Department of Behavioral Medicine and Psychiatry

Pre-Doctoral Clinical Psychology Internship Program 2009-2010
- PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

The program offers a general psychology internship in a university medical center setting, and emphasizes a cognitive-behavioral approach to clinical work and research. Clinical training opportunities include work with outpatients, participation in inpatient psychiatry programs, and experience in behavioral medicine. Clinical research is another aspect of the internship year; the Psychology supervisors are active researchers in a number of areas, including adult and pediatric behavioral medicine, anxiety disorders, eating disorders, functional brain imaging, and clinical neuropsychology. Interns participate in research projects that are ongoing or of their own initiation. The internship is intended to refine the clinical skills of trainees and to prepare them for work in a variety of settings, including academic and clinical medicine, university psychology departments, and inpatient and outpatient treatment centers. Approximately two-thirds of our graduates are employed in academic settings, with the remaining one-third in clinical/administrative environments.

The Psychology supervisors maintain a close tutorial and supportive relationship with the interns; at the same time, we encourage interns to function more independently as they make the transition from graduate student to professional psychologist. Professional relationships between members of the Psychology Section and other disciplines are collegial within the Department as well as throughout the Health Sciences Center. This provides interns with a wide variety of clinical experiences and the opportunity to work closely with other specialists. The Psychology Section maintains an active post-doctoral residency program and the interns have the opportunity work side-by-side with postdoctoral residents. The theoretical orientation of the Psychology Section is primarily cognitive-behavioral and behavioral; Psychiatry and Social Work faculty represent biological, psychodynamic, and systems/family orientation.