Navigating Internship as a Research-Oriented Clinical Psychology Student

Navigating Internship as a Research-Oriented Clinical Psychology

Student

Andrew D. Peckham and Jessica Hamilton

Match Day has come and gone, and between July and September of 2017, more than 3,500 students will begin the challenging and exciting experience of beginning their clinical internships. Internship entails a number of challenges, including learning new clinical skills, developing new relationships with mentors, colleagues, and training directors, and for many, relocation to a new region of the country. For research-oriented clinical psychology students, the transition to internship comes with the added challenge of maintaining research productivity while simultaneously undergoing full-time clinical training.

Fortunately, there are many internship sites that provide research-friendly opportunities such as dedicated time to work on scholarly projects, mentorship from research-oriented clinical psychologists, and opportunities for new research collaborations during the internship year. The match process allows research-oriented students to identify and apply to sites that openly allow for such opportunities alongside clinical training, and there are a number of resources (such as the APPIC website and individual program brochures) that allow students to select sites that will maximize their research potential. Yet, even interns at “research-friendly” internship sites often struggle to find the right balance between internship training responsibilities and their ongoing academic pursuits.

In the article below, we provide the results of a series of interviews with current and former research-oriented interns from a number of internship programs located in the Northeast and Midwest. While this is by no means a representative sample of all research-oriented psychology interns, the perspectives they offer represent some common themes and pieces of advice that we hope will be helpful for new interns to hear.

1. How would you recommend interns balance their clinical, research, and personal/life responsibilities?

Intern: Set small research-related goals for yourself that you think will be manageable given your intern schedule. If possible, ask around and choose the rotations that are less demanding if you have a particularly stressful research-related deadline or project you'd like to be working on. However, I would say to keep in mind that this is a demanding clinical year, and you will likely not be able to be as productive as you would like! Also--a huge thing I would recommend if possible is to have your dissertation defended. If possible, try to submit for publication as many of the ongoing projects from graduation school prior to going on internship. It becomes hard to balance old projects with new projects, especially with the limited time!

Intern: I found it important to carve out specific times or activities that I enjoy for each week. For example, putting a fun community activity on my calendar for the weekend to make sure I got out of the house, rather than just lounging in PJs all day feeling guilty about research work! It was also important to me to leave as much of my work “at work” as I could, even if that meant staying a little later to finish up rather than bringing work home with me. 

Intern: This is an exciting and challenging year. Regardless of how much research you want to do (or have done in the past), remember that it is a clinical year even at the most research-oriented sites. I definitely expected to have more research time on internship than I do. However, that is not because of the grueling clinical hours, but rather prioritization of my personal life in a very busy year! It was really important to me to explore my new city, build solid friendships with my fellow interns and postdocs, and maintain my connections with family and friends living farther away. I would say that flexibility is key—and that you should focus on what is important to you and accept that it will change based on the time of year, deadlines, and whatever life throws at you. The biggest thing for me is to remember that this year is a unique balancing act and it does not necessarily reflect anything more than that!

2. What have you learned about yourself from internship? 

Intern: I had some unique clinical experiences prior to internship, but the ability to try working with new types of presenting difficulties, in different settings, and with different therapy modalities has made me really appreciate clinical work! I found that I really enjoy working with clients in intensive outpatient programs, for example. On the flip side, I’ve also learned that I have a very hard time saying no, especially when I’m being asked to do things by multiple different people in different domains (clinical work, research, administrative), so that has been a challenge.

Intern: The internship year confirmed and intensified my desire for a research career, which has been helpful in clarifying my training goals for post-doctoral training and beyond. In addition, my internship provided many opportunities to work with diverse and varied clinical populations, which further opened my eyes to what I do and do not enjoy about clinical work as well as new populations I might be interested in conducting research with in the future.

Intern: I have learned that I know way more than I thought I did prior to coming on internship! I have also learned to be more reliant on and confident in my own decision-making skills. In graduate school I had a really supportive mentor who I would run most decisions by. I still have her guidance, but have had to learn to make more decisions on my own. It's unsettling but with practice and time I'm learning to navigate this better.

Intern: I have learned that it really is possible to balance clinical and research responsibilities in the same career. So often in graduate school, it seemed like clinical work and research were completely different parts of my life, but I’ve learned from internship that it is possible to have both of these roles fully complement each other.

3. How have your own expectations shifted over the course of the year, in terms of your expectations about how much research you expect to get done during internship?

Intern: I think overall my expectations haven't shifted much. In fact I may have had more time than expected to do research. But it takes flexibility - using a couple hours here or there rather than expecting to have half a day. 

Intern: Although the internship program I attended is primarily clinical, there was an emphasis on and time dedicated to research. At the beginning of internship, all interns were required to set research goals for the year, which helped set my expectations for the year. Overall, my expectations were met or exceeded in terms of how much research I expected to get done during internship. 

Intern: Manage your expectations about how much research you can get done during internship! While it is certainly possible to stay productive, there is no way around the fact that you will have fewer hours in the day to work on research. This is a fact that deserves some radical acceptance at first, followed by strategic planning. Once I accepted that there is less time for me to devote to research than I would like, I found that it was easier to pick a few specific projects to focus on.

4. What advice would you give to new interns about settling into a new place, institution, and/or position?

Intern: I think I have a few pieces of advice: 1) Give yourself some time to settle in! If you can move to your internship site’s city before the start of internship, do it. It’s stressful to start a new full-time position regardless, but it’s more stressful when your whole apartment is in boxes and you don’t know how to get to the grocery store! 2) Ask for clarification (from all supervisors - research, clinical, training directors) about expectations up front. It’s much easier to have those conversations when you’re starting a new rotation or working with a new mentor than it is to address miscommunications later on. 3) Don’t sign up for too many projects, patients, etc. right away - it’s easy to feel like a kid in a candy store with a lot of new opportunities in front of you, but it’s much easier to add something a month in than it is to stop doing something you’ve already agreed to. 4) Recognize that you’re new, and that just because things have always been done a certain way in your previous experiences doesn’t mean that will necessarily fly at the new place. Also remember that people may have very different opinions than you (about certain theoretical orientations, for example), especially if you’re starting at an institution or in a city that’s very different from the one where you did your training. Acknowledge the experience and expertise of those around you!

Intern: Enjoy and explore! I found that my internship mentors have been much more likely to encourage me to spend my free time pursuing activities that bring me pleasure and adventure. This exploration led me to feel much more enmeshed in the larger community of my city than I felt in graduate school. 

Intern: Try to find those supportive people, whether it be friends, family, or mentors, especially if you are moving somewhere new. For me, building a supportive network has been the most significant piece of adjusting to a new place, job, home, and people.

Intern: Embrace your cohort! I found that my strongest supports this year came from having a close-knit group of fellow interns who were going through the same challenges that I was. Even though internship doesn’t leave much time for socializing, take advantage of lunch breaks, downtime, and happy hours to get to know your co-interns.

5. What advice would you have for navigating different research mentors (including current and past advisors)?

Intern: I think it’s helpful to have a conversation with your graduate advisor before you go on internship about what their expectations are for you (and what your expectations are for them) during the internship year. Do they want you to write up your dissertation into a manuscript? Do they want you to be Skype-meeting with them weekly? Do you want to be meeting with them a lot when maybe they would prefer to be in less frequent contact? Will you have any responsibilities to your old lab? I think that, if you’ve had that conversation before internship starts, you’re in a better position to set up reasonable expectations with your internship research mentor. I also think that my earlier advice (don’t sign up for too much too early) applies here - it’s better to set limited, reasonable goals for yourself with your internship research mentor and then be pleasantly surprised by being able to take on more later than it is to say you can do 5 projects but only deliver on 2!

Intern: Broadening your research network is both amazing and challenging. Specifying your training goals to your mentorship team is essential as well as making explicit the role you see each mentor playing in achieving those goals. Putting things in writing always helps.

Intern: Your new mentor will undoubtedly be different from your grad school mentor, who you have now known for 5-6 years, at least. So, it takes some time to adjust to a new mentor's style and personality. If a meeting doesn't quite go how you wanted it to, take some time to reflect on how your learned interactional style in these meetings might contribute to any miscommunications. Problem solve about how you might structure the interaction or approach your mentor differently so that you can have a more productive and clear meeting. That being said, from the outset make sure to ask around about the mentor's style and personality prior to making any commitments--it is stressful to have a difficult mentor, especially during internship!

Intern: Don't over-extend yourself. It's good to make some new connections, and keep the old ones in good shape, but don't promise too much too soon. It's easy to get excited and agree to lots of different projects, but you have to protect your time and be realistic. Most mentors understand that. Importantly, just be honest about your time up front. 

6. How would you have approached this year differently knowing what you know now?

Intern: I think I would have set clearer plans for myself about how to balance my own research projects with the clinical work. Even when I’ve had rotations with relatively lower clinical workloads, it’s just very mentally taxing to be working clinically all day, and then try to “switch” your brain to a more research-focused line of thought. I might have done better with research productivity if I’d set specific goals for myself on a weekly basis, with the hope of staying more on track.

Intern: I would have approached the internship year with more purpose from the very beginning. Because I was initially ambivalent regarding the value of a purely clinical year, my approach was to let experiences come to me rather than specifically seeking out certain experiences. This year has made me re-evaluate that approach and led me to be more explicit in my goals for post-doctoral training.

Intern: In retrospect, I would have given myself “permission” to take more time off from the clinic to work on research projects earlier in the year. I was surprised at the amount of vacation time and “professional” days off that my internship site allows, and once I learned how easy it was to ask for a day off to work on writing, I definitely took advantage of that opportunity. I would have approached my training director about taking time off for research earlier in the year if I had been more confident about making this request.

7. How did you decide the next steps in your career? What advice would you give for people in their internship trying to figure out the next steps? 

Intern: I was pretty sure going into internship that I wanted a career focused on research. I think if people are unsure, it's good to think - "could I do this full-time?" or "do I actually miss research?" Because for me, I missed research quite a bit, and I knew that while internship was a good training experience, it wasn't what I wanted to do for my career. I also relied significantly on supervisors for career advice - I highly recommend getting multiple different opinions and perspectives. 

Intern: I decided on the next steps of my career based on balancing my long-term career goals with my personal/family goals. I recommend that future interns consider the setting, location, and fit of their next step (e.g., postdoc) as it could provide opportunities for future employment. 

Intern: So much of the internship year can be thought of as “networking” for postdoc, particularly if you are able to stay at the same institution. So don’t be afraid to set up meetings with researchers at your internship site and ask about ways to get involved with their team, even if you may not have the bandwidth to join their team right away. Go to lab meetings, go to grand rounds or other talks, and see if there are people at your internship institution that might be a good fit for your next steps. It’s also never too early to start looking into postdoc options. It’s a remarkably fast turnaround between starting internship and applying to postdoc positions, so be sure to set aside time early in the year to think about what your next steps might be.

8.  Any other advice that would you give to new interns? 

Intern: Take the clinical opportunities available to you, even if you don’t intend to pursue clinical work as a primary career! First, you might find you really like certain kinds of work, which can inform your career plans or at a minimum where you want to focus your hours for postdoctoral requirements. Second, even clinical work in populations that didn’t seem relevant to my research has helped me develop new hypotheses and new ideas that will benefit me in research in the future. Third, it’s the last chance you get to be fully focused on your own training!

Intern: Be open-minded, use cognitive reappraisal often, and have fun!

Intern: Be open to new experiences, but also remember that you can’t do it all! Prioritize what is important to you – it’s okay to politely decline an offer (clinical/research). Also, remember that this is your training, so you should not hesitate to experience it fully and make it what you want/need!

Intern: Don’t be afraid to (respectfully) rock the boat a little. At many internship sites, you are coming in for only 12 months to work with people who may have been working there for decades. Be open to learn from people who do things a little differently than your training, but also don’t be afraid to speak up if you see ways to make improvements in the way things are done. As clinical scientists, we have a lot of training in evidence-based practices, and it’s important to share that knowledge broadly.

Summary: The interviews in this column represent what many people who have completed internship understand: that despite the stress and challenges associated with this year of clinical training, it is absolutely possible to make progress on your research, to learn new clinical skills, and even to enjoy yourself all at the same time. While everyone’s experiences are different, there is also remarkable consistency across these interviews: many interns would agree that managing expectations about your ability to get research done during internship is important, but that internship includes many chances to elevate your research career. We believe that managing this dialectic is essential to staying happy, healthy, and productive during this exciting time.

Andrew Peckham is a postdoctoral fellow at the Behavioral Health Partial Hospital Clinical Research Program of McLean Hospital, and a clinical fellow at Harvard Medical School. He is a recent graduate of the McLean Hospital/Harvard Medical School internship program.

Jessica Hamilton is a predoctoral intern at Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic in Pittsburgh, PA. Beginning September 2017, she will be a postdoctoral fellow on a T32-funded fellowship in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh.

Two New Internship Positions at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center

The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health is pleased to announce that we are recruiting for two interns starting in July 2016. This will be our second year as a new clinical health psychology internship with rotations in psychosocial oncology, transplant psychology, behavioral cardiology, and women’s behavioral health. Interns receive a generous stipend along with full university benefits and education/professional development funds.

As a new program, we are not yet APA accredited. However, we are in the process of submitting our self-study in order to be considered “accredited on contingency” as a clinical psychology internship.

OSUWMC is consistently ranked as one of the top medical centers in the country. Columbus is the 15th largest city in the United States and ranked as one of the nation’s most innovative, attractive and business-friendly cities as well as one of the best cities to raise a family.

The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer and individuals representing diverse groups are encouraged to apply. 

new health psychology internship

OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY WEXNER MEDICAL CENTER

It may not be easy for internship applicants to locate our information since APPIC does not list programs until interns are actually on site. Below is information on how to find us. Please note that the listing on the National Matching Service site will not appear until October 1.

DIRECTIONS ON HOW TO “FIND” THE NEW OSU HEALTH PSYCHOLOGY INTERNSHIP

Because this is a newly created internship, we are not yet listed in the APPIC member directory. We are, however, listed as a non-member program on the National Match Service (NMS) website (https://www.natmatch.com/psychint/). We are listed as OHIO STATE UNIV-BEHAVIORAL HLTH and our code number is 230611. Please follow the NMS directions to insure we receive your application. If you have questions, please contact the internship director, Dr. Cheryl Carmin, at Cheryl.carmin@osumc.edu

CBT Internship at The Institute of Living

Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy Internship Track at the Institute of Living, Hartford, CT

The Institute of Living/Hartford Hospital invites applications for a one-year predoctoral internship beginning in August 2015. This internship, which features training at the Anxiety Disorders Center/Center for Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, (ADC/CCBT; David F. Tolin, Ph.D., director) is part of the APA-accredited doctoral internship program at the Institute of Living (see http://www.harthosp.org/ResidenciesFellowships/Psychology/Internship/default.aspx). The CBT internship track has a focus on cognitive-behavioral therapy and evidence-based practice. Accordingly, training will focus on a practical integration of psychological science and practice.

In addition to the work at the ADC/CCBT, the CBT internship track is comprised of additional four-month long rotations, including Intensive Outpatient (can select from DBT, Young Adult Services, or Schizophrenia Rehabilitation), Inpatient Services (can select from adult or child), and Assessment (can select from assessments involving patients at the ADC, and in the areas of health psychology or neuropsychology). The CBT intern will also have the option to participate in collaborative research with IOL faculty members.  Experience in teaching and supervision is also offered.

Requirements:  Applicants must be enrolled in an APA-accredited doctoral program in clinical psychology; elevation to doctoral candidacy and completion of all academic requirements are necessary. Candidates should also have training and experience in cognitive-behavioral and evidence-based interventions. A demonstrated capacity to participate in basic and/or applied research is desirable.

For questions, please call Dr. DeGiovanni at (860) 545-7167 or Dr. Tolin at (860) 545-7685, or send e-mail to david.tolin@hhchealth.org

Internship Application Tips

As you start thinking about your internship applications, here are some tips to keep in mind:  

http://time2track.com/internship-application-season

Denver Health Medical Center Internship in Clinical Psychology

Site: Denver Health Medical Center Internship in Clinical Psychology
Accreditation: YES (APA)
APPIC Member: YES 
APPIC Directory Listing: Member #1173
Website: http://denverhealth.org/ForProfessionals/ClinicalSpecialties/MentalHealth/PsychologyInternship.aspx
TD Name and Contact Info: Dr. Chris Sheldon (303) 602-4834 Chris.Sheldon@dhha.org
Submit applications to: Laura.Ohrt@dhha.org 303-602-4829. Please cc: Chris.Sheldon@dhha.org
Date/Time Added:

We are pleased to offer TWO additional intern training slots for the 2014-2015 training year due to receipt of a HRSA GPE training grant. These positions will emphasize assessment, intervention and consultation in integrated primary care settings with vulnerable and underserved age groups.  One position will focus on adults and seniors with rotations in high risk primary care and in geriatric primary care.  The other will focus on children and adolescents with rotations in pediatric primary care and in high risk pediatric primary care. 

Applicants from APA accredited clinical or counseling psychology doctoral programs with a minimum of 750 face to face clinical hours, and with previous experience working in medical/integrated settings with adults and/or children and families (depending upon track) are encouraged to apply. See our website for additional information about our internship training program.  Note, stipend support and benefits for these positions are limited by HRSA grant policies and may be different than those reflected on our website.

Interest candidates MUST submit: (1) A cover letter with a statement of interest in this internship; and (2) a current CV.

Applicants are encouraged to submit (3) A copy of the APPI or tables corresponding to the APPI Summary of Practicum Experience; Intervention Experience; and Psychological Assessment Experience; (4) 2 letters of recommendation (note, we will accept letters that were originally written for other locations if this facilitates timely submission of application, as long as the letters speak to the qualifications needed to succeed in our training environment); and (5) If APPIC application not included, a letter from the DCT including academic standing and a summary of applicant strengths, weaknesses, and readiness for internship. Applications will be reviewed as received and must be received by July 10th, 2014. Interview arrangements TBD. Start date for the internship is August 18th, 2014.

NEW clinical health psychology internship at OSU Wexner Medical Center

At a time when graduate students are faced with fewer internship options, I am very happy to announce that we are starting a pre-doctoral internship focused on clinical health psychology in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health at The Ohio State University.

 

If you are not already familiar with our campus, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center (OSUWMC) is among the largest and most diverse academic medical centers in the country and the only academic medical center in central Ohio. OSUWMC includes:

 

•       a top-ranked College of Medicine

•       six hospitals with a total of over 1000 patient beds

•       a unified medical staff of which psychologists are members

•       a network of primary and specialty care practices

•       more than a dozen research centers and institutes

•       20 core laboratories

 

For over 20 years, US News & World Report has consistently ranked OSUWMC one of the best in the country.  Ten specialty areas are likewise nationally ranked. The medical center campus is rich in opportunities and resources.

 

Our internship program is designed to: (1) provide training in evidence-based assessment and treatment; (2) provide experiences as a psychologist working as an integral member of an inter-professional health care team; (3) enhance awareness of and sensitivity to issues reflecting cultural and ethnic diversity and health disparities; and (4) help interns further develop their professional identity as clinical health psychologists by providing faculty mentoring that is consistent with clinician-scientist values and practices.

 

Recruitment for our first class begins this year, with a start date of July 1, 2015 for our first group of interns. Applications are due byNovember 1, 2014. If you are not aware, APA has made a substantial change in the accreditation process. Once our first group of interns is on site, we plan to apply for “accredited on contingency” status. Pending acceptance of our self-study, we will be able to schedule the site visit. It is our hope that we will be able to have our first cohort of interns graduate from an accredited program.

 

Please let me know if you would like to receive a brochure describing the internship. Our website is currently under construction but it should be completed shortly. The department website is located at http://psychiatry.osu.edu/ and the internship is listed in the Education offerings.

 

Interns will receive a salary of $27,000 plus university benefits including medical, dental, and vision care. It is standard for trainees to receive 4 weeks of vacation. We also offer a generous stipend for educational activities/materials and time for these activities is considered academic leave (not vacation).

 

If you or any of your students have questions, please contact me. I can be reached at 614-293-0697 or at Cheryl.Carmin@osumc.edu. We are truly pleased to extend our education mission to what I know are a very talented group of psychology graduate students.

Advice from Internship Directors

Hi everyone,

Below are some notes we took on advice from internship directors, from a talk at ABCT 2012 Conference. We hope you find it useful! The below information can also be downloaded as a document here.

Application Process:

• Organize material carefully and submit info as early as possible
•  Apply to 12-15 programs
• Select Internships you are applying to based on fit - communicate who you are and how your interests fit with the particular site
• Seek out multidisciplinary settings- it's the way of the world
•  Try to avoid geographic limitations
•  Present yourself in an honest and straight-forward manner on  application - don't try to get "flowery and fun"

Interviews:

• Try to visit site if possible - some places are going to do Skype or Phone interviews
•  Know the site you are applying to - if they don't offer an experience you want, don't say you are looking to get that experience
•  Ask questions!
•  Ask site about research opportunities. Even though the focus is on clinical hours, ask if you are interested!
•  Ask about the atmosphere of the site-
•  Ask how people get along
•  Ask about hours (when days start, how many hours interns typically work in a week, etc.) 
• Don't talk bad about other sites – Many internship directors know each other, and regardless, this just makes you look bad

Ranking Sites:

• Rank your sites based on your true preference, don't try to game the system
•  Trust the system - there is no game to it and it will work out!

Internship Application and Interview Process –Advice from SSCP Members

Note: The below information can also be downloaded as a pdf here.

Applications:

•  Start the internship application process this summer! You will thank yourself later! 
•  Want to apply to 12-15 sites - Apply to a wide range of sites in a wide range of areas. 
•  Start with the list of clinical science internship programs recognized by the academy (http://acadpsychclinicalscience.org/members/). 
•  Approach the application process as a mini version of graduate school, looking for sites with specific rotations of interest and research mentors you'd be interested in working with. 
•  Focus on sites that would complement your graduate training, places that would provide new clinical and research experiences that you haven't gotten elsewhere 
•  For students who are interested in research-oriented internships: keep in mind that those sites will look more closely at your CV than at your list of clinical hours. 
•  Make sure you get the bare minimum number of clinical hours required by your graduate program and spend the remainder of your time focused on research. 
•  As long as you can demonstrate that you are a competent clinician, no need to accrue hundreds of extra practicum hours.
•  The application process is an opportunity to discover what type of therapist you want to be!
•  Go to the website of each internship you are applying to – find out as much as you can (do this the summer before you plan to apply for internship)
•  Make sure you tailor your cover letters and essays to each internship site
•  Look at examples of cover letters and essays from older graduate students in your program, they will provide you with good guidance!
•  DO NOT check out APPIC’s discussion forum – it will just cause you unnecessary anxiety!

Interviews:

• Do as many practice interviews as you can!
•  Prepare a case presentation – come in with info about at least 1 client, be able to provide a frame quickly and then expand
•  Have examples of breakthroughs, struggles, transference/counter-transference, errors you’ve made
•  Be prepared with lots of questions – but DO NOT ask information that is on their website
• Try to have a mix of broad and specific questions
•  Need to be able to think critically on the spot – need to be able to demonstrate clinical competence and confidence!
•  Should definitely visit all of the sites you are applying to – some will have open houses, some will offer a visit if you want to
•  Ask questions of the post-docs and graduate students about what it is like there – how is supervision? What type of collaboration is there? 
•  Some travel tips: o Remember, there are many ways to get around (plane, car, bus, train, etc.). Check all options when traveling to a city, within a city, and between cities. Travel is expensive, so check your options. Sometimes flying into a nearby city and renting a car is a cheaper option. 
•  For the best hotel and car rental prices, visit online forums that help you get the best quotes from Priceline.com – this can help you save a lot of money on car rentals and hotels! 
•  Midweek is usually the cheapest time to buy airfare and also the cheapest airfare is on midweek days.

Rankings:

• When you rank rites, things to consider:
• Quality of life, both inside and outside of internship
• What do you want to do long term?
• Where do you want to live?
• What is a good fit for me?

Internship Interview Advice from Current Interns

Hi everyone,

Below is advice that some student members have passed along to us. We have written them up here, but they can also be downloaded. Many thanks to the students who shared their wisdom with us !

Advice from Student 1: 

How do you best prepare for the interviews? 

·  I found it helpful to have an answer prepared for all of the standard questions listed in the APAGS internship guide and then practice doing mock interviews with others who were going through the process.

·  I also printed out my first essay for each site so that I could review it before each interview and during breaks. It reminded me which rotations I was interested in and which experiences I had highlighted, since these varied slightly for each site.

·  If I knew who I was interviewing with, I tried to look them up ahead of time so I had at least a general idea of what they did clinically and research-wise.

·  I tried to have a short and a long answer to the two most typical questions: "Tell me about your dissertation" and "Tell me about your clinical experiences." That way I could give an overview and then go into detail if the interviewer seemed to be interested in specific areas. 

Things that surprised me

·  I was surprised by the relative lack of clinical questions I was asked. Granted I did interview at more research-oriented sites, but I was still surprised at the overwhelming focus on my research. 

·  I had entire interviews where I was not asked a single question, it was all me asking them questions about the program, so have tons prepared!

Questions I hadn't prepared for

·  Where do you see your research taking you in the future? If you were designing an R01 based on your dissertation, what would it look like?

·  When you look back on your career in 30 years, what do you wish to have accomplished?

Advice from Student 2: 

•   I found it extremely helpful to prepare answers for the most common questions ahead of time. In addition to doing mock interviews with fellow students, it is great if you can find a postdoc or junior faculty member to help you practice as well. They have recently been through a similar process and are great mock interviewers!
•  Since you may not know who you are interviewing with until the day of, it is good to have a print out of all faculty members with a brief description of their work. You can review the whole list the morning of the interview, and then refresh your memory on specific faculty members once you know who you are interviewing with.
• Also, if there is a particular faculty member you are hoping to meet but aren't scheduled to interview with, you can request to meet with them briefly during an off period or via telephone at a later date.
• I too got more questions about my research than my clinical work, but I also applied to more research focused sites. At the clinical sites I was surprised that I was asked a number of questions about supervision (positive vs. negative experiences; preferences for supervision style).
• There is often plenty of time set aside for you to ask questions. Have a number of questions prepared, and feel free to ask the same question to multiple interviewers. It can be nice to get multiple perspectives!
• Current interns are the best resource for getting the real scoop on a site. They are also often an integral part of the interview process, so always remain professional.

Advice from Student 3: 

I interviewed at a mix of research-oriented sites and sites that were more clinical. In contrast to some of the others' experiences, I was surprised to find that at all but one of the "research-oriented" sites (including some Academy sites), I was not asked any questions about my research aside of the status of my dissertation, and research was not required of the interns. In addition, there are sites that do not advertise themselves as research-oriented but have ample opportunities for clinical research involvement, or require interns to submit a manuscript for publication as part of training (like my residency).

One other piece of advice: remember that your interpersonal skills are being evaluated as well. Small talk, being nice and personable, and smiling and eye contact is important. After my interview questions were asked, I found it interesting to talk to the interviewers and interviewees about where they were from, what led them to their area of research or their particular position, where they went to college, the outcome of college basketball games, etc.

Advice from Student 4: 

Hi everyone, I'm currently on internship at a VA.  When I was interviewing a year ago (at VAs), I got a variation of this question a couple of times: "Tell me about a time you used an evidence-based treatment but came to the limit of that treatment, and what did you do?"

Some other questions that might be asked:

How did you get interested in X field?  (e.g., addictive behaviors)
Goals after internship? ("where do you see yourself in 5 years")
Talk about a case, how you conceptualized it, what was most effective.
Good and not-so-good supervision experiences.
Ethical problem and how you handled it.

I also had a few group interviews, in groups of 2-4.  I was initially anxious about this, but once I got into it I found it helpful to hear what others say. Sometimes we could play off of each other's comments and build a conversation.  As others have said, part of the interview process (most of it, I think) is about fit- to see if you're someone who is warm and personable and that they'd want to spend 1+ years with, and also for you to judge the same thing about them.  Definitely have some questions in mind that YOU can ask THEM.  (e.g., "where do interns typically go after finishing this internship?")

Internship Phase II Advice

Hi everyone,

One of the fellow SSCP Student listserv members generously wrote up the below advice on the Phase II Internship Process. The information below can also be downloaded as a document here. 

PHASE II—ADVICE FROM SSCP MEMBERS

Applications

-  Consider updating your CV and essays. It’s likely been a few months since you uploaded your CV for Phase I, so if you have any updates that can be made, go ahead and make them and upload the latest version of your CV. Same with essays—if you want to clarify or modify your essays, do so before submitting Phase II applications.

- Consider updating your reference letters. APPIC will allow you to update your reference letters, so if you have a recommender who is willing to add to the letter or speak to your ability to work in a variety of clinical settings, that might be helpful.

- As with Phase I, make sure your cover letters are tailored to each individual site.

- As with Phase I, fit between you and the site matters (and ideally would contribute to your selection of sites). However, decide whether you’re open to completing an internship at a wider variety of sites than you may have previously considered. For example, if you only applied to University hospitals in Phase I, consider whether you’d be open to completing your internship at a VA.

- Many of the sites in Phase II have specific populations (i.e., specialized geriatric or child psychology tracks)—consider whether you’d be open to working with these populations, and how your training thus far has prepared you to work with them.

- The more sites and populations you are open to, the more applications you’ll submit in Phase II and as a result, the higher your chance (up to a point) of obtaining interviews.

Interviews

- Almost all Phase II interviews are phone interviews, so practice answering and asking your
questions over the phone.

•  Make sure that when you schedule your interviews, you are able to conduct them in a quiet place with minimal distraction and good reception (if using a cell phone).
• Be mindful of phone etiquette (e.g., interrupting, tone); because you don’t have body language, much of the impression formed about you will depend on your phone etiquette.

- In addition to all the interview advice for Phase I, Phase II interviews may include some specific
questions that you should have well-rehearsed and articulated:

•  “Why do you think you didn’t match in Phase I?”
•  “Why didn’t you apply to our site in Phase I?”
•  “How did you cope with/handle not matching in Phase I?”
• “If you could do Phase I over again, what would you do differently?”

Additional Information
The following APPIC websites were very helpful in navigating the Phase II application process, and
answer most of the questions that come up:

- The APPIC Match: Phase II (http://www.appic.org/Match/APPIC-Match-Phase-II)

•  Phase II "Getting Started" guide for internship applicants (http://www.appic.org/Match/APPICMatchPhaseII/PhaseIIGettingStarted.aspx)

•  Instructions and Frequently Asked Questions about Phase II for applicants (http://www.appic.org/Match/FAQs/Applicants/Phase-II)

SSCP Student Listserv Q&A Internship Responses

Hope everyone is enjoying their last few days of summer! 

In July 2013, we hosted two Q&A Events over the SSCP student listserv, which focused on internship. 

For the first Q&A event,  two recently matched students answered questions from their perspective: Amanda Morrison (Palo Alto VA) and Shari Steinman (Institute of Living). Their responses have been saved in a document as a resource for future students, which can be accessed in PDF format here. 

For the second Q&A event, Marc Atkins, Ph.D. (UIC) and Elizabeth McQuaid, Ph.D. (Brown) answered questions from their perspectives as training directors of research-oriented sites. There responses can be accessed in PDF format here. 

Many thanks to our panelists for their participation in our event. We are very grateful for their time and insight to the internship process. We would also like to thank Rosanna Breaux, our listserv facilitator, who coordinated the event. 

We wish you the best with the upcoming school year! Feel free to let us know what topics would be of interest to you for future listserv Q&A events!

Best,
Victoria

Internship Site Selection: Finding a Clinical Science-Oriented Program

Matthew Rouse
Boston Consortium in Clinical Psychology 
Doctoral candidate, Emory University
(Clinical Science Vol. 15 (3): Fall, 2012)

Applying to and securing a predoctoral clinical internship is a stressful process, not helped by the statistics of nearly a quarter of applicants failing to match to an internship site this last application cycle. The hysteria around the “crisis” is enough to engender attitudes of “going wherever I can match,” without much consideration of the training model and orientation of the site. I know I myself succumbed and submitted an additional flurry of applications after applying to my top sites. Needless to say, I didn’t end up matching at any of those sites and I probably would have been better off, certainly financially, if I hadn’t submitted those applications. Having come out of the process with an internship that feels like a great fit, I believe now more than ever that the internship “match” is appropriately named, and that it really comes down to the fit between the internship site and the applicant. Therefore, for students coming from clinical science programs or subscribing to the tenets of clinical science, it is important to apply to clinical science-oriented programs, as those programs will provide training that is consistent with their prior experiences. Following is a list of some tips that I used in helping to figure out which sites were consistent with clinical science and that valued research, and were therefore a good fit for me.

• Go to the Academy for Psychological Clinical Science website. They publish a list of clinical science internship programs http://acadpsychclinicalscience.org/members/. This is a great starting place (and where I first got information on my internship site). However, as there are currently only 11 sites on the list, it will probably not constitute the end of your internship search. Even so, reading the descriptions of the programs on this list gave me a frame of reference against which I could compare other sites and assess their degree of clinical science orientation.

• Read the program descriptions thoroughly. Somewhere in the materials, typically towards the beginning, there will be an identification of their training model and orientation. A few will actually identify as clinical science programs, making things easier. However, I also learned that not all clinical science-oriented programs actually use the term “clinical science” and others use terms like scientist-practitioner or Boulder model, so those were key terms I also looked for. Others I ran across, including practioner-scholar, Vail model, developmental training model, and local clinical scientist model, seemed to emphasize the training of clinicians rather than clinical scientists.

• Look for protected research time. This became the most important criterion for me in selecting sites. Even if it is only a couple of hours per week, the fact that a site allots time for research endeavors at all speaks to the values of the program.

• Think about research match. At those sites where they request that you identify a potential research mentor, this is obviously important. However, considering that many interns transition to post-doctoral fellows at their sites, thinking about where you might fit in at a site could benefit you down the road. Plus, I have found that having someone who shares your research interests, or even just your enthusiasm for clinical science research, serves as a welcome touchstone during the internship year.

• Divorce yourself of the idea of “safety” sites. It’s hard to let go of the notion that some sites are better or more prestigious or more competitive than others. The more you can think about a site in terms of the fit for you, the better the whole process will be. One interviewer at a site for which I was not a good match said to me, “We hardly ever invite candidates with your background to interview here because you never match here.” So true! I had gone against my better judgment in applying to the site, and they had broken their own rule for whom to invite to interview. The result was that we essentially wasted each other’s time. Set your goals for internship and don’t let anxiety deter you from sticking to them.

• Ask lots of questions during the interview. It’s important to determine how the actual experience of the internship lives up to what is described in the materials. From my experiences interviewing, current interns were the most valuable sources of information, reporting that the protected research time was nonexistent or that the emphasis on an evidence base was not as strong as it could have been. This is important information that will help determine where you rank the site, or maybe if you will even rank the site at all.
In sum, I think if your goal is to match at a clinical science-oriented internship site, and your “story” is one of clinical science, then get an internship you shall. If you put the effort into selecting sites that make sense for you and your goals, all while resisting the sway of anxiety, you’ll be pleased with the end result.