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Internship Structure
We currently offer five internship positions, all emphasizing a strong scholar-practitioner skill base for psychologists working in large medical settings. There are three training tracks available: the General internship track (comprising 3 of the 5 internship positions), and specialty tracks in Geropsychology and Neuropsychology (1 internship position each). Up to fifty percent of the internship year may be in a specialty area, with the remaining time devoted to enhancing fundamental clinical skills.
The training year is divided into 6 month rotations. Specialty track interns (Geropsychology and Neuropsychology) typically complete a full-time rotation for the first 6 months in their specialty area. Rotations are half-time (20 hrs per week) concurrently for 6 months for all General track interns and for the second half of the year for specialty track interns. Specific rotation assignments are carefully chosen and individualized, based on intern experience, training goals, and rotation availability. The combination of these rotations is planned to provide a logical and efficient training experience. To the extent possible, interns planning to go on to post-doctoral specialization will be placed within rotations to support their need for experience in the planned area of specialization early in the training year. An exception to the above guidelines is the PTSD rotation. Given its intensity and location (at our nearby Batavia VA Medical Center), this rotation is generally offered only in the second half of the year and as a full-time training experience.
General Internship Track
The General Track has proven to be an excellent opportunity for predoctoral interns interested health psychology as well as those interested in working in conventional mental health settings (called “behavioral health” in our system). General Track interns spend half of the training year working either in two mental health settings or two health psychology settings. In addition, health psychology emphasis interns are encouraged to complete one mental health rotation, and mental health emphasis interns are encouraged to complete one health psychology rotation.
Sample General Training Track Rotation Assignments:
Sample 1:
| September Through February |
March - August |
Rotation 1: Behavioral Health Clinic
Rotation 2: Substance Abuse Treatment Services |
Rotation 3: Primary Care
Rotation 4: Day Treatment Program |
Sample 2:
| September Through February |
March - August |
Rotation 1: Behavioral Medicine
Rotation 2: Substance Abuse Treatment Services |
Rotation 3: Primary Care
Rotation 4: Center for Integrated Healthcare |
Geropsychology Specialty Emphasis Track
Interns in the Geropsychology Track will have the opportunity to learn about and work with geriatric populations for the first half of the training year. In the second half of the training year, these interns will be assigned to rotations that provide continued breadth of training in keeping with their personal training goals.
Sample Geropsychology Track Rotation Assignments:
| September Through February |
March - August |
| Rotation 1: Geropsychology (full-time)
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Rotation 3: Behavioral Medicine
Rotation 4: Center for Integrated Healthcare |
Supervision and Mentors
The intern's relationships with training faculty form the backbone of the VAWNYHS Predoctoral Training Program. Based on rotation selection, interns work with a minimum of three different supervisors during the course of the year. In addition, interns form a mentoring relationship with one training faculty member for the primary purpose of enhancing professional development.
Supervision
The program abides by APA guidelines regarding supervision. This amounts to a minimum total of four hours per week. Interns meet with individual rotation supervisors for a minimum of two hours per week. It is also expected that supervisors will spend an additional hour working with interns in case conferences, co-therapy, or informal conversations regarding patient care. Additionally, interns attend group supervision for one hour each week. Group supervision provides an opportunity for interns to discuss topics pertinent to all rotations in a collegial environment. Examples of group supervision discussion topics are professional development, minority issues, and ethics.
Additional supervision for optional long-term therapy cases can be arranged to allow for broadening of the intern's supervisory experiences and to provide training in differing theoretical perspectives.
Mentors
We encourage the development of a formal mentoring relationship with a member of the training faculty to enhance the intern's professional development and to ease the transition from graduate school. Interns identify a mentor early in the training year. These relationships have been used in the past for checking-in, problem solving, or for professional collaboration.
Internship Funding and Benefits
The VHAWNYHS Predoctoral Psychology Internship Program is funded by the Office of Academic Affairs of the Department of Veterans Affairs Central Office as an annual earmarked allocation to the medical center. Stipends are provided to qualified students in APA accredited programs in clinical and counseling psychology. Appointments are made for 12-month periods in the amount of $23,101. For this salary, interns are required to complete a minimum of 2080 hours from September through August of their training year.
Interns are able to participate in employee health insurance programs. There are several options for healthcare coverage and employees pay a portion of the cost via automatic deductions in each paycheck. The cost of coverage is dependent on the health insurance plan selected by the employee. Interns typically train during normal administrative hours (Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.), although some rotations may have opportunities for evening hours. Interns accrue sick time and vacation time at a rate of 4 hours each per biweekly pay period. Interns are not expected to train on site more than 40 hours weekly without express permission of Dr. Frohm, Director of Training. Training time is credited for attendance at professional conferences, research and employment interviews.
Intern Seminars and Meetings
Interns are required to attend weekly seminars, which meet on Friday mornings and encompass a variety of topics. Content of the seminar series is revised annually, based on intern training needs, Training Faculty expertise and intern feedback from previous years. View 2007-2008 Psychology Seminar Series. In addition, our training program values career-long continuing education. Psychology faculty and interns have the opportunity to attend a variety of teaching conferences, seminars and workshops. Recent topics have included Management of Difficult Patients, PTSD, and Polypharmacy in Psychiatric Patients. These activities are held at the Medical Center, at neighboring hospitals, and at local colleges. The SUNYAB School of Medicine's Departments of Psychiatry, and Neurology sponsor many of the presentations. Other specialty emphasis offerings are noted under rotation descriptions. Interns may also apply to the Director of Training to use training hours to attend other workshops or seminars, either local or out of town.
Empirical Bases Of Clinical Practice Project Requirement
All interns are required to complete and present a project during the course of their training year. The purpose of the project is to expand on rotation clinical activities to further integrate scientific perspective into clinical practice. The project may take a wide variety of forms. For example, interns may do a case presentation if they spend a significant amount of time working with a patient or patients within a specific treatment modality and can demonstrate theoretical and empirical bases of the therapy that was performed. Conversely, the project could take the form of a clinical research project. Program design and program evaluation projects are also acceptable. Interns will work with their supervisors and Dr. Frohm to plan and implement the project.
Research Opportunities
Research participation is not required; however, several research opportunities are readily available, and interns are welcome to participate in on-going research projects. Training faculty interests are included in staff descriptions. In addition, interns can complete their own projects during the course of the year. Applicants who are interested in pursuing research interests are encouraged to discuss this with Dr. Frohm.
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This web site is intended for psychology interns who are considering the VA for internships. Veterans can find VA health care information at the VISN 2 website. |
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