Varies |
On call emergency coverage (8 hrs) | Varies | Varies | Varies | Varies |
Training Activities |
|
|
|
|
Clinical Supervision | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
Secondary / Specialty supervision | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
Case Conference (with co-interns) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Intern Meeting | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Professional Development Seminar | 1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
| Didactic Seminar | 2 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
| MHPRR Seminar | 1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
Administrative Activities |
|
|
|
|
Team Meeting | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 |
| Friday Noon Meeting | 1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
| Administrative Time | 9.5 |
9.5 |
9.5 |
9.5 |
Average Estimated Total Hours Per week | 40 | 40 | 40 | 40 |
*Interns who co-facilitate therapy groups
have a reduced individual client caseload. Co-facilitation of therapy groups is on a volunteer basis and is not a requirement for the training program. |
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Internship Program Information and Expectations
Applying to the Internship Program
Qualifications
Applicants must be advanced doctoral students who have fulfilled all of the following:
- Currently enrolled in an APA accredited doctoral program in clinical or counseling psychology
- Successful completion of all required coursework and practica prior to start of internship
- Successfull completion of doctoral comprehensive exams
- Completed a minimum of 500 hours of supervised practicum experience by November 1st
- Verification by the Director of Training of readiness for internship
- Favorable consideration will be given to applicants who will have completed or have made substantial progress towards completion of their dissertation by the start of internship
Application Procedures
To apply for our Predoctoral Internship, we require that you apply via the AAPI Online site which may be accessed at https://www.appic.org. Once on the site, please click on "AAPI Online." Your online application must include the following:
- A completed APPIC Application for Psychology Internship (AAPI) form. The AAPI may be downloaded from https://www.appic.org.
- In your cover letter, please describe your qualifications and professional experience you believe make you a good match with our site. In your letter, please clearly identify your experience conducting intakes, providing crisis assessment and intervention, experience with brief therapy, and elaborate your specific goals for internship.
- Current curriculum vita
- Official transcripts of all graduate work.
- Three letters of recommendation, at least two from supervisors who are familiar with your more recent clinical work.
Deadline for Applications
To be considered for the internship of the academic year 2013-2014, all application materials must be uploaded on to the AAPI Online by 5:00 p.m. (PST) on Tuesday, November 1, 2012.
Your application will be reviewed by the Selection Committee. Selected applicants will be contacted for interviews. We will make every effort to notify all applicants of their status by December 15, 2012.
At that time we invite applicants that we have selected to interview to attend our open house. The open house is not part of the interview but an opportunity for the applicant to visit our site and meet our training staff and current interns. We cannot accommodate on-site visits prior to interviews. All interviews are conducted by phone or Skype with two members of the Selection Committee.
Selection can be a stressful process and we want to provide you with as much information as possible. If you have additional questions not answered from the website or APPIC listing, please do contact Dr. Mary Mendoza-Newman at [email protected] or call 650-723-3785. You may also request the contact information for current and past interns for more details about their experience by sending Dr. Mendoza-Newman an email.
As an APPIC member, we follow all APPIC policies and procedures regarding selection and notification. This internship site agrees to abide by the APPIC policy that no person at this training facility will solicit, accept, or use any ranking-related information from any intern applicant. These policies are available on the APPIC website.
We will be participating in the APPIC match process coordinated by National Matching Services, Inc. In order to participate and be considered by our site, you must register with National Matching services by requesting a packet of materials. This can be done by phone at (416) 977-3431 or online at www.natmatch.com/psychint. Our program code number is 1166.
Appointments and Benefits
CAPS offers three full-time (40 hours per week), twelve-month predoctoral internship appointments, beginning Monday, August 19, 2013 and ending Friday, August 15, 2014. The stipend for the internship is $25,000 for the year. This includes 4 weeks of vacation, a $1500 health stipend for the purchase of part or all of a healthcare plan, and a $250.00 educational allowance, library privileges, and access to university recreation facilities.