Psychology Internship Program
Introduction…
Summit Psychological Associates, Inc. administers a twelve-month predoctoral internship for the training of psychologists. The program has been granted full approval by the Accreditation Committee of the American Psychological Association and attracts psychology trainees from all over the Unites States. The program is supported through participating agencies and hospitals that provide mental health services in Northeastern Ohio. Interns train in one track for the full year based on their primary interest area. Applicants can apply to more than one track.
Track A: Two Interns
Heartland Behavioral Healthcare - Adult Psychiatric Hospital
Track B: One Intern
Summit Psychological Associates, Inc. - Private Practice
Coleman Professional Services Community Mental Health Center
Track C: One Intern
Coleman Professional Services - Community Mental Health Center
Children's Advantage - Child Community Mental Health Center
Track D: Two Interns
Summit Psychological Associates, Inc - Forensic Services
Track E: Two Interns
Summit Psychological Associates, Inc - Forensic Services
The Program Philosophy…
The philosophy of the program is to provide each intern with sequential and graded training through a wide range of psychological experiences, thereby identifying and highlighting the areas of competence necessary to become a well rounded Clinician. Interns practice in the areas of assessment and evaluation, as well as individual, group, family and marital treatment. All interns are supervised by licensed psychologists with an emphasis on shadowing and modeling. Along with the above experiences, interns attend staff meetings, case conferences, seminars and workshops.
Model of Training...
The Ohio Psychology Internship Program follows a community based practitioner model. It is the belief of the program's clinical training committee that clinical experiences are an essential component of predoctoral programs in psychology. In addition, an internship setting should provide interns with professional responsibilities in the context of appropriate supervisory support, professional role modeling, and administrative structure. The Ohio Psychology Internship is dedicated to developing independently functioning professionals who provide clinical services in the community and who are able to respond to patient needs in a rapidly changing health care environment.
The Staff...
The internship's supervisory staff is composed of credentialed faculty who are dedicated to the training of psychology interns. Each intern is exposed to supervisors who are available on a daily basis to discuss immediate concerns in addition to scheduled weekly meetings to provide more in-depth supervisory consultation. Interns receive four hours of weekly supervision, at least tow of which are on an individual basis. Formal evaluations of each intern's performance are conducted quarterly.
The Internship Sites...
All of the placement sites adhere to the internship training model while providing patient care for a wide variety of psychopathology, ranging from mild to severe, and short-term to longer term. Patients served are diverse in their age, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion and cultural background. The internship is committed to training interns to be sensitive to multicultural issues in assessment and treatment. Given populations served in the affiliated settings, interns are exposed to, and encouraged to work with, a wide array of psychological problems using a variety of therapeutic interventions.
Number of Rotations and Positions...
Currently there are seven full time positions available through the Psychology Internship.
Two interns are placed in Track A ,Heartland Behavioral Healthcare, for the full year.
One intern is placed in Track B, spending 2 1/2 days each week at Coleman Professional Services and 2 1/2 days each week at Summit Psychological Associates.
One intern is placed in Track C and rotates weekly between Coleman Professional Services and Children's Advantage.
Four interns are placed in Track D and E, Summit Psychological Associates' Forensic Services, for the full year.
[ Heartland Behavioral Healthcare ] [ Summit Psychological Associates, Inc. ]
[ Coleman Professional Services ] [ Children's Advantage ]
Intern Range of Activities...
In order for interns to become well trained psychologists, competency in a variety of specific clinical areas must be developed. To ensure that these competency levels are attained, the Internship Training Committee has established a number of requirements that each intern must complete. These requirements cover a wide range of site-specific activities and responsibilities generally expected of psychologists. The following are covered in the internship requirements:
*Psychological Assessments
*Group Therapy
*Family Therapy
*Individual Psychotherapy
*Multidisciplinary Team Participation
*Ethical Considerations
*Agency Administration
*Forensic Psychology
*Multicultural Issues
Specific tasks in each of these categories must be completed during the internship year. Each intern works closely with his/her assigned supervisor in refining the necessary skills to complete these requirements with quality and professionalism.
Seminars...
In addition to the individual instruction provided by each intern's supervisor, the training committee has coordinated a series of seminars. These required seminars cover a variety of clinical topics, some are held in conjunction with the Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine (NEOUCOM) Psychiatry Residency Program, and some are held in conjunction with the University of Akron School of Law. In addition to traditional training seminars covering topics such as neuropsychological assessment and the assessment and treatment of survivors of sexual abuse, the internship recognizes the changes within the field of psychology and offers topics such as Integrating Spiritual Topics into Clinical Practice, Multicultural Issues in Psychotherapy, Forensic Psychological Services and Surviving Managed Care.
Interns are also encouraged to take advantage of the many workshops offered by area professionals and national organizations including the Ohio Psychological Association and the American Psychological Association. Attendance at these workshops is arranged by the intern, with approval of his/her supervisor. Two days of leave time are provided to each intern to attend workshops.
Benefits and Procedures...
Stipend and Benefits
The stipend for interns is $15,500 for a 12-month period. A comprehensive medical insurance and basic life insurance plan are available with the intern paying a portion. Worker's Compensation is provided. Interns are required to show proof of malpractice insurance which can be purchased through an APA-endorsed policy at student rates, provided to student members of APA, or can be a part of their university coverage.
Vacation Time
The internship is 12 months in duration, beginning July 1 and ending June 30. A total of 10 days are provided for sick, personal and/or vacation days. Arrangements and approval for these days off are made through the intern's supervisor and the Program Director. Holidays off are determined by the intern's placement site.
Ombudsperson
In keeping with the desire of the Ohio Psychology Internship Program to provide appropriate channels for resolution of grievances and to promote advocacy, the role of ombudsman has been developed. The role of ombudsman assists the interns in resolving concerns with the Internship Program.
Chief Intern Position
Each year interns select a Chief Intern and an alternate to attend and actively participate in the Ohio Psychology Internship Training Committee. The Chief Intern is provided time away from his/her rotation site to attend all Training Committee meetings. Duties and responsibilities of the Chief Intern are as follows:
1) Greet and introduce presenter at seminars.
2) Take intern attendance at all seminars and grand rounds.
3) Attend all Training Committee meetings.
4) Represent the concerns of the interns to the Training Committee and act as
a liaison between the Committee and the interns.
5) Provide leadership to interns.
6) Assist in recruitment of interns.
Qualifications and Application Procedures
Admission to the Psychology Internship Program is open to qualified individuals. In our effort to create a learning environment that builds on the unique characteristics of trainees and welcomes diversity, applicants of all minority groups are strongly encouraged to apply. Applicants are expected to have appropriate preparation from a clinical or counseling psychology program. To be considered for admission, a prospective intern should fulfill the following requirements:
1. Submit a completed APPIC application for Psychology Internship by the deadline date (Nov 16).
2. Submit official transcripts demonstrating evidence of completion of a master's level program, plus all required course work in clinical or counseling psychology for a doctoral program at an accredited university.
3. Submit two work samples demonstrating clinical report writing skills.
4. Participate in an interview to evaluate the applicant's suitability for training.
5. Provide three letters of recommendation: one from the Department Chairperson, one from the Clinical Training Director if designated or from the intern's advisor, and one from another professional who is familiar with the intern's character and clinical level of expertise. A Faculty member more familiar with the student can be substituted for the Department Chairperson when the Chair is not able to provide a personal recommendation.
For further information, contact:
James Orlando,Ph.D., Program Director, Ohio Psychology Internship Program, 37 N. Broadway Street, Akron, OH 44308 or www.summit-psychological.com
Deborah R. Walsh, Ph.D., Training Director, Ohio Psychology Internship Program.
The internship agrees to abide by the APPIC Policy that no representative of the program will solicit, accept or use any ranking-related information from any intern applicant prior to Uniform Notification Day.
A copy of the APPIC Application for Psychology Internships is available at the APPIC web site. Click here to download your application. If you do not have access to a computer or you have any questions or concerns, please contact the administrative offices of the internship program at 330-296-3700 and ask for Dr. Walsh.
Applicants may apply directly from this web site by e-mailing an APPIC application directly to:
Dr. Deborah Walsh Ohio Psychology Internship Program, 37 N. Broadway Street, Akron, OH 44308.
