Important Basic Information about the Internship

The doctoral internship in health service psychology offered by the Counseling Center at The Catholic University of America (CUA) is designed to provide supervised experience in individual and group psychotherapy, supervision of graduate extern and practicum students, outreach, and consultation programs. Our senior staff is multidisciplinary and diverse in therapeutic orientation, and both our internship and externship programs are designed to expose trainees to a variety of clinical perspectives and to the advantages and challenges of theoretical integration. Interns at the Center have an opportunity to work with clients struggling with a wide range of problems, including those whose pathology is of a severity usually treated by senior staff in many counseling center settings.

Candidates must be enrolled in a doctoral program in either counseling or clinical psychology. All of the formal course work and comprehensive examinations for the doctorate should be completed, including supervised practicum courses in counseling and/or psychotherapy. Additional clinical training experiences and experience working within a university setting are highly desirable.

Currently there are three full-time psychology internship positions. Interns are currently offered a $43,488 stipend for the internship year. The doctoral internship program is a member of the Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers (APPIC) and has been accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of the American Psychological Association since 2009.  Accreditation was recently extended through 2030. Questions or concerns related to the program’s accreditation status should be directed to the Commission on Accreditation:

 

The aim of the Catholic University internship is to provide psychology interns with a comprehensive, well-organized training experience, focusing on the continued development of the professional skills necessary for successful functioning as a professional psychologist. The program provides the clinical foundation that bridges graduate academic training and the practice of psychology. We provide the opportunity for interns to engage in a wide variety of university counseling center activities that can be applied to a host of career directions. In addition to training in individual and group therapy, integral parts of the training experience include individual and group supervision (4-6 hours per week), weekly training seminars, group supervision of graduate student externs, secondary supervision of practicum students, exposure to crisis coverage, outreach, and consultation across formal and informal settings. Our interns are regarded as an important part of the agency, are respected as full-time professional staff, and are expected to work closely as colleagues.

In addition to the focus on training in psychotherapy and supervision, the Catholic University Counseling Center Internship program offers a variety of training experiences. Interns are able to assist the in-house psychiatric nurse practitioner during medical evaluations, serve as a diversity liaison for university offices, and to collaborate with offices such as the Dean of Students.