INTERNSHIP POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

This section presents our current policies regarding a number of common issues affecting internships.

Qualification Standards

Only applicants from APA approved doctoral programs in clinical or counseling psychology will be considered. Interns are expected to have completed at least three years of doctoral study before beginning the internship year, including at least 1,000 clinical practicum hours. Students should also have proposed their dissertation before applying to this internship. Furthermore, only students who have completed their department's practicum requirements and whose department indicates that the student is ready for a pre doctoral internship should apply. Our internship program trains doctoral candidates to function as autonomous psychologists in health care settings which place a strong emphasis on teaching and research, using the Boulder, scientist-practitioner model. As such, we attempt to recruit students with balanced experiences in both clinical and research domains rather than students with predominantly clinical professional focus. The majority of our Interns develop careers that include a research component.

The Internship Program is fully accredited by APA. To confirm status contact APA at the following address:

Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation
American Psychological Association
750 First Street, N.E.
Washington, DC 20002-4242
Phone: (202) 336-5979
Fax: (202) 336-5978
Email: apaaccred@apa.org

Application Procedures

The internship year begins on July 1, 2010. The application deadline is November 6, 2009. By December 15, 2009 a select number of applicants will be invited for a full day of interviews during the week of January 4-8, 2010. Serious candidates are strongly encouraged to visit San Diego if selected for an interview. Applicants who are unable to schedule a personal interview may be interviewed by phone.

Interested students can obtain specific application instructions for our training site by visiting our website: http://psychiatry.ucsd.edu/psychologyInternship.html

Starting 2009, applicants will complete and submit the AAPI Online to internship programs of interest. The AAPI can be completed at http://www.appic.org. In addition, the usual application packet (cover letter, CV, letters of recommendation, DCT verification of AAPI, graduate transcripts, and program specific application) will all be submitted through the online application portal.

Applicants are asked to rank order up to two clusters that define their primary interests, and to choose up to two specific Positions within each cluster for which they wish to apply (see Appendix D for Clusters and Positions).

If you have questions about the application procedures, please call or email our Internship Coordinator:

Phone: (858) 642-3944
Email: pinterns@ucsd.edu

Selection of Interns-APPIC

The UCSD/VA Psychology Internship Training Program is a member of the Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers (APPIC). Offers are tendered to applicants through the APPIC National Computer Match process in strict compliance with APPIC policy regarding internship offers and acceptances. Instructions for the APPIC-MATCH Procedures can be found on the APPIC Web Site at www.appic.org/match. 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. (There will be early notification to any applicants who are not included in the match by UCSD.) Applicants are similarly expected to conform their behavior to the requirements of the AAPIC program. All participating agencies of the UCSD Psychology Internship Program are Equal Opportunity Employers and we encourage ethnic minority applicants.

Supervision

At the beginning of the internship year, the Psychology Internship Training Committee assigns each intern two primary supervisors, one for each rotation within their Position. These supervisors are responsible for the direct training of the intern throughout the year. Responsibilities of the primary supervisors are to: (1) review the intern's previous training, identifying areas of strength and weaknesses; (2) utilize this information in organizing intern's training activities; (3) insure that the intern has a rotation supervisor for every activity and that supervision is occurring; (4) make appropriate reports or convey requests to the Psychology Internship Training Committee; (5) meet with the intern each week to review the progress of the intern's training; (6) fulfill all other duties described. It is the intern's responsibility to confer regularly with the supervisors. In some instances primary supervisors may be changed during the year if faculty leave the program or a change proves advantageous for the intern.

In addition to the primary supervisors, each intern will likely have several other rotation supervisors assigned to him or her during the course of the year. Rotation supervisors are senior psychologists assigned to the unit on which the intern is rotating. Additional specialized supervision may also be provided by psychologists who are active clinicians in the community but are not directly assigned to the rotation unit. Primary supervisors, rotation supervisors and community supervisors all assume direct responsibilities for teaching, instructing, observing, and otherwise maintaining supervision for specific clinical training activities. All supervisors have faculty or staff appointments in the Department of Psychiatry, UCSD.

Training Methods

In helping interns acquire proficiency in the core competency areas noted previously, a training approach is used in which internship learning objectives are accomplished primarily through experiential clinical learning under the supervision and mentoring of licensed psychologists. All work performed by interns during the internship year must be under the supervision of a licensed psychologist. Interns work with and are supervised by psychologists who serve as consultants to medical staff members or who serve as members of multidisciplinary teams in treatment units or programs. As a consultant or team member under supervision, the intern's core competencies are developed and the intern learns to gradually accept increasing professional responsibility. Interns are given a wide range of experience in psychological treatment and assessment modalities provided by the service. The internship is primarily learning oriented and training considerations take precedence over service delivery. Since interns enter the program with varying levels of experience and knowledge, training experiences are tailored so that an intern does not start out at too basic or too advanced a level. Generally, an intern's training on a given rotation will follow a progression from observation to increasingly autonomous, albeit monitored and supervised, activity. This progression might typically include:

1. Observation of the supervisor performing assessments, intervention or consultation;
2. Simulated practice of specific skills;
3. Assessment or therapy conducted jointly by the intern and supervisor;
4. Supervisor directly observing intern performing assessment or intervention with patient;
5. Audio or video taping of intern assessment or therapy sessions for subsequent review in supervision;
6. Intern gives written or verbal summaries of clinical activities in supervision.

Essentially a developmental approach to experiential clinical learning and supervision is utilized. Interns receive a minimum of four hours of supervision each week. Each intern receives at least two hours of individual supervision each week: An hour or more by each by their major rotation supervisors and one to three hours of group supervision. Many interns receive more supervision hours than this. In addition to the core competency areas, supervisors also teach and provide supervision to interns in specific methods of assessment and treatment approaches, e.g. clinical interview based assessments, the administration and interpretation of specific psychological tests, cognitive behavioral therapy, time-limited dynamic therapy, treatment interventions for trauma victims, etc., depending on the particular rotation and particular supervisor. Complementing basic individual and group supervision, through the process of working closely with a number of different supervisors, interns are also exposed to role modeling and mentoring on an ongoing basis.

Competency Model of Evaluation

The basic goal of our internship program is to promote the professional development of interns in each of the core competency areas so that interns are ready to assume the responsibilities of a postdoctoral fellow or entry level doctoral psychologist position. Most people in the general public who utilize psychological services and most professionals in psychology would agree that a primary outcome of professional education and training in psychology is the preparedness of graduates to function in the profession. To assist in our internship training and evaluation process, and to document the attainment of basic core competencies, overall competency ratings and specific objective ratings within each domain are completed for each of the following six domains: (1) Assessment, Diagnosis and Consultation, (2) Intervention and Treatment, (3) Supervision, (4) Professional and Ethical Behavior, (5) Cultural Diversity, and (6) Scholarly Inquiry. Based on Falender and Shafranske (2004; Clinical Supervision: A Competency-Based Approach, Washington, DC: APA), the methodology we use to both evaluate and integrate competency into the curriculum consists of (a) clearly articulated training objectives that are defined by specific quantifiable descriptors of expectations for each developmental skill level for each of our six core competency domains; (b) a ratings form for the beginning of the year prior to the start of training, mid-year evaluations, and end-of-the-year evaluations of each defined competency in both self-report and supervisor report; and (c) a training plan that lays out the specific training activities and expectations that address the specific training needs of each intern. Interns complete a self-assessment of the six core competencies at the beginning of the training year. Strengths and weaknesses that emerge from this self-assessment are discussed with primary supervisors in developing a training plan for the internship year. Interns complete self-evaluations and supervisors complete competency evaluations of interns at mid-year and end-of-year points for each major and minor rotation. We use a developmental rating scale that is intended to reflect progression toward becoming an independent psychologist. Level I is expected of beginning practicum students, but some interns may enter internship training at this level for some domains. Level 2 is where practicum students are expected to be at the end of their graduate program, and where pre-doctoral interns are expected to begin their internship year in most domains. Although Level 2 is expected of incoming interns, Level 2 ratings are not usually given until an intern is observed and evaluated by the supervisor, typically at the end of the first evaluation period. Level 3 is the competency level expected of pre-doctoral interns at the end of the internship year, and is where entry level doctoral psychologists seeking post-doctoral supervision towards licensure are expected to be at the beginning of their post-doctoral training. Level 4 represents the practice competence of independent psychologists who are licensed. Level 3 is the minimum level of competence expected and required of interns by the end of the internship in at least 80% of the specific competencies.

In addition to the ongoing feedback and evaluation which is a natural part of the supervision process, each intern receives formal, written evaluation ratings from each of his/her primary supervisors at the mid¬point and at the completion of each training year. The mid-point evaluations are intended to be a progress report for interns to increase self-awareness and awareness of supervisor's perceptions, discrepancies between intern self-ratings and supervisor ratings, and to help the intern focus on specific goals and areas of work for the second part of the rotation. Interns are requested to provide a written evaluation of each supervisor at mid-year and upon completion of the rotation. This and the supervisor's evaluation of the intern are discussed by the intern and supervisor to facilitate mutual understanding and growth. Copies of the intern's and the supervisor's mid-year and final rotation evaluations are forwarded to the Training Director. Intern evaluations will be forwarded to the Director of Training at the intern's graduate school.

To successfully complete the internship, interns are expected to demonstrate an appropriate level of professional psychological skills and competencies in the core areas described in the section on the Objectives and Goals of the Internship Program. Interns will be certified as having completed the internship at UCSD with the concurrence of individual supervisors and the Psychology Internship Training Committee. Interns successfully completing the training program will be issued a certificate of internship completion consistent with APA guidelines.

Office Hours and Vacation Policy

The general office hours for the internship cover Monday through Friday. However, the intern's professional responsibilities may extend the work week beyond its customary 40 hours on some rotations. Some rotations require evening clinics on one night of the week. On those days, interns will be allowed to start late to maintain the basic 8 hours/day commitment. Since time required for documentation varies greatly across interns, an average amount of time sufficient for an intern to complete documentation on any given rotation shall be built into the typical work day. If an intern requires greater than an average amount of time for documentation, the intern is expected to complete documentation beyond the typical 8 hours/day or 40 hours/week, rather than sacrifice other rotation responsibilities.

There are a total of 20 leave days allowed per year, for ALL personal absences (i.e., vacation, sick leave, dissertation defense, conferences, etc.).

Interns must formally request leave at least 30 days in advance from both primary supervisors. Supervisors and the intern must sign advance leave slips BEFORE leave is approved. This is necessary for planning for coverage.

An exception to the ADVANCED SUPEVISOR APPROVAL rule would be a true emergency (i.e., a death in the family). Emergency leave would count against the 20 days total.

The Internship Program Assistant is responsible only for keeping track of approved leave. Quarterly reports are issued to the Directors and intern's primary supervisors, so they can be aware of accumulated leave taken.

No extended leave is allowed in June, July or the first two weeks of January. Requests for brief leave for a very special purpose will be considered (e.g., defending dissertation, family wedding), but only with advanced approval, as above.

Any leave taken outside of the above procedures would be subtracted from the 20 days. There are no exceptions or extensions to the 20 day leave policy.

In addition to these 20 days of leave, regularly scheduled holidays and those designated by appropriate administrative authority are available to the interns. Where federal and state authorized holidays differ, the intern will be given the holiday appropriate to the major rotation (federal or state facility) on which he or she is assigned that particular holiday. Typically, interns are given 13 paid holidays.

Requirements for Completion of the Internship

To successfully complete the internship, interns are expected to meet the following requirements:

1) 2080 Hours: The internship requires one year of full-time training to be completed in no less than 12 months. Interns must complete 2080 hours of supervised on-duty time during the internship year. Interns have the option of completing additional hours beyond the 2080 hours to meet certain states' licensing requirements.

2) Patient Contact: Each intern is expected to average 24 hours each week minimum in direct patient contact. It is expected that these minimums typically will be exceeded. For this requirement, direct patient contact includes only "face to face" contact with patients for any type of group or individual therapy, psychological testing, assessment activities or patient education. Successful completion of the internship requires a minimum of 1200 hours of direct patient contact.

3) Psychotherapy: In each major rotation in which treatment is a significant element, each intern will be expected to be involved in at least one therapy group and three individual psychotherapy cases. On some rotations it may be possible to substitute a family or couples therapy case for a therapy group or individual patient. On neuropsychological assessment rotations, psychotherapy activities are not expected, although interns on these rotations participate in psychotherapy activities on their other rotation.

4) Psychological Assessment: Interns must complete a minimum of 8 assessment reports. Interns on neuropsychology rotations will complete over 40 assessments. These assessments must be based on data integrated from multiple sources and must include written reports with diagnostic impressions and recommendations. Assessments based solely on interviews or single tests do not meet this requirement. In meeting this requirement, each intern must develop and demonstrate proficiency in the administration, scoring, and interpretation of the WAIS-III or WASI, MMPI-2, and/or other cognitive personality, or specialized tests (e.g. achievement, aptitude, neuropsychology or vocational) relevant to their rotation(s).

5) Didactic Training: Interns are required to attend weekly Psychology Internship Seminar Series presented by department faculty members and are encouraged and often required to attend inservice conferences and other didactic presentations associated with their rotations.

6) Case Presentations: In addition to informal case presentations made in group supervision, interns are required to present one psychotherapy/counseling case or one assessment/diagnostic case as part of the Psychology Internship Seminar Series in order to demonstrate competency in these areas (See Evaluation Section). As part of each case presentation, the intern should review and discuss research literature relevant to that case.

7) Competence in Clinical Activities: At the end of each rotation, in the judgment of his/her supervisor and the Training Directors, each intern must have achieved a satisfactory level of competence. To successfully complete the internship, interns must meet minimal competency requirements [Level 3] in 80% of the competency objectives identified above, and have no level 1 or unacceptable competency ratings.