APA-Accredited Doctoral Internship in Health Service Psychology
APPIC Match Code: 226511
Student Health and Counseling Services (SHCS) offers a full time (40 hours/week), 12 month internship program for graduate students working toward doctoral degrees in clinical and counseling psychology. We are a member of the Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers (APPIC). The overall objective of the psychology internship program is to provide a diversified and comprehensive training experience in professional psychology. The internship is accredited by the American Psychological Association (APA) as of October 2018. The next site visit is scheduled for 2028. *
The aim of Student Health and Counseling Services’ (SHCS) internship in health service
psychology is to assist in the development of clinical psychologists based on the
practitioner-scholar model. The program is tailored to further refine trainees as
generalist psychologists, providing them a breadth of experiential training opportunities,
didactic seminars, a broad clinical population, and opportunities to refine intervention
skills with a diverse student body and a diverse clinical population. The students served are from culturally and clinically diverse backgrounds. Because of this diversity, the training program is designed to prepare trainees
to competently provide psychological services to a broad and diverse variety of clinical
presentations.
We provide training that emphasizes both depth and breadth of knowledge. In terms
of depth, interns will become familiar with the diverse needs and issues faced by
university students, the university community at large, and the appropriate role of
a university counseling center in helping to address these issues and concerns.
In terms of breadth, interns are expected to develop clinical competence and skill in a variety of domains that will prepare them for entry into practice. They receive training and supervised experience in individual, couple, and group psychotherapy, psychological assessment, outreach, and crisis intervention. They have the opportunity to work with a diverse group of clients, staff, and faculty. CSUSM students include people of all ages, sexual orientations, ethnicities, religions, and educational and professional backgrounds, and present with a wide range of concerns.
Supervisors and interns are diverse in terms of their personal and professional backgrounds, areas of expertise, and professional activities. Thus, the intern is exposed to a range of theoretical orientations and therapeutic approaches. In addition to direct clinical services, interns are also provided with the opportunity to broaden the scope of their professional activities, engaging in program development, training, consultation, and outreach.
A comprehensive description is provided in the Psychology Internship Training Manual and provided to interns at the commencement of the internship. This is, at present, not available online. If you desire any additional information on the program, it’s policies, or procedures after review of this website, please contact Dr. Leah Tappero, Training Coordinator at (760) 750-4735 or via email at LTappero@csusm.edu.
*Questions related to the program’s accredited status should be directed to the Commission on Accreditation:
Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation American Psychological Association
750 1st Street, NE
Washington, DC 20002
- Phone: (202) 336-5979
- Email: apaaccred@apa.org
- Web: www.apa.org/ed/accreditation