Applying to VA for externship or predoc

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HappyPhDHopeful

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What kind of training experience does the VA typically look for in an applicant? Am hoping to get in during practicum, and definitely hoping for an internship.

Also, to those who have done a VA internship, was any specific previous training site or modality particularly helpful during your time in the VA?

Thanks!

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VA experience is never going to hurt your predoc application chances. Comittment to, and preferably some training in, evidence-based approaches to mental health treatment is essential at the internship level, as well.
 
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I think that having relevant experience and interests is important (for instance, trauma and evidence-based treatment experience). It also helps a lot to have at least one publication.

From my own experience applying to and ultimately matching at a VA internship, I also got the impression that having a solid amount of assessment experience is crucial.
 
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Basically echoing others here. I'm not interested in applicants unless they have skills and interests relevant to my population and setting. Agreed on wanting people with assessment experience. Finally, if you're just interested in getting therapy and assessment hours, and are ho-hum about my research and program development projects, I'm not interested in you.

I never trained with the VA as an intern or postdoc myself. Was told after I was hired by someone on my hiring committee that this was a selling point for me, e.g., that I had "real-world" experience and hadn't spent too much time in the bizarro world of federal service. Of course, that's no longer an issue, at this point I'm sufficiently ruined for real work. :)
 
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