GENERAL INFORMATION

The University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, in affiliation with the Psychology Service, VA San Diego Healthcare System (VASDHS), UCSD Outpatient Psychiatric Services, UCSD Intensive Outpatient Eating Disorders Program, Children's Outpatient Psychiatry of Children's Hospital, UCSD Child and Adolescent Inpatient Psychiatric Services, and UCSD Medical Center offers a 12‑month, full‑time, APA‑approved predoctoral internship in clinical psychology.  The program begins each year on July 1 and includes a stipend of $24,255 for 2080 hours of training. Our program trains doctoral candidates to function as autonomous professionals in a variety of health care settings, with particular emphasis on the role of the psychologist in a sophisticated university-affiliated teaching and research hospital, adult or child outpatient, and inpatient child and adolescent psychiatric settings.  The UCSD/VA Psychology Internship provides a solid grounding in basic clinical skills in a rich array of optional experiences for developing special expertise.  The program emphasizes the Boulder, Scientist-practitioner model of training in psychology and, thus, accepts applicants who are oriented more toward research and clinical interests (i.e., academic careers) than those interested in professional psychology.   

In the 40 years since its inception in 1969, the Department of Psychiatry at UCSD has developed into one of the most innovative and vigorous of the academic departments of psychiatry in the country.  The department has a strong commitment to the basic neurosciences and to biological psychiatry, but this is balanced by an equally strong commitment to the understanding of an individual's present feelings, thoughts and behaviors, the interpersonal relationships among family members and significant others, and empirically-validated psychotherapy interventions.

The relationships between the Department of Psychiatry at the University of California - San Diego Medical School, the VASDHS, UCSD Outpatient Psychiatric Services, Children's Outpatient Psychiatry of Children's Hospital, UCSD Child and Adolescent Inpatient Psychiatric Services, and UCSD Medical Center have long been characterized by a high degree of interdependence in synergistic collaboration.  Many successful joint programs are currently in operation under the umbrella of the UCSD Department of Psychiatry.  Noteworthy among these programs is a three‑year Residency in General Psychiatry, psychiatric fellowships in geropsychiatry, alcohol and substance abuse treatment, affective  disorders  and a Joint Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology (see Appendix A ‑ Organizational Chart). The salient features of our psychology internship are discussed below.

ORGANIZATION OF THE TRAINING PROGRAM

Over the past 40 years, the Department of Psychiatry has developed six primary sites for the provision of training in clinical psychology:
1. The VA San Diego Healthcare System (VASDHS)
2. UCSD Outpatient Psychiatric Services
3. Children's Outpatient Psychiatry of Rady Children's Hospital
4. UCSD Child and Adolescent Inpatient Psychiatric Services (CAPS)
5. UCSD Medical Center 
6. UCSD Intensive Outpatient Eating Disorders Program

Currently, the UCSD/VA Psychology Internship Program provides training experiences at all six affiliated sites.

Our Internship is comprised of 19 Intern Positions. Each Position is comprised of two, year‑long half‑time rotations. Many interns will have rotations at the VASDHS and one of the UCSD sites.  Some interns will have both rotations at either UCSD or at the VASDHS. In an effort to make it easier for applicants to identify potential Positions of Interest, we have grouped the Positions according to six clusters: Addictions, Behavioral Medicine, Child, Neuropsychology, Specialty Mental Health, and Trauma. Some Positions are classified into two clusters when the two paired rotations best fit into different clusters. When applicants apply to the program, we will request that they rank order two clusters of interest and choose two specific Positions of Interest within each cluster. This will help ensure that the appropriate faculty review relevant applications.  Please see Appendix D for a list of Positions and the clusters to which they belong. The section below entitled, “Internship Sites and Rotation Descriptions” provides descriptions of each rotation. This will assist applicants in choosing appropriate Positions to which they wish to apply.   

On each rotation, Interns will have one primary supervisor (see Appendix A for a list of primary supervisors, as well as Appendix B for brief bios of those faculty). In addition, many rotations have one or more secondary supervisors available for consultation and/or supervision in specific aspects of the rotation. The program Co-Directors are also always available for help and consultation.

Objectives, Goals and Core Competencies

The fundamental objective of our program is to facilitate the development of competent professional psychologists who are ready to assume the responsibilities of an entry level doctoral psychologist position.  Our internship training is directed towards developing six basic core professional competencies expected of an entry level doctoral level psychologist in the areas of:

   (1)    Assessment, Diagnosis and Consultation: Competency in conducting clinical interview-based assessment and in administering and interpreting basic psychological tests in the areas of intellectual assessment, basic cognitive assessment, and personality assessment; familiarity with the prevailing diagnostic procedures, e.g., ability to assign appropriate diagnoses to individual patients; ability to communicate findings and recommendations orally and in writing in a clear and concise manner. 

 (2) Intervention and Treatment: Competency in conducting individual and group counseling/psychotherapy across a variety of problems and populations; familiarity with empirical findings concerning the efficacy of psychotherapy; an understanding and knowledge of empirically supported therapeutic approaches for specific mental disorders.

    (3)   Supervision: Familiarity with and understanding of methods and theories of supervision; Competency in supervising other trainees under the supervision of members of the psychology faculty
  
    (4)   Professional and Ethical Behavior: Demonstration of sound professional clinical judgment and behavior in the application of assessment and intervention procedures with individuals; familiarity with and understanding of professional and legal standards in professional psychology; a thorough working understanding of APA ethical standards.

    (5)   Cultural Diversity: Demonstration of understanding of and sensitivity to human diversity issues in the practice of psychology; familiarity with empirical findings pertaining to diversity issues in assessment and diagnosis, tests and measurement, psychopathology, interventions and treatment.

    (6)   Scholarly Inquiry and Application of Scientific Knowledge:  Demonstration of understanding and knowledge of strategies of scholarly inquiry; awareness of current empirical studies in major professional practice journals; competency in reviewing and integrating relevant scholarly literature to assist in clinical problem solving.

The internship experience involves training which extends and integrates the intern's basic academic program.  The internship is designed to offer a broad range of experiences to develop these core professional competencies.  Interns have a shared responsibility in designing and planning the internship experience in collaboration with the Psychology Internship Training Committee (PITC).  This process is intended to ensure that the intern's training plan is integrated with the intern's overall graduate or professional school training plan, and that the internship provides a coherent progression from the basic knowledge and practical clinical skill competencies achieved in the academic program to the core practice competencies that are to be acquired in the internship.  Upon completion of the internship, interns are prepared to assume an entry level doctoral psychology position in inpatient and outpatient adult and child medical, psychiatric and mental health settings.

Clinical Activities

The 12‑month training year begins with an Orientation Week in which interns receive a thorough introduction to their assigned training sites.  During the orientation period, faculty advisors begin to evaluate the intern's strengths and weaknesses with respect to psychological assessment and psychotherapy.  The evaluation involves a review of previous clinical experience and training recommendations from the interns' home university, if available.  Results of the evaluation period are used by faculty and interns to determine which training activities to emphasize during the year.  In most cases, major aspects of these decisions and assignments can be determined before the intern arrives on site.  One of the outstanding features of this program is the tremendous flexibility that an intern and his or her advisors have in developing an individualized training experience for the year.

Opportunities for the interns range from diagnostic evaluations and brief crisis‑oriented therapy, to long‑term, insight oriented psychotherapy.  Training is available in a variety of therapeutic modalities, including individual, marital, family, and group.  Our program emphasizes empirically based psychotherapies, although supervision is available in many theoretical orientations, ranging from behavioral to psychodynamic.  Assessment opportunities also vary depending on site and supervisor, from a strong emphasis on neuropsychology at the VASDHS, UCSD, and CAPS to a greater emphasis on developmental and personality factors at the child facilities.

Psychological Assessment

Psychological assessment plays an integral role in the services of a clinical psychologist.  Most of the rotations offered by the internship involve a significant amount of psychological assessment of the population served at the sites.  It is expected that each intern will obtain intensively supervised psychodiagnostic assessment experience. 

Seminars

There are a number of seminars available to the intern during the course of the year.  All of the interns are required to attend the weekly Psychology Internship Seminar Series and each will present at least one case at this seminar during the course of the year (see Appendix C ‑ Internship Seminar Series).  Many other seminars are available and may be elective or required depending on the rotation and setting in which the intern is assigned.  Mention of these seminars is made in the site descriptions below.

The various seminars are provided as part of the internship training program and serve many functions.  First, they provide an opportunity for the intern to acquire a body of knowledge which may or may not be available at home universities.  Second, they allow the interns to expand their knowledge of a specific area. Third, they provide an opportunity for the training staff to meet with the interns for the purpose of updating their knowledge.  While a tremendous variety of required and optional lectures are given each week throughout the program, it is generally expected that interns will spend three to four hours per week in didactic activities.

Supervision
Quality supervision is a particular point of emphasis in our program. All interns are expected to receive at least one hour individual, face-to-face supervision each week in each rotation.  Many rotations also have group supervisions and/or team meetings where additional training occurs.  These supervisions may include review of audio or video taped therapy sessions, depending on the capabilities of the specific clinics. Furthermore, many rotations will include co-therapy with faculty or other senior therapists to allow for in vivo supervision.

Research

Intern applicants who have demonstrated interest in a research-oriented academic career are heavily recruited by this program.  Although active research involvement is not a requirement of the internship, interns may elect to involve themselves in research activities during the internship year.  Interns often choose to join any number of ongoing clinical research projects, to initiate an approved and sponsored project on their own, or to continue to work on their dissertations. Generally, research time will be approved in addition to the basic 42 hour internship training week. Each year, several interns take advantage of the opportunity to participate in research. Note though, that no participation in research will be allowed until an intern has defended his or her dissertation. The vast majority of our internship graduates go on to obtain research and/or teaching oriented fellowships and positions in academic settings, many of them right here at UCSD.